Hills Prescription Diet Skin/food Sensitivities Dry Cat Food
The chicken proteins in this prescription diet food for cats with allergies are hydrolyzed to prevent your cats immune system from reacting to them. This formula contains the amino acids, minerals, and supplements required for your cats health. Prescription required.
Hill’s Prescription Diet Skin/Food Sensitivities Dry Cat Food
This prescription food for cats is formulated with highly digestible proteins to minimize any digestive reaction.
Best Cat Foods For Allergies: Hypoallergenic Reviews
Cats can suffer from allergies just as we do! Mild allergies and general intolerances are surprisingly common. Intolerances may go unnoticed with poor coat condition, itchy skin, and stomach upset, all often misdiagnosed as other health problems. Thankfully, severe allergies that will cause your cat to be very sick are rare.
Suppose you suspect your cat isnt in tip-top condition. In that case, you should first contact your vet for advice to rule out any more severe causes for poor health before exploring the possibility of a food allergy or intolerance. Going down this path can take time and patience to identify the cause and find the right food for your sensitive feline.
To help out, we have compiled a list of the top twelve best cat foods for allergies! Each product is backed by positive reviews of cat owners who have successfully eased their own cats reactions to common allergens in their diet.
The 6 Most Common Food Allergies In Cats
Does your cat startle you with a sudden onset of relentless sneezes, multiple times a day? Have you noticed him scratch his sides bald, chew on his paws, or snore? If you answered yes, your cat may be experiencing a food allergy.
Cats, much like humans and dogs, are susceptible to dozens of different allergies. Environmental allergies, like pollen or mildew, are much more common in cats than allergies caused by food. Only 10-15 percent of all cat allergic reactions are caused by food. However, unlike seasonal or environmental allergies, cat food allergies are much more difficult for a veterinarian to diagnose and treat because there is no accurate, fast diagnostic test.
As a pet owner, your first step should be recognizing common cat food allergy symptoms and determining if the attack is life threatening.
- Snoring caused by an inflamed throat
- Dull, brittle, or coarse fur
After youve determined which allergy symptoms your cat is experiencing, talk with your veterinarian and narrow down the possible types to figure out if your kitty is allergic to his or her food. Once your vet eliminates the common environmental culprits, shell likely ask you to put your cat on an elimination diet to determine what ingredients are causing the bad reaction.
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Does Liveclear Reduce Human Allergy
To give Purina some credit, they could have stopped here, but they went on do do human trials. They exposed people affected by cat allergy to blankets from cats fed either a control food or LiveClear. The study was double-blind, meaning that neither the researchers or test subjects knew which was which.
In other words, a high-quality piece of work. Sadly for Purina and cat allergy sufferers everywhere, the results were disappointing.
The following table shows the P-values for each symptom. Values less than 0.05 are generally regarded as significant. As you can see, there were no significant differences between reaction levels to blankets from treated or untreated cats.
Food For Cats With Allergies
If your cat has food allergies, youll likely be trying an elimination diet to figure out what foods are causing your cats distress. This is where a limited ingredient diet comes in.
While many popular cat foods mix in multiple types of protein and fats , LID foods usually contain only one type of animal protein. Your vet may ask you to try a food that has beef but no chicken or fish, or one that has fish but no beef or chicken.
Sometimes your vet may suggest a solo novel proteina less-common cat food ingredient, such as venison, duck, alligator, or rabbit. The idea is that your cat has probably not eaten those proteins and is unlikely to have developed an allergy to them. Whether you are testing your cat with limited-ingredient cat foods or limited-ingredient cat foods with novel proteins, it takes time and commitment.
If you are testing your cat for a chicken allergy, that means absolutely no chickennot in foods, but no treats with any chicken during the food trial, Kornreich says.
To help you out, we combed the market for hypoallergenic and limited ingredient diet foods for cats with food allergies and came up with both dry and wet foods from several well-regarded brands. We even found some treats. Note that for the hypoallergenic hydrolyzed protein formulas, youll need to provide a prescription or your veterinarians contact information to purchase.
Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Hydrolyzed Protein Dry Cat Food
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How To Treat Food Allergies In Cats
A vet will test for food allergies in your cat by putting them on a carefully planned elimination diet. According to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, diagnosis often requires “repeated systematic testing,” as there may be multiple allergens affecting your cat. Cats are typically put on a “novel diet” where they are only fed protein from sources that they haven’t been exposed to before. This usually lasts for around 10 weeks, during which time the symptoms should disappear. Foods from the cat’s old diet are gradually reintroduced to pinpoint which ingredients cause flare-ups.
As there is no cure for food allergies, you can only treat this issue by ensuring that your cat does not eat what it’s allergic to. Once you have the results from the testing, you can work with your vet to come up with an eating plan for your cat that doesn’t contain any allergens. Vet charity PDSA points out that absolutely no other food should be given to your cat, once a safe eating plan has been decided. Ensure that the cat can’t access human food around the house, and be aware that even cat treats can contain traces of ingredients that may be harmful.
