Potential food allergy – need recommendations for a new food

[Alldara]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I steer away from pea products - especially pea protein. I know that with all of my criteria it's no wonder I'm having trouble finding something . . .

Sometimes we do have to drop some criteria under the 'fed is best' policy. So you might have to take rank of what's most important to you.

 

[maggie101]

maggie101 – I found another discrepancy between a CatFoodDB review vs ingredients shown on Chewy. The ingredients listed on Chewy are the same as the image of the can shown there.
Any thought on the discrepancies? Different ingredients depending on where they are sold?

For Wellness CORE Natural Grain-Free Turkey & Duck Pate

CatFoodDB:
Turkey, Pork Liver, Turkey Broth, Duck, Cranberries, Guar Gum . . .

From Chewy:
Turkey, Turkey Broth, Pork Liver, Duck, Chicken, Cranberries, Guar Gum . . .

I would email catfooddb and wellness about the mistake one of the companies made. The ff t&g for kittens has fish but not the adult
It is not their only food so I don't worry abut the artificial sweeteners

 

[lisahe]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I steer away from pea products - especially pea protein. I know that with all of my criteria it's no wonder I'm having trouble finding something . . .

Yes, pea products are one of my "hard no" categories, too. Our cats have lots of food and health issue so there are lots of ingredients I absolutely can't feed them: fish, agar-agar, potato, and a litany of other odd stuff. But cats are supposed to eat meat, not legumes so I just can't feed them peas or lentils or chickpeas. And the cats back me up on this. Some years ago, one of their formerly favorite foods suddenly had a new recipe that included peas. I didn't notice anything when I bought it or served it but the cats sure did. They refused to eat it! I never would have bought again it if I'd know it had peas.

We do feed the cats Fancy Feast turkey and giblets pate as well as Tiny Tiger turkey pate. No fish! No potato! Low carbs! But the overall dearth of foods without the forbidden ingredients is very frustrating. It's also why I make cooked food for our cats. (Once you get the routine down, it goes pretty quickly.)

 

[5CatDraw]

Fancy Feast Classic Paté Turkey & Giblets Gourmet Cat Food Review
That's what I buy, no fish

I checked the Purina website and the ingredients there agree with Chewy. So I don’t understand why the CatFoodDB review shows slightly different ingredients. If you have a chance to look I am really curious what is on your cans. It will be extremely puzzling if your cans don't list fish.

Purina website:
Turkey, Meat By-products, Liver, Turkey Broth, Fish, Poultry Giblets, Artificial And Natural Flavors, Guar Gum . . .

 

[5CatDraw]

I would email catfooddb and wellness about the mistake one of the companies made. The ff t&g for kittens has fish but not the adult
It is not their only food so I don't worry abut the artificial sweeteners

Sorry, I didn't see this before I posted my last reply. I also checked the Wellness website and the ingredients there match Chewy too. So your FF Turkey & Giblets for adults don't have fish listed on the can label? I was definitely looking at the adult foods.

 

[Alldara]

I checked the Purina website and the ingredients there agree with Chewy. So I don’t understand why the CatFoodDB review shows slightly different ingredients. If you have a chance to look I am really ycurious what is on your cans. It will be extremely puzzling if your cans don't list fish.

Purina website:
Turkey, Meat By-products, Liver, Turkey Broth, Fish, Poultry Giblets, Artificial And Natural Flavors, Guar Gum . . .

You're in luck! I actually have this on hand because it was on major sale so I added it to rotation to see if they like it. Figured I can donate it otherwise.

It does have fish. It could be that the ingredients vary from country to country or that third party website made a mistake or is outdated but I can confirm that it does have fish.

 

[5CatDraw]

Yes, pea products are one of my "hard no" categories, too. Our cats have lots of food and health issue so there are lots of ingredients I absolutely can't feed them: fish, agar-agar, potato, and a litany of other odd stuff. But cats are supposed to eat meat, not legumes so I just can't feed them peas or lentils or chickpeas. And the cats back me up on this. Some years ago, one of their formerly favorite foods suddenly had a new recipe that included peas. I didn't notice anything when I bought it or served it but the cats sure did. They refused to eat it! I never would have bought again it if I'd know it had peas.

We do feed the cats Fancy Feast turkey and giblets pate as well as Tiny Tiger turkey pate. No fish! No potato! Low carbs! But the overall dearth of foods without the forbidden ingredients is very frustrating. It's also why I make cooked food for our cats. (Once you get the routine down, it goes pretty quickly.)

Well I salute you for making your own cat food. A couple years ago I was determined to start doing that but couldn’t stick with it. If my cats had shown any appreciation I would have, but they were not interested. I really kick myself for having gotten them addicted to dry food (and Fancy Feast). I feel like I am banging my head against a wall trying to get them to eat healthier. But I will keep trying and hopefully make a little progress every so often.

I wish my cats were as smart as yours. I’m pretty sure they would go for food with peas in a minute. When I switched to Farmina 4 years ago (from brands with peas) it was bad times in the household for a while.

