Allergies

I found this site today, and after looking at some of the problems that people have delt with that are similar to mine, I decided to ask for some advice.

I have a domestic shorthair male cat named Prince. He is 2½ years old and neutered. He was found in someones back yard when he was a kitten and given to the pet store that I ran when he was 6 months old. From the day that I got him he was a tough cat to handle. H couldn't be held or even be within 6 feet of someone for fear of being handled. After a couple of months he figured out where I liked to take a break and would wait for me by my chair in the back of the store. Before I knew it, he bacame the world's biggest lap cat.

Since then he has developed allergies. To what I don't know. He has seen at least three different vets regarding this and the agreement between them all was the food he was eating. It started off as very pink skin and a spot that he scratched onto his neck. He has recieved steroid shots and antiboitics to clear up the initial irritation.

The store has closed and for the past year Prince has been living with me in my apartment. I couldn't let him be shipped off to the local Humane Society. They have about three days in the adoption room before getting put down here, and that is if they are healthy. With his condition, he would have never made it.

So now you probably want to know what he has been eating. Well, he was on Royal Canin Special Blend when this initiated. I've tried to find a food that doesn't contain chicken as the primary protein. I tried Eukanuba Lamb and Rice formula, but I don't like feeding by-products. After 6 weeks on this diet, his skin was as pink as ever, so I continued my search. The best thing that I have found, and has Prince on for about 6 months, was Science Diet Natural Choive Ocean and Whitefish formula. Granted, it had chicken, but the pink in his skin only showed up when I changed the litter.

He is now eating something called Dyck Van Pattersons cat food since the Science Diet food was discontinued. It's a holistic blend that he has been eating for a mere 2 weeks, and although it IS a chicken formula, I'm hoping that the lack of chemicals will make the difference.

If anyone knows of a cream that will ease itching on his neck, or a food that is a true lamb and rice, or venisen formula, or has some thoughts that I may have overlooked, please feel free to let me know.

He's come sooo far from the kitten I got, I just want him to be happy and healthy for the rest of his life.

I've been trying to avoid chicken too, as I have the same problems that you do except Mabels ears get red sore spots on the base of her ears with different foods. I'm currently trying Solid Gold, this only has lamb and fish meals, and no corn. The Solid Gold is good stuff, Mabel actually likes it, but she's only been on it a week so I'm waiting it out to see if she has a reaction to it.

If you feed wet food there is Lamaderm, and also California Natural has two chicken free wet foods (Ocean fish, and Rice and Venison). Natures Variety has a few types of chicken free wet food though they contain "meat broth", Duck, Venison, Rabbit, etc though they are pricy (Venison was 3.00 a can at the pet food store).

I found a few foods like that on the interent, but I can't get them in Canada. But now I have a new search - Thanks!

You should be able to get Solid Gold in Canada, from my understanding, it's made there.

Lucid Distributors Eastern
180 Trowers Road, Unit 16
Woodbridge, Ontario L4L 8A6
Phone: 905-856-2235
Fax: 905-856-0575
[email protected]
Serving Eastern Canada

Lucid Distributors Western
9444 190th Street
Surrey, BC V4N3S2
Phone: 604-882-9918
Fax: 604-882-9443
[email protected]
Serving Western Canada

Good luck, trying to figure out allergies is so stressful!

My kitty has allergies as well. She "breaksout" under her chin and sometimes on her tummy. I found a feline dermatologist (honestly) at a emergency vet clinic after we moved here to NJ. (Our old vet thought it was acne and gave her steroids - which are not good to continually give - and it would reoccur all the time so we knew that wasn't what it was.)

Anyway, she was allergic to the perfume in the clumping cat litter. I switched her to Arm & Hammer unscented or any other unscented I can find and she is doing much better. Occassionally - 1 every 1-2 years - it will start again. But the dermie prescribed periactin for her and it works fantastic. Not a steriod!! It is a pill which you give half in the AM and the other half in the PM. I crush it and mix it with a very small amount of tuna since it is bitter. She always eats it and thinks it is a treat.

If you live in NJ I can give you the name. =) Dorina
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Both Royal Canin and Eukanuba use Beet Pulp... Hills usually doesn't so it might be that it's not a poultry allergy but an allergy to the beet pulp? Just a thought