Granuloma Complex cats: a food question

[koffeewitch]

I have a big devastating problem for someone with an eocinephalic granuloma complex cat; those of you who take care of these cats will surely relate to this. The local stores in my area are no longer carrying the brand of cat food that he can eat. For complicated reasons, we really can not get the food delivered either. I fear we may have to find something else that he can eat. (And oh god help me through the trial and error part, until we figure out what works). To make this even more difficult, money unfortunately IS an issue. We currently buy 6 pound bags of cat food at about $10-12 per bag. With 5 cats, this adds up to about $80 per month. We really need to stay around this price range (this would be cat food at $2 per pound).
What do you guys feed your granuloma kitties?? My cats love kibble so we have to have a dry food that we supplement with wet. I have recipes to make my own cat food....honestly, as a vegetarian, I am a bit squeamish about many of these recipes and do not like this sort of thing in my freezer. I don't mind opening cans of tuna fish, etc. so I may try my hand at the more innocuous cat food recipes. That aside, I would LOVE your suggestions.
Also looking for forums, etc. dedicated entirely to the subject of granuloma cats. I want to thank those of you who've answered my granuloma questions before (TCS is a gold mine of information). Thanks to everyone!

 

[sharky]

how did kitty do on the food you can no longer get? and what is it ? If it worked many of us will try to find something close...

I know a longtime vegetarian on here who learned to cook meat for her kittys

PM me for a recipe( I have to double check if it is okay for your kittys issues... Plus you need to run a NON commercial diet by your vet

 

[koffeewitch]

The food that he does well on is Brandon Farms (one of the Blue Seal companies). For those of you who aren't familiar with EGC, what happens is that the cat will break out in terrible ulcers, abscesses, rashes, bumps etc. if exposed to one of their allergens (of which granuloma cats often have many). It's very difficult to determine what all of the triggers for an EGC cat are. Brandon farms has no wheat, soy, or meat by-products. All our cats have done very well on it, in fact, and have had over all improvements in their coats.

Though using Brandon Farms has helped cut down Totoro's outbreaks tremendously, he still has them and he still goes through periods of the "itchiness" that EGC can cause so maybe we can even find something that works even better for him.

 

[strange_wings]

I have a kitty that has those terrible reactions to bug bites (especially mosquito) but is fine with foods.

Why can't it be delivered to you? No one home? Do you not have a friend, relative, or even a neighbor you trust that could sign for your package and keep it till you get home? That would be the simplest solution. Another would be finding a vet or pet store that would be willing to order your food for you so you can pick it up there.

If you want to switch foods, chat with your vet about it. They may be able to help.

Cost doesn't really matter as much if preventive measures saves you vet costs.

 

[koffeewitch]

Without getting into a long story, it can't be delivered because our local post office/ mail carrier is incompetent. EVERYTHING that I have sent here "disappears" somehow (I had to have countless food stamp cards, delivered, countless health cards, etc.) Anything of value just simply does not show up unless I call and have it re-delivered and re-delivered. And I have complained to the post office, I'm pretty sure they have a thief or thieves working in the local branch; but so far, we have not seen an improvement in service.

Yes, I totally agree that good food makes for healthy cats and less vet bills, etc. We already buy cat food that is near/over the cost of the Iams brand...that said, I simply cannot go much more than that as much as I would love for money not to be an issue. We are a family of 4 living on an $8/hour income. Our cat food cost is nearly 10% of our budget and getting evicted for choosing less thrifty means of feeding our cats will not benefit them. I'm proud that we buy excellent quality food as poor as we are, and still afford regular vet care... but realistically we still have to find ways to be as thrifty as we can. Taking an excellent kibble and mixing it with a good homemade recipe from a vet is one way to make cat food last longer...I just have to be more careful with this strategy now that I have a cat with EGC.

 

[sharky]

What stores do you have access too? Brandon farms is nearly identical to By nature .... Blue buffalo is also similar ... I will think on more $$ friendly foods.... What ingredients do you not want?

