Making Dry Food Wet Food.

[ander35]

I am trying to change my cat's food to see what he is allergic. It says to try something else that what he is eating so I am avoiding chicken. He is itching to the point of developing scabs. Zyrtec has helped.

Anyways, I can not find anything. All the food has chicken in it even if it says it is made of soemthing else, it has chicken in it or chicken liver.

Can I give him dry food and add water each time to avoid the risk of urinary blockage? Is there something about dry food that causes urinary blockage besides that it lacks water?

This would be cheaper and I can find lots of variety in dry food as opposed to wet.

 

[KatKnapper]

I hate asking this...assuming such, but if I don't ask, someone else eventually will. I'm hoping I will be the first with egg in their face. Are you certain it is the food and not fleas or a flea bite allergy? It only takes one to wreck havoc if the cat is allergic to the bites. They will scratch insanely because of one flea.

 

[abyeb]

I agree that you should check for fleas, but I'll also reccommend you a wet food that has no chicken: ZiwiPeak Mackerel & Lamb Canned Cat Food

 

[LTS3]

Itchiness doesn't always mean a food allergy. The vet can rule out things like fleas and skin conditions.

If your cat does have a food allergy, it may or or may not be protein related. Food allergies can be caused by by grains and starches and gums and other ingredients commonly found in commerical foods. It usually takes a while to eliminate possible ingredients one by one to determine what is causing the food allergy.

If you want to start with eliminating chicken as a possible suspect, try limited ingredient foods. Here are some brands that are available in both dry and canned:

Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient
Blue Buffalo Basics
Merrick Limited Ingredient
Natural Balance Limited Ingredient

For really novel proteins like vension and alligator, there's a thread on that: Your favorite brands of "novel protein" canned cat food

 

[orange&white]

Can I give him dry food and add water each time to avoid the risk of urinary blockage? Is there something about dry food that causes urinary blockage besides that it lacks water?

This would be cheaper and I can find lots of variety in dry food as opposed to wet.

It's the carbohydrates in dry food (wheat, corn, soy, peas, potatoes, etc) that cause urinary problems. Cats should be able to process meats and animal fats. An allergy to a particular meat protein is not out of the question, but like LTS3 suggested, the allergy could be caused by any one of the ingredients in the food.