cat allergies having hard time finding a novel diet in canned or freeze dried raw.

[2crazykittens]

OK, so my lovely cat Simon has ECG a skin allergy.

I have been feeding him a variety of meats ever since he was a kitten. He gets a 50/50 diet of canned and raw foods. The problem is he has displayed this allergy problem for nearly a year and has been on an every other day dose of 5mg prednisolone to keep it in check, or at least at a bearable level.

I have to start a trial diet to eliminate a food allergy. The issue I have is that I am having a hard time finding  a freeze dried raw diet or canned diet that is limited ingredients. I live in Canada, my options at the moment are Stella and chewy's and primal raw diets. From what I have read on their ingredients, they are not limited to one protein source.

I tried ziwipeak with high hopes, their air dried version, all went well at first but lately anytime I have fed that to him (2x this week) Monday and Thursday, he vomited it up. once shortly after eating it, then again on the other day, a few hours after eating it. The other cat ate it too and has no problems with it. so I take it that this food for whatever reason does not agree with Simon's belly.

I need help! I need to find a food I can feed that is not vet prescription food, which I refuse to feed based on the ingredients alone. I want to get Simon on a great food that if anything is a raw food or at least a really good canned at a reasonable price.

He tried the ziwipeak air dried venison and fish and that is now off the list. I wanted to feed this food in the lamb version in canned and air dried because it sounded so perfect on the ingredient list.

I am frustrated. He has been exposed to chicken, turkey, beef and fish of a variety. He has also tried that air dried venison and fish that did not work out. Both cats don't like the raw frozen meals so I am hesitant to buy a 30.00 bag that they wont eat. That and the pet store wont let me return it once it is opened.

Any ideas guys. I really need some advice I need to know if this is a food allergy to better help my little guy.

 

[mservant]

This sounds very difficult and you must be really worried about balancing his nutrition and keeping him eating enough.

Have you looked at home cooked rather than canned as an option if the single ingredients are not available, and to rule out any additives commercial foods might use?

 

[catpack]

Stella&Chewy's "Tummy Ticklin' Turkey Dinner" only uses Turkey.

Also, Nature's Variety Instinct has LID canned diets in Turkey, Duck and Lamb.

 

[mservant]

If you can get Thrive Complete both the chicken and chicken and chicken liver do not mix protein sources either and ingredients are very limited.

 

[2crazykittens]

Thank you everyone! I honestly didn't know that Stella and chewy's Turkey was all one protein. That is good news. I have considered home cooked but I am really nervous about not making it a proper balanced meal. I would need to get some kind of supplement and I am not even sure where to start to find that.

I would rather stick to a raw food of some kind. Natures variety looks good as a canned but it is pretty expensive.

I was told I have to get him on a protein he had never had, but maybe just sticking to one might be a start, like the turkey. Both cats like the turkey too.

I really appreciate the help. Any advice about the home cooking would be interesting. How do you supplement? I have no idea how to start when it comes to making my own cat food.

 

[mservant]

There's a whole host of articles on TCS which are fairly easy to read and follow, as well as some excellent threads discussing different suppliments and feeding options.  Here are a few of the articles including ones looking at balancing the diet,  ensureing different elements are included, and recipes. They are mostly in the Health section of the Articles pages.  I hope you find enough to help you make a start with this.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/raw-feeding-cats-types-of-raw-diets-feeding-options

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/homemade-food-for-cats-consider-your-recipe

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/raw-feeding-for-cats-the-ingredients

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/raw-feeding-cats-calcium-and-bones

 

[abbyntim]

Have you considered frozen raw? There are plenty of single protein frozen raw foods; my cat currently eats three of them: Rad Cat turkey, Primal Pronto rabbit, and Stella & Chewy rabbit morsels. Primal contains some vegetables, but Tim and his sensitive stomach seem to tolerate this food very well. He LOVES LOVES LOVES the Rad Cat raw turkey and would eat that all day long if he could.

Okay, I just read that your cats don't like frozen raw. Tim was hesitant at first, too. So I blended with canned and gradually added more raw. Now Tim prefers the raw Rad Cat to canned. Also, make sure the frozen raw is totally thawed. I plan each meal 24 hours in advance and let it thaw in the refrigerator. He gobbles it up. You can also try toppers to get the cats interested.

By the way, my female is still not interested in frozen raw. But she does not have Tim's issues. So I feed him mostly raw and some canned, and I feed her all canned. It's a little more work, but manageable.

 

[abbyntim]

 
I tried ziwipeak with high hopes, their air dried version, all went well at first but lately anytime I have fed that to him (2x this week) Monday and Thursday, he vomited it up. once shortly after eating it, then again on the other day, a few hours after eating it. The other cat ate it too and has no problems with it. so I take it that this food for whatever reason does not agree with Simon's belly.

Also, if Simon's belly is sensitive, you may need to make changes slowly. When I transitioned Tim to raw, I increased Rad Cat raw turkey 0.25 ounce at a time. If he vomited or had diarrhea, I held until he stabilized. It took a while to get him to eating a full meal of raw turkey. With the raw rabbit, I went even slower: 0.1 ounce at a time. These sensitive guys don't often tolerate rapid changes. So ZiwiPeak might be an okay food; the problem might have been the abrupt change.

 

[chromium blues]

Natural Balance does a few flavours of LID recipes. Venison and Pea, Chicken and Pea, Duck and Pea, Salmon and Pea. They are readily available here in Canada.

 

[2crazykittens]

Thanks everyone!

Simon seems all better now in regards to his tummy upset. Seems he can tolerate the ziwipeak if fed as a small snack for now. I wish my boys could try some rad cat, but it is not available in Canada. You never know though, it might be available in the future. 

I will be looking into the Natural balance line too.

I might try another go with the frozen raw, but I think that the boys just didn't like that it was cold in the first place. I am not afraid to give it another go though. So far I have removed chicken and beef flavored canned foods from both cats diets. Simon's granulomas have since gone away, but again he is still on the pred every other day so it's hard to know if it is chicken or beef causing any flare ups.

If all else fails, I might just try my hand at a homemade diet. I will just have to get a mini deep freeze or something since I have a small apartment and a tiny freezer.