Just checking – does your FF Turkey & Giblets definitely not list fish? I’m out of that variety right now, but the Purina website (and Chewy) shows the 5th ingredient as “fish”.

I’ll look into the Tiny Tiger pate. Thanks for mentioning it.

 

[5CatDraw]

You're in luck! I actually have this on hand because it was on major sale so I added it to rotation to see if they like it. Figured I can donate it otherwise.

It does have fish. It could be that the ingredients vary from country to country or that third party website made a mistake or is outdated but I can confirm that it does have fish.

Thanks for that. I feel a LITTLE less crazy now. I'm in the US. Maybe people reporting that what they have does not contain fish are outside the US?

 

[Alldara]

Thanks for that. I feel a LITTLE less crazy now. I'm in the US. Maybe people reporting that what they have does not contain fish are outside the US?

I'm in Canada but close enough to the US border that it could be from a US plant.
Or the fish could be a recent ingredient change to line up with Purina's longitudinal study that finished during 2020. That recipe does contain fish oil. Fancy Feast might be using other parts of the fish not otherwise getting used. Personally, I'm fine with byproducts.

 

[5CatDraw]

Sometimes we do have to drop some criteria under the 'fed is best' policy. So you might have to take rank of what's most important to you.

Good point.

 

[5CatDraw]

I'm in Canada but close enough to the US border that it could be from a US plant.
Or the fish could be a recent ingredient change to line up with Purina's longitudinal study that finished during 2020. That recipe does contain fish oil. Fancy Feast might be using other parts of the fish not otherwise getting used. Personally, I'm fine with byproducts.

I’ve been feeding the Fancy Feast classic pates for a long time, and I’m pretty sure they have always listed “fish” because I remember the vagueness of the term bothering me at one point. But I can’t be sure of that. The only reason I’m so focused on it now is because of the possibility that one of my cats might have food allergies.

For now my cats are going to get their way and I will continue to feed FF. Although I try to minimize it, to keep it special to them.

 

[lisahe]

Well I salute you for making your own cat food. A couple years ago I was determined to start doing that but couldn’t stick with it. If my cats had shown any appreciation I would have, but they were not interested. I really kick myself for having gotten them addicted to dry food (and Fancy Feast). I feel like I am banging my head against a wall trying to get them to eat healthier. But I will keep trying and hopefully make a little progress every so often.

I wish my cats were as smart as yours. I’m pretty sure they would go for food with peas in a minute. When I switched to Farmina 4 years ago (from brands with peas) it was bad times in the household for a while.

Just checking – does your FF Turkey & Giblets definitely not list fish? I’m out of that variety right now, but the Purina website (and Chewy) shows the 5th ingredient as “fish”.

I’ll look into the Tiny Tiger pate. Thanks for mentioning it.

Oh no! Yes, it does have fish. I'm so glad you asked me to check. When did they add fish? That was the only FF pate that didn't have it. No wonder Ireland's eating it so happily! We thought it smelled a little fishy but also thought that, well, cat food has that fish-like smell even when it's not fish... And I just bought more. Maybe maggie101 and I were the last to know?

Tiny Tiger's turkey pate doesn't have fish, though.

I make our cats' food with the Alnutrin supplement.

Now I'm off to contemplate what to do with all that FF I bought. And what do replace it with, ugh! Thank you for bringing this up.

 

[maggie101]

Thanks for that. I feel a LITTLE less crazy now. I'm in the US. Maybe people reporting that what they have does not contain fish are outside the US?

I would not have bought it if it had fish which it does!
When I first bought it fish was not included but I don't remember exactly. That was months ago. I need to buy more. It is probably white fish, which has a bland flavor. Guess thats why my cat will eat it.It's possible to be allergic to tuna but not white fish.

 

[maggie101]

My cat loves the nulo turkey halibut and beef rainbow trout,both white fish. I don't like feeding my cats fish but at least this has turkey or beef included plus white fish do not swim as deep as non white

 

[suh]

No fish wise, Rawz could be an option. And I love that they have all their analysis listed on their site. Wellness CORE Signature Selects Shredded Poultry has no fish but contains tapioca starch and guar gum... I don't have much luck in getting my cats to eat healthier either, the best I could do is to keep the phos lower and minimal seafood.

 

[Alldara]

Oh no! Yes, it does have fish. I'm so glad you asked me to check. When did they add fish? That was the only FF pate that didn't have it. No wonder Ireland's eating it so happily! We thought it smelled a little fishy but also thought that, well, cat food has that fish-like smell even when it's not fish... And I just bought more. Maybe maggie101 and I were the last to know?

Tiny Tiger's turkey pate doesn't have fish, though.

I make our cats' food with the Alnutrin supplement.

Now I'm off to contemplate what to do with all that FF I bought. And what do replace it with, ugh! Thank you for bringing this up.

