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Figuring out what food allergy my cat has?What exactly can a vet do to determine what ingredient(s) my cat is allergic to? Are they actually able to pinpoint the issue through tests/bloodwork, or is their method just the guessing game of "feed him this for a while and see if the symptoms get better?"
Thanks :P
PS - I am aware that steroids can be given to help with food allergies, but that is not an option for my cat.
-Symone
i am not exactly sure what they can do but i am sure that they can pin point the exact ingredents. but to figure out you can call your local vet and simply ask.
-Esmerelda
Trial and error is really the only way to figure it out. Grains are often an issue, especially wheat and corn. Some cat litters can be the object of allergy too - especially the pine or wheat ones.
-RuneAmok cats.com
It's a guessing game from what I've read.
But I can help you along a bit. Most cats with food allergies are reacting to the grains in cat food, such as corn or wheat.
If you start by eliminating those, you might solve the problem quicker than you'd expect.
Other than that, cats are most often allergic to things they eat the most of - that's why you see cats developing an intolerance to chicken. Seafood can be a problem as well.
If you eliminate grains and still have problems, your next step would be to start feeding novel proteins which is a fancy way of saying unusual meats.
Although not overly common, there are a few different brands that offer foods that contain no poultry. Nature's Variety Instincts, Evo 95% Meat and Natural Balance are three good foods that come to mind. NB isn't as good a brand as the other two but it's still much better than your grocery store brands.
So my advice to you would be to get your cat off dry food if that's what he's currently eating. That's a good idea for male cats anyway as they are more prone to urinary issues and dry food can be a bigger problem for them. Switch him to a grainless canned food.
If that doesn't help, then try one of the brands that offer the novel proteins. A common meat to try is venison, and all three of those brands offer that flavor.
-sharon w
Yes, there are tests for this. But, you can do a lot of this work yourself and save the money that you'd pay to the vet by keeping track of every-single thing that your cat is eating. First of all, if you are giving kitty any form of MILK (cows milk, like we drink) or evaporated milk or cream---any form of a dairy product--STOP this NOW--THIS is the culprit. Cats are lactose intolerant and cannot digest milk products. If no milk is given, then check the labels on every bag/box/can of cat food to see what is in it. If the first ingredient is corn meal (of any kind), there's a good chance that your cat is allergic to this stuff, or wheat products of any kind can also have this effect. This is a difficult one to nail down, and it will take some time to do it.
If you have more time than money, like I do, I'd attempt to weed-out what is causing this allergic reaction myself before I got my vet involved. However, if this is really serious--then, do NOT wait it out--get your kitty to the vet and let them run the tests. It could be more than ONE item that your cat is allergic to, and only the tests will show this. In the meantime, what you might try is feeding him/her the canned lamb and rice. This usually will not cause any type of allergic reaction in cats or dogs. I agree with you on the steroid issue--there are too many bad side-effects from these drugs. You can also make your own cat food (all natural), and see if this clears up the problem. I'm not going to write down any recipes here, but if you're interested in knowing how to do this, I do accept e-mail. Good luck to you in getting this issue solved.
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