I would like advice from anyone who has had a cat with food allergies.?

Question

Eventhough biopsy results have not been received yet, I would like to hear what cat lovers have done in a similar situation.

Answer 1

Your cat will be fine as long as you manage its diet.

Your vet will probably put your cat on a novel food diet - meaning that for about 3 months, it will only be allowed to eat a completely new meat/veggie type, such as duck and pea or rabbit. Depending on your vet, the options available to you are:

1) Purchasing a prescription diet through them (normally Hills Science)
2) Purchasing a commercially available novel food diet such as Royal Canin Duck and Pea or Natural Balance Venison and Pea
3) Using home made food based on a recipe given to you buy your vet
4) Switching to an alternative diet such as raw food or all meat.

You won't really know if it's truly a food allergy until the food trial is successful (your cat stops itching). From there, you can try adding other ingredients (chicken, fish, etc.) one at a time until you figure out which foods set off the allergy, and which are safe to feed. The most common allergens are wheat, corn, fish, and chicken, although it can be anything, really.

You will have to pay very close attention to ingredients labels - for example, Petsmart's Authority (house brand) Lamb and Rice does not contain any fish, wheat, or corn, but the other 'blank' and rice Authority flavors contain whitefish. Many lamb and rice formulations available at the pet store will also contain chicken, fish, wheat and corn regardless of the labelled 'flavor'.

Apart from that, it's not really a big difference in their care or lifestyle.

Answer 2

I flipped out the whole time I was waiting because we thought it would be something much worse than a food allergy . . . if you are fairly certain your cat has an allergy, I would start talking to the vet about what the allergies are and what is the best brand of prescription food for your cat. You can have that decided right away then and speed up the process of getting on the right track.
In the meantime, give your kitty lots of love, those biopsies aren't fun and life changes are not something cats embrace :)

Good luck!

Answer 3

My cat is allergic to fish. Every time she has some, even just a bite, her chin gets all infected and pussy, like a giant pimple. I just avoid giving her any fishy treats or cat food with fish products in it. I have to read the labels. It's a terrible predicament for a cat, being allergic to fish. Thats like living in Wisconsin and being allergic to cheese.

(LOL - Yahoo just misread my description involving the word puss with a y on the end. I mean the infection is filled with puss. Sheesh.)

Answer 4

Don't waste your time on expensive perscription foods.

Switch your cat to a whole food diet. I did. My cats are now healthy and gorgeous.

They get real meat. I buy organic from Whole Foods.

No cow tumor and genetically engineered corn or soy for my pets. They deserve the best.

Save yourself some money on vet bills. Switch to Feline Future.

Answer 5

My cat has to have odd kids of protein, like lamb, vinicient, he's allergic to beef, chicken, turkey, he seems to do OK with shellfish but not like tuna and stuff. He pulls out his fur because if he does have common types of protein it makes his skin crawl. Royal Canine has some cat food for cats with food allergies, its expensive and you'll have to have a Rx for it from your vet, plus you'll have to call around and see who carries it. The other thing you can do is make it yourself.

Answer 6

read the back of labels on cat food and treats. if its chicken flavor it might have fish in it.

Answer 7

One of my cats is allergic to MILK of all things! I just don't give them any and she is fine.