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- Jul 8, 2016
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Butch is about five years old, but I haven't had him for very long. I caught him in a trap last July. When I had blood work done on him in Oct. I found out for sure he is FIV+. The results of the blood work were good, the vet said that other than being FIV+ he is in good health. But she noticed he had dry, rough paw pads. She said this could just be due to malnutrition or a food allergy and it hasn't really improved since he's become a house cat. He also had some diarrhea, but he didn't have it consistently and I chalked it up to changes in his diet or too many freeze-dried treats. The vet suggested that if he continued to have issues he could be put on a prescribed hypoallergenic diet to see if that helps him.
Now that I've had Butch for a few months it does seem that he has a food sensitivity. He is losing some fur around his ears, just in the past week or so, and I've noted that he chews/grooms himself more than what seems normal for a cat. So I suspect he has itchiness. Presently he also has some cat acne on his chin that I've been treating myself and presumably that makes him want to scratch more.
I have been concerned with getting him a high quality low-carb food and have not yet tried a restricted diet. Whenever I take him back to the vet I don't know if they would recommend more tests or have me buy a prescription food from them. I have four other adult cats so if I can get a healthy limited-ingredient diet that they would all eat that would be ideal. Lately the cats have been eating Nulo chicken and duck indoor formula and I just introduced them to some Tiki Cat chicken and fish kibble. I have been feeding various wet foods since they got persnickety about the canned diet I had been getting them... So multiple sources of protein, no grains.
I would appreciate any suggestions or input from anyone with a FIV+ cat or a cat with allergies or similar issues. Thank you very much for reading.
^ Thinning fur behind his ears. I haven't had a cat with food allergies before, but having read that this is one of symptoms, I am guessing that is what's causing this.
^ Butch's son, probably, Moby. They do like to groom each other and snuggle.
Now that I've had Butch for a few months it does seem that he has a food sensitivity. He is losing some fur around his ears, just in the past week or so, and I've noted that he chews/grooms himself more than what seems normal for a cat. So I suspect he has itchiness. Presently he also has some cat acne on his chin that I've been treating myself and presumably that makes him want to scratch more.
I have been concerned with getting him a high quality low-carb food and have not yet tried a restricted diet. Whenever I take him back to the vet I don't know if they would recommend more tests or have me buy a prescription food from them. I have four other adult cats so if I can get a healthy limited-ingredient diet that they would all eat that would be ideal. Lately the cats have been eating Nulo chicken and duck indoor formula and I just introduced them to some Tiki Cat chicken and fish kibble. I have been feeding various wet foods since they got persnickety about the canned diet I had been getting them... So multiple sources of protein, no grains.
I would appreciate any suggestions or input from anyone with a FIV+ cat or a cat with allergies or similar issues. Thank you very much for reading.
^ Thinning fur behind his ears. I haven't had a cat with food allergies before, but having read that this is one of symptoms, I am guessing that is what's causing this.
^ Butch's son, probably, Moby. They do like to groom each other and snuggle.
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