Hi all- I have a cat that my vet put on Royal Canin Selected Protein food due to skin allergies. I have 3 cats and cannot separate their food and we honestly just cannot afford to feed all of them this food. I honestly do not see alot of improvement with her skin plaques either. Is there a lower priced substitute someone would suggest? To be honest the cats do not do well with this food either.. they definitely do not find it appealing. Thanks!
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skin allergy
- Thread starter paulano
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A medically indicated food that a cat won't eat won't do the cat any good. What are your cats symptoms?
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- #3
She has areas of her fur that have come off with what the vet calls "skin plaques" that she believes are a food allergy. No vomiting or any other symptoms. She was a stray I brought in and shortly after she was attacked by a coyote. She survived but had a wound. It healed with antibiotics and a steroid shot. Then we moved from OH to SC and it seemed to reoccurr. The new vet here treated her for fleas and gave her a steroid and antibiotic..And again it healed however then the places appeared on the legs. That is what she used to determine she has a food allergy since she no longer has fleas or any other infection
Ah ok thanks for that, it sounds complex
I looked at the food your vet recommended and it looks like its protein is rabbit. So maybe try a different rabbit protein food or another alternative protein food. Without knowing for sure what her allergy is to it is more of a guessing game to figure out what she is allergic to. I can see your vet is trying to figure it out with the prescription food. I know I have seen posts on here about limited ingredient or alternative protein sources that you may want to check out for options. Natures Variety has a rabbit variety that my cats have tried and loved before. I am loath to try something against your vets instructions but like StephenQ said, it doesn't help if she won't eat it. Just let your vet know that you are comparing labels and found something with rabbit and low grains to substitute because she wasn't eating the recommended food.
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- #6
Than you both. My question is how can one just universally rule out all other foods and say this is the one food that you MUST feed? That no other options will work besides this particular food. I believe the protein listed on this bag is actually venison which I know there are other brands that are venison based. Thank you for your input. I appreciate it.
Fowl (fish is a close second) and traditional grains are the first suspects in food allergies for cats. So most vets will first have you try a non traditional protein and binder. So some game meat or rabbit as the protein and peas, tapioca or potato for binders. I'd stay away from potatos though as I personally think they aren't much better than traditional grains. It sounds like your vet prefers prescription diets as a proven thing. But you may have the same results with trying different non traditional proteins and non grain foods.
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- #8
You can try a commerical limited ingredient food instead of the prescription stuff. It will cost a bit less and may be more palatable to the cats. All the cats can eat the same limited ingredient food. If you're in the US or Canada, some brands to try are Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredients, Merrick Limited Ingredients, Blue Buffalo Basics, and Natural Balance. All of these are avaiable in both dry and canned formulas. For novel protein canned foods, there's a lenghty discussion about brands here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/306947/your-favorite-brands-of-novel-protein-canned-cat-food
Some people feed cats with food allergies raw or homecooked food instead.
It takes awhile to determine what food a cat has an allergy or sensitivity to. Common proteins like chicken or fish are common. Some cats can't eat eggs. Grains can cause a food allergy / sensitivity. You just have to eliminate one ingredient at a time and give it at least a few weeks to see if there is any improvement in the symptoms (skin rash, itching, etc) of the allergy / sensitivity.
Some people feed cats with food allergies raw or homecooked food instead.
It takes awhile to determine what food a cat has an allergy or sensitivity to. Common proteins like chicken or fish are common. Some cats can't eat eggs. Grains can cause a food allergy / sensitivity. You just have to eliminate one ingredient at a time and give it at least a few weeks to see if there is any improvement in the symptoms (skin rash, itching, etc) of the allergy / sensitivity.
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- #10
Thank you. I did compare ingredients and Natural balance was very close but they did not go crazy over the canned food of that brand. I will try to match ingredients and get as close as I can and see if I can figure out something they might actually like.
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Hey.. my vet put my kitty on that food and it's crap. I have nothing nice to say about hills or royal canine. Basically I have learned that in Canada there are no laws on what companies are putting in their food. Companies are allowed to change the ingredients as well without letting the public knowing. I would check arcana out because with them you can buy food without chicken or turkey in it which tends to be the number one allergy in kitties. I am having the same struggle as you. However I really the ingredients on the food ur using and it is full of soy and crap.. so they charge you out the butt for very unhealthy food. I had my kitties on the now product and it went very well for a while Maybe they are allergic to the grains in the food or the soy. . I am basically going to turn to raw food cuz it's my last resort because none of the canine royal or hills is working and it's going to be cheaper to feed them raw than the duck food. . Good luck I hope it all works out.. if ur in Canada be on the lookout for a natural pet food store.. I put my kitty on probiotics which I got from this natural pet food place and the cats seem to be doing much better than what they were.
Check out this link
http://www.dorchesterpetcare.com/ten-shocking-facts-about-commercial-pet-food
Check out this link
http://www.dorchesterpetcare.com/ten-shocking-facts-about-commercial-pet-food
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- #12
Thank you. I don't feel she is better and see new places on her so I honestly think I am going to get a second opinion. I don't feel like it is a food allergy. It is really strange because the fur comes off in straight lines not in bunches like you would think.She acts perfectly fine so it has me stumped.
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