Need help with 7 y/o cat allergic to proteins...

Hello,

I'm new to the site & need help with my cat Milo, who is allergic to just about every protein I feed him. I started off with regular Cat Chow when he came to our fold as a 6 month old stray because that's what the other 2 cats in my home ate. But after a while it became apparent that wasn't working for him. So I took him to a vet who specializes in dermatology since he was covered in scabs & losing his beautiful coat. She recommend Science Diet and we did this for a while but the expense of feeding all 3 cats was a strain. I found a similar diet by Natural Balance that was Chicken & Green Pea at a fraction of the cost. This worked great for approx 3 years.

About 3 years later Milo was once again covered in bumps & scabs & losing his coat. After much trial & error & a shot of prednisone, I finally found a new food that didn't seem to offend his system - Wild Calling's Rabbit & Sweet Potato. Again this worked for approx 3 years before the scabs & loss of fur started again. Only this time it has been accompanied by severe diarrhea & some vomiting as well.

I changed his diet to Pure Vita's Duck & Red Lentil but while this improved his scabs & coat it only made his diarrhea worse. The vet recommended Royal Canin's Hydrolyzed diet, which is what I've been feeding all 3 cats now for the last 3 weeks. Milo is much improved. No scabs. Coat is glorious again. Only 2-3 episodes of diarrhea. But I'm growing concerned about the quality of this food. All 3 cats are vomiting a foamy white saliva spittle now & Im reading some pretty alarming reviews online about Royal Canin's products.

Can anyone weigh in with advice about Milo's condition, best foods for a cat with this issue, and perhaps thoughts on Royal Canin Hydrolyzed cat food? I would really appreciate it so much. This has been such a struggle for both him & me.

Thanks!
Deb

Honestly he's probably not truly allergic to that many proteins, he's more than likely allergic to something in those foods. It's amazing what additives are in most pet foods. My suggestion to you would be to feed very high quality canned food, either Ziwipeak or Feline Naturals, go raw with Rad Cat, or make your own homecooked or raw with EZcomplete. You can't really narrow down a protein allergy unless you eliminate all the other possible additives that could be triggering it. 

Here's some more info

http://www.foodfurlife.com/learning-center.html

http://www.freshisbest.com/learn/pet-care/skin-allergies.html

https://www.chewy.com/ziwipeak-daily-cat-cuisine-venison/dp/42117

https://www.chewy.com/feline-natural-chicken-venison-feast/dp/132452

Thanks for the info. I'm aware of ziwiPeak but not of the other brands. I'll have a look at those.

I'm too nervous to consider making their food myself. And honestly my schedule wouldn't allow for it. My job is too unpredictable with sometimes crazy hours which is why I have just cats & no dogs.

I'm considering switching just Milo to a raw diet & feeding the other 2 dry however when I did a trial of raw with them a few months back (turkey) Milo scratched himself until he bled in just 5 short days.

Has anyone heard of Grandma Mae's Counrty Naturals Cat Food? It's supposed to be non-GMO dry kibble made in small batches here in Ohio where I live. I have bought a bag but have yet to give it a go.

http://www.grandmamaes.com/home-mobile2.html

Deb

CPD1053 said:

Thanks for the info. I'm aware of ziwiPeak but not of the other brands. I'll have a look at those.

I'm too nervous to consider making their food myself. And honestly my schedule wouldn't allow for it. My job is too unpredictable with sometimes crazy hours which is why I have just cats & no dogs.

I'm considering switching just Milo to a raw diet & feeding the other 2 dry however when I did a trial of raw with them a few months back (turkey) Milo scratched himself until he bled in just 5 short days.

Has anyone heard of Grandma Mae's Counrty Naturals Cat Food? It's supposed to be non-GMO dry kibble made in small batches here in Ohio where I live. I have bought a bag but have yet to give it a go.

http://www.grandmamaes.com/home-mobile2.html

Deb

Click to expand...

I wouldn't feed a cat with allergies that kibble. Very carby lots of peas, chick peas, lentils, nope, not good at all. I would really encourage you to do your best to avoid kibble. What about fancy feast classic? or Instinct or Merrick LID? Those canned foods aren't that expensive and are leaps and bounds better than these kibbles. All kibble is going to have a lot of starchy ingredients that can be very triggering for a cat with allergies. "Grain free" doesn't mean very much in terms of pet food. All companies do is replace corn with other starchy ingredients, like peas, or beans, or potatoes, all of which cats, obligate carnivores, can't digest very well, or use.  

What raw did did you try them on? Some "raw" foods have veggies or other fillers in them, too, so you have to be careful which ones you try. 

My vet says that, if you feed a cat that's got a sensitive digestive system a limited diet, over time they develop a sensitivity to it. That describes your experience where you switch to a new food and it works for a while but eventually your cat reacts to it.

We were feeding ours mostly chicken (3 different brands/kinds but still all chicken) with one day of fish. One of my cats who has a sensitive stomach and often has hairballs started getting itchy, losing her soft shiny coat and getting thick intestines. Her behavior was slightly off too. So the vet recommended we feed anything but chicken for a while and to feed as many different kinds of protein as possible especially cans with multiple protein sources. I switched out all the chicken with beef, lamb, lamb & duck, pork, turkey & gibblets and fish and everyone is much happier now, not just the one cat with sensitivities.

Now I just have to figure out why their poops have gotten so stinky. LOL

Our cat has IBD plus food allergies (grains, including rice, and chicken). The only thing that has helped is a diet of low-fat, grain-free canned food with single unique proteins (rabbit, goat, reindeer, kangaroo, horse, buffalo, duck). He can't eat them mixed, for whatever reason, so gets one meat per day, with an overnight fast of 12 hours. Like macmadame , I was advised by his vet and nutritionist to feed a wide variety of meats so that no intolerance developed. We started out with just one and very gradually added others over the course of almost a year.

Mogli was on the Royal Canin hydrolyzed at the shelter and was in bad shape, so that was the first thing the vet stopped. It works for some cats, but definitely not for others, especially when they can't tolerate multiple foodstuffs.

Raw was a disaster - the nutritionist supervised food trials, and it went right through him, undigested (fat content). Home-cooked was fine, but it's nigh impossible to get most of the meats he can tolerate, so prescription food it is, with some non-prescription of the same German brand thrown in.