 

[otto]

slightly off topic....is Brandon taking Atopica (cyclosporine)?

What about ordering the food and having it delivered UPS or Fed Ex?

(PS I have postal delivery problems too, with wrong deliveries and theft, so I use a post office box for important things, but many on line pet food suppliers will not deliver to my PO box, isn't that stupid?)

 

[Willowy]

Originally Posted by otto

many on line pet food suppliers will not deliver to my PO box, isn't that stupid?)

^^ this is because most food shippers use UPS Ground or FedEx Ground.....USPS tends to be too expensive for the really heavy stuff like pet food. So I think koffeewitch should be safe ordering online, unless someone is stealing/messing with her UPS/FedEx deliveries as well. I've never had a food company send it by USPS.

 

[otto]

Originally Posted by Willowy

^^ this is because most food shippers use UPS Ground or FedEx Ground.....USPS tends to be too expensive for the really heavy stuff like pet food. So I think koffeewitch should be safe ordering online, unless someone is stealing/messing with her UPS/FedEx deliveries as well. I've never had a food company send it by USPS.

Thanks, yeah, one time when I insisted it be sent USPS they charged me a fortune in shipping, but I was desperate so paid it. only ONE place shipped food to my PO box but they don't carry the brands I now use.

 

[koffeewitch]

I think you guys are on to a good suggestion with UPS/FedEX delivery. It's too bad to hear that most pet foods won't deliver to a PO Box, that would've been a lovely solution.

It's hard to tell what will affect a granuloma cat, there's usually a long process of trial and error. The food he does well on has no wheat, soy or meat by-products. I would love to try Newman's Own food but it is a whopping $5 per pound and would cost $200-&250 per month just in dry food to feed all our cats (and of course, there's no telling if Totoro would even be able to tolerate it). I'm scouting the area to find another place that carries Brandon Farms, that would really be my perfect solution, but nobody seems to be carrying it anymore. It's really no more expensive than Iam's brand, but personally I think it is a lot better. I wish the stores had chosen to discontinue the Iams and keep the Brandon Farms food. Too many Iams fans out there! Sharky, thanks for the brand recommendations, I'll check those out.

 

[strange_wings]

If you find any brands you would really like to try, email the company. Tell them you have a cat with extreme allergies (easier than a health lesson) that reacts to a lot of ingredients - that you want to see if theirs may possibly be safe for him.

I know people here have had a lot of luck getting Natural Balance to send out samples, usually a good sized box full. Surely other brands will do this, too.

 

[icklemiss21]

Most companies are happy to send samples, my local pet store is often given samples by them to give out but keeps them for people who ask about the food rather than leaving them out where people take them all in a day just because they are free - so ask at a petstore too (not the petsmart kind).

Another thing I found when contacting them, is that if they know there are customers in a certain area, they will seek out a store to sell their products. A used to have to go to the next city to get EVO when we fed it, and when I contacted them about a change in formula I mentioned how hard it was to find and they contacted a local independent store 10 mins from me to ask if he would like to stock it. It has sold really well there and that store will also order in foods they don't regularly stock for me too.

I know someone with a EGC cat who feeds Pinnacle Low Allergy, like you, it was trial and error to find one he did well on, I know she said it was cheaper than the prescription diet she was feeding. Looking online you can easily find it a little under $3/lb

He also did well on Natural Balance, which is cheaper, but one of her other cats couldn't handle it and vomited all the time on it so she switched to feed them all the same food.

 

[koffeewitch]

Thanks for your great suggestions; I just went to the Brandon Farm's website and typed in my zip code to try and find a retailer and I came up with nada. I live in a large metropolitan area, so I don't know if they are simply planning to discontinue the food or what. So it looks like the kids are definitely going to get a change in food. *sigh* I am so dreading this! But thanks, again for your food suggestion, I have already googled them and found local suppliers, hopefully something will work out for my picky boys.