If she's eating it with no issues, you could finish it off. Otherwise I'm sure someone would love if you donated it somewhere, whether to someone nearby personally or to a local shelter.

 

[lisahe]

If she's eating it with no issues, you could finish it off. Otherwise I'm sure someone would love if you donated it somewhere, whether to someone nearby personally or to a local shelter.

Thanks, A Alldara . What you write her is my "on the one hand" thought. My "on the other hand" thought is that both cats have issues (one has presumed IBD, the other has diagnosed asthma) and both cats have been a little off since I started feeding this food more regularly in the last week or two. Unfortunately, it's hard to say if the food's to blame because it doesn't take much for either of them to be a little off!

I may end up just feeding an occasional can as a treat so neither cat has a distinct reaction that might come from eating it regularly. Given that Ireland's a bit picky about her food, I'm especially grateful to 5CatDraw since the last thing I need is for Ireland to become a fish addict.

 

[5CatDraw]

Oh no! Yes, it does have fish. I'm so glad you asked me to check. When did they add fish? That was the only FF pate that didn't have it. No wonder Ireland's eating it so happily! We thought it smelled a little fishy but also thought that, well, cat food has that fish-like smell even when it's not fish... And I just bought more. Maybe maggie101 and I were the last to know?

Tiny Tiger's turkey pate doesn't have fish, though.

I make our cats' food with the Alnutrin supplement.

Now I'm off to contemplate what to do with all that FF I bought. And what do replace it with, ugh! Thank you for bringing this up.

I’ve been feeding all of the FF Classic Pates for many years and I sure thought that they all contained fish. But maybe some of them did and some of them didn’t. Right now I have chicken, beef, and mixed grill on hand and they all contain fish. A Alldara theorized that the ingredients might be slightly different depending on which country they are manufactured in. That seems like a good possibility, and maybe there was a recipe change for the T&G and it is taking longer for some to see it than others. I’m in the US.

I’m going to order some Tiny Tiger Turkey pate. Thanks for that tip.

Have you explored the Tiki Cat After Dark line? I used to feed the regular Tiki and my cats liked it, but they were all fish based recipes. This After Dark line has several chicken combos that do not contain fish. Some of the pates do have tuna oil, but the Chicken & Pork pate recipe does not. The mousse recipes don’t have fish or fish oil. They are in pouches.

I have been feeding the Wellness Core Tiny Tasters for a few years, which are in pouches and I find that pretty convenient. I put the pouch in hot water for a couple minutes then stir it up and it seems to enhance the palatability for my cats. They have several chicken combo recipes (turkey, duck, beef) that don’t contain any fish or fish oil. They do contain tapioca starch, but not much because the carb content (dry matter) is only 2-4%.
The Wellness Core Classic pates don’t contain fish or fish oil either. But my cats never had a lot of interest in those, like they do the Tiny Tasters. Wellness offers complete nutrient profiles online, which I really like.

Could I ask what foods you use with the Alnutrin? You said that you cook the meats? I’m feeling like I should give homemade another try. My search for new foods brings back my lack of trust feelings for the pet food industry. One just does not know if they are using quality meats, have good quality control, etc. Homemade is the only way to know for sure what they are getting.

My latest game plan is to not make drastic food changes now, but to start setting the stage for elimination, in case it does come to that. As you know from our exchanges in my other post, I’m not at all convinced that Bailey does have food allergies, but want to be prepared in case I need to go that direction. I’m going to start out focusing only on reducing fish, and trying to get all of the cats to eat more canned and less dry. Next step, if needed, will be to completely eliminate fish. That will be painful because I will have to pull the Farmina dry (it all contains herring).

Boy, this has become time consuming. If only the cats appreciated my efforts – even just a little bit.

 

[5CatDraw]

I would not have bought it if it had fish which it does!
When I first bought it fish was not included but I don't remember exactly. That was months ago. I need to buy more. It is probably white fish, which has a bland flavor. Guess thats why my cat will eat it.It's possible to be allergic to tuna but not white fish.

It has become quite the mystery! Think I may have some empty cans in my recyle bins that I may need to dig out to see if it had fish the last time I bought it. Or, I suppose I should just let it go . . .

 

[5CatDraw]

My cat loves the nulo turkey halibut and beef rainbow trout,both white fish. I don't like feeding my cats fish but at least this has turkey or beef included plus white fish do not swim as deep as non white

I just ordered some of the Nulo freeze dried (turkey and duck). I may try one of the canned foods too. I like the fact that Nulo offers Nutrient Profiles online. Nice, professional looking ones too.
I'm still debating with myself over what ingredients to eliminate. Think I will start by eliminating fish protein but not necessarily fish oil. Then I have wondered if I should just focus on fish closely related to herring, since all of the Farmina recipes contain it and that is what my cats have been eating the most of. Or maybe just ocean fish. You mentioned deep divers. That's a good consideration, plus the size of the fish, when it comes to contaminants like mercury. I think tuna and mackerel are probably the worst. Halibut???