can my kitten be allergic to seafood?

Question

he has chronic diarreah and sometimes pukes. the vet has ruled out most common possibilities. i've been playing with his diet and may have pinpointed it to seafoos ingredients. his poop is solid when given only chicken ingredients.

he eats iams kitten

Answer 1

Hi Susan...Cats can develop allergies to ingredients in their own food as well as treats we offer them. Generally, most cats develop allergies to corn, corn meal and the byproducts found in nearly all commercial grade cat food. However, it's not unheard of for cats to have allergies to seafood ingredients as well.

Additionally, when switching to another cat food cats especially kittens can suffer serious bowel distresses as well as vomiting. Foods need to be changed gradually to minimize those disturbances. Here's a food changing schedule: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?articleid=99

Whiskas, IAMs, Science Diet, Royal Canin (not their entire product line) Purina, Friskies (most commercial grade cat food) all contain byproducts and corn, corn meal as their primary ingredients. Corn products are actually fillers that are used to bind the dry food together as well as help preserve the shelf life of the food.

Consider premium quality foods devoid of fillers and byproducts to maintain optimal health for cats which are found in specialty pet stores such as:
Innova http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=%2F%2Fproduct%5B%40id%3D%272%27%5D
Nature's Variety Prairie http://www.naturesvariety.com/content.lasso?page=1352
Wellness http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/cat_index.html
California Natural http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=%2F%2Fproduct%5B%40id%3D%2772%27%5D
Felidae http://www.canidae.com/
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/products/cats/

Here's more on commercial grade cat food and nutrition:http://www.consumersearch.com/www/family/cat-food/review.html

Answer 2

Yes, your kitten can be allergic to seafood. Fish and beef are common allergens, as they are not part of a cat's natural diet. Poultry and rabbit are better choices.

More importantly, grains commonly exacerbate gastro-intestinal disorders. Please consider putting your kitten on an all-wet canned or raw diet. Cats evolved from desert creatures - they do not have a strong thirst drive, and will not consume enough water to keep their kidneys and urinary tract healthy long-term. Dry food is also linked to disases such as obesity, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease.

I have had one of my cats since she was a kitten. She always vomited regularly, but my vet could find nothing wrong. Once I saw the light, and changed her diet to eliminate all dry food, the vomiting stopped. Unfortunately, this was after I'd already cared for her for 9 years and some damage to her heart had occured from the constant illness. Don't make the same mistake I did.

Lynette
President - not-for-profit for proper cat care
Board member - cageless cat shelter
Consultant to cat care radio program

Answer 3

Yes, your cat could be allergic to fish and seafood. There is only one type of cat in the world that naturally eats fish (it is a large cat - not a domestic) and the others do not. It is probably one of the most common food allergies in cats. Beef can also be a problematic protein source for cats. If I were you, I would stick with a canned chicken or turkey formula that does not have any grains (read the ingredients!). Cats that have chronic digestion problems are sometimes diagnosed with Irritable Bowel (abbreviated as IBS or IBD). Grain, fish, and beef-free wet foods can help these cats, and for the very sensitive kitties a raw diet can help. I encourage you to look at the information at http://www.catinfo.org and http://www.catnutrition.org . They have a lot of valuable resources in regards to feeding cats that are intolerant of different types of food.

Answer 4

My one cat had a food allergie once and the vet put him on a chicken diet for two weeks we had to cook him chicken then I switched his food to Hill's Science Diet, Chicken and Rice Formula Dry food. Stop giving him the wet food and he has been fine since then. He still get a little chicken a few days a week and he has lost alot of weight also so I guess this was also good for his health too. He was a little bit to fat.

Answer 5

Iames is good food. I prefer feeding cats a good dry food especially after having to have a Siamese who was feed only canned cat food and then his teeth started falling out at about 7 yrs. put down. The dry food keeps tartar from forming. Tuna especially is not recommended for cats. They can be allergic to many things so it's usually a process of elimination to discover what it is. I like Purina dry.

Answer 6

Great you took your cat to the vet.that was what I was going to suggest first.I think my cat also is allergic to seafood.But has a rash on her chin.My vet has given her some antibiotics now.My next choice is her dry food.Has your vet given your cat antibiotics yet?Also am sure your vet said could be protein in your cats diet also.Some stuff has way to much ground corn .etc.Sounds like you have a cat that can't eat seafood.So, feed it chicken.Hope my cats problem is that easy.

Answer 7

Yes, he can be allergic to seafood, or it just may be that the seafood is oilier and just goes through him. That may change as he gets older.

I have 4 cats, and one has a problem with any type of seafood. I usually just buy fresh meat for all my cats - you know, stir-fry beef strips, chopped chicken, liver, ground beef etc......plus they get a good quality dry food as well.

I hope you get to the bottom of the little guys problem soon...

Answer 8

Yes it's very possible. I would stick with a dry food, and since you know it's chicken you can stick with that. I would stay away from Science Diet, Imas and similar foods. They have inconistant fats (Poultry Fat/ Animal Fat will be on the ingredient panel) which means they can put any fat they want. This also means it varies from bag to bag alot of times. If he has a senistivity to seafood, who know what else he could develop one to.

Answer 9

Some of the seafood in canned cat food appears to be too oily. Try Eukanuba dry food for a while. It's extremely healthy for them. I think you'll see a huge improvement.

Answer 10

cease the cow's milk today, he does not choose it and it is not good for him. it must be making his tummy no longer sense so good each and all the time and as a result he does not opt to consume. in case you ought to provide him a sprint milk than use goat milk, it offered clean or canned, purely you ought to dilute the canned 0.5 and nil.5 with water. generally he desires water and an occasional handle of a few sips of goat milk won't injury him notwithstanding it is going to be some sips, a million/4 cup, not greater! Cats have style buds purely like we do and if he does not like sea foodstuff flavors, attempt fowl or lamb. He desires the two a high quality canned foodstuff or a competent kibble, I used the two. attempt putting some goat milk over his new foodstuff till he gets used to it. I surely have 30 cats and we don't play eating place right here. If a cat is fending off foodstuff I isolate it and speedy it for twenty-four hours with lots of water to drink. that's a diverse approach set between ignoring foodstuff and not having foodstuff obtainable. they alter their way of questioning real speedy. i think of till now doing that notwithstanding i might schedule a verify up with the vet for a healthful kitten verify up. yet another trick is to function a kitty diet to that's foodstuff (canned) supplementations stimulate urge for foodstuff and because of this whilst on a weight-help plan you ought to take your supplementations at nighttime. you're able to be able to ought to coach a sprint no longer hassle-free love and not get all panicky approximately his ingesting. decrease out all milk and attempt the above suggestion and understand that NO healthful cat has ever voluntarily starved itself to loss of life. He could be taking area in each and all the attention he gets with tips from no longer ingesting. you're able to do it!

Answer 11

My cats Vet told me to give my cat chicken baby food Human baby food when she was sick. Yes your cat can be allergic to seafood. So please stay with the chicken food for your cat.