Opinions on Allergy food

Hello all, I have been lurking for quite sometime. I am the mom to 5 (yes, 5) adopted cats and once recently adopted dog.
Currently we are having a problem with Calvin a 10 year old spayed siamese mix. She has been diagnosed with allergies and given predizone. Her symptoms get better after her allergy shot, but I am concerned about doing these predizone injections too often. Her eyes have become more runny and squinty, and her ears are slowly loosing hair.
I am debating switching her food, currently she is eating Nutro Weight Maintence.
My question for you is which food do you recommend for allergies? And...what do I do about the other 4 cats who don't have allergies? Is it okay for them to be on the same food?
Thanks in advance and I look forward more posts on this board!
Tina

If she has allergies to Nutro ( she should be on senior at her age).... I would recommend natural balence venison and green pea for the best otc allergy food ... Has your vet said anything about food?? the venison is a reasonable all around food

If your cat is eating Nutro Natural Choice Weight Management and is having allergy issues, the biggest suspect would be corn. I would recommend trying a corn-free food for 3-4 weeks to see if her symptoms improve. If they do, then you've solved the mystery and just need to keep her on a corn-free food from now on.

I think you're right to be nervous about the prednisone. It's a drug that can do wonderful things but it's also risky over the long term. You're better off trying to identify and avoid whatever she is allergic to.

Thanks for the responses...Yes, I am very concerned about the long-term effects of prednisone.
I have discussed nutrition with my vet and needless to say, she was a bit surprised with my response to her regarding food containing by-products. I trust her advice, except when it comes to nutritional issues, I then take her advice and do my own research.

The problem that we have here is 5 cats...2 are at normal weight (approx ages are 4 + 10), and the last 3 are a bit overweight (from 12-25 pounds and range in age from 2-10).

I do have one dish seperate with regular nutro (placed up high so the 25 pounder can't reach it) and then the other dishes are filled with Nutro Maintence.

Scheduled feeding is not an option in our house....sorry. I have tried and almost fell and broke both legs with the cats running in a frenzied pack each time I got up to do something in a different room
So, with that in mind....is it okay to feed the rest with allergies an allergy food? Or any other suggestions on how to keep the food seperate for Calvin?

I will have to go to the store and try to track down NB for cats, that is what we feed our dog, so hopefully I can find the feline version.

you should be able to serve it to all... How long has this been going on??? How long on the wght mgmt... I happen to know from reseach corn gluten meal is not high on the allergy scale but I have found a few cats allergic to alphalfa which is a grain... second would be chn ... neither of which is in the venison formula... it is an all life stage formula so it could work...I know prednisone in humans is risky so in a cat I would be worried

Hi,
My one concern is that it would be best to work with your vet in determining what your cat may be allergic to - they usually will have you try the line of single protein/single carb foods by IVD (duck and green pea, venison and green pea, venison and green pea). That said, I do think the Natural Balance Venison and Green Pea (which now comes in canned as well as dry) is an excellent food, and worth trying.

Originally Posted by sharky

you should be able to serve it to all... How long has this been going on??? How long on the wght mgmt... I happen to know from reseach corn gluten meal is not high on the allergy scale but I have found a few cats allergic to alphalfa which is a grain... second would be chn ... neither of which is in the venison formula... it is an all life stage formula so it could work...I know prednisone in humans is risky so in a cat I would be worried

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Her allergies were diagnosed about 4 years ago. She usually responsed quite well to the prednisone shot and needed it a few times a year. Since we moved into a newly built house her allergies seem worse and I had thought maybe it was due to the dust etc that comes with a house that was just built. But, we moved in at the end of January and her allergies have become worse. So, I figured it maybe the food. They have been on the weight mgmt food for about a year, before they were being fed Science Diet (until after some research I decided that was not the food for us)

I did go this morning to buy the NB, but couldn't find the venison formula...so I bought the reduced calorie formula. It doesn't contain any corn, so if she is allergic to corn I should be able to see a difference within a few weeks hopefully.
She has really bulked up in size and I feel that it is from the prednisone, so hopefully I can get this figured out so she feels better soon!

I hope you can get the venison ... to me the lote is a bit too complex to rule out allergies ... You are right if it is a corn gluten allegie youll see in about 2 weeks , if not I suspect chn , wheat , barley, fish, alfalfa...

Please ask your vet about benadryl... I have a kid with enviornmental allergies and it works well( not too mention is not that expensive and realatively safe..

GOod luck ...

I'd be wondering if there is new carpet in the house, if that isn't part of what she's reacting to as well.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

I'd be wondering if there is new carpet in the house, if that isn't part of what she's reacting to as well.

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yeah that and out gassing walls ...

Hmm...never thought about the carpet or the walls. We only have carpet in our bedrooms, the rest of the house is hardwood.

I will have to ask about benadryl- thanks!