Though the process of diagnosing and managing a feline food allergy can be stressful, it’s worth it to improve your cat’s quality of life.
Treatment Of Chicken Allergy In Cats
A chicken allergy cannot be cured, but it can be managed. Cats suffering from chicken allergies must stay on a chicken-free diet their entire lives. If chicken is reintroduced into their diet, the symptoms will reappear, so this type of protein must be avoided. The main part of the treatment is adjusting its diet to be chicken-free and there are plenty of options available.
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Firstmate Chicken Meal With Blueberries Formula Limited Ingredient Diet Dry Cat Food
Though FirstMate cat food is not made in the USA, it is a highly trusted brand known for the quality of its ingredients. This FirstMate Chicken Meal with Blueberries Formula Limited Ingredient Diet Dry Cat Food is a great choice for cats with allergies because it is a very limited ingredient formula and highly digestible. This formula features chicken meal as a single source of protein with digestible carbohydrates including potatoes and blueberries. It wont work if your cat has a sensitivity to chicken, but it only really contains four main ingredients. Aside from those ingredients, it is supplemented with chelated minerals and vitamins to ensure nutritional balance. Overall, this formula provides 36% protein, 16% fat, and 4% fiber. It is highly digestible and full of natural flavor your cat will love.
- Pros: Single-source protein, limited number of ingredients, grain-free carbohydrates, highly digestible, antioxidant-rich, chelated minerals, rich in fiber for healthy digestion
- Cons: Not a chicken-free recipe, expensive to feed as a staple diet
Reduce The Inflammation And Soothe The Itch
All cats that suffer from allergic skin disease are very itchy. At the first visit, your veterinarian may prescribe corticosteroids, such as prednisone, to alleviate the itch and inflammation in the skin.
For all skin diseases, bathing your cat can help to reduce inflammation and soothe their skin. Since most cats dont like baths, you may want to try a product like a mousse or a dry shampoo for cats that can clean your cat while avoiding water. Ask your veterinarian to recommend the right product for your cat.
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Establish A Safe Protein
For example, you can feed only ground pork, bones and organs with taurine added for 4 to 6 weeks as a trial.
Rabbit is low in Taurine, so I would definitely add 250 mg Taurine daily if feeding only rabbit. Pork, duck or lamb are good options for a red meat trial and no Taurine is needed since it is naturally present in the meat.
See the What to feed section above for recipes.
Chicken, turkey and beef are proteins most cats have eaten before, so they arent good choices for novel proteins.
The Best 5 Hydrolyzed Protein Cat Food: Benefits Reviews And Ingredient Analysis
By Charles Grisham | Updated November 16, 2022
Reviewed by: Ivana Crnec, DVM
If you buy something from a link on our site, we may earn a commision. See our advertising disclosure.
- Best Hypoallergenic Hydrolyzed Protein Cat Food for Skin Health: Royal Canin Feline Hypoallergenic Hydrolyzed Protein Cat FoodEasily digestible soy-based cat food formula fortified with omega fatty and amino acids.
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I And Love And You Lovingly Simple Limited Ingredient Diet Salmon & Sweet Potato Dry Cat Food
Our Top Pick for the Best Cat Food for Sensitive Stomach and Allergies: If your cat has food allergies and a sensitive stomach, you need to be doubly careful about what you feed him. A limited ingredient diet is a must to reduce the risk for triggering allergies, but you also need to focus on the quality and digestibility of the recipe to avoid digestive upset. This I and Love and You Lovingly Simple LID Salmon & Sweet Potato Dry Cat Food is a great choice for a number of reasons. First, it is specifically designed for cats with sensitivities and it is made with a low number of primary ingredients. Next, it features novel proteins like salmon and menhaden fish meal without the use of any chicken ingredients. It is rich in healthy fats, including a blend of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for healthy skin and coat. It also contains digestible grain-free carbohydrates like sweet potatoes and chickpeas. All in all, this recipe provides high-quality nutrition that will be gentle on your cats stomach.
- Pros: Gentle on sensitive stomachs, limited number of ingredients, novel proteins, no chicken ingredients, blend of omega fatty acids, digestible grain-free carbohydrates, probiotics
- Cons: Expensive to feed as a staple diet, not a single-source protein recipe
Purina Presents Breakthrough Diet To Reduce Cat Allergies Among Humans
ST. LOUIS Nestlé Purina PetCare on Feb. 26 announced it has developed the first-ever cat diet to help manage cat allergens and reduce adverse reactions among humans. The company first revealed the research behind the cutting-edge diet in June 2019.
Purina had discovered the major allergen that causes allergic reactions in humans, Fel d1 a type of protein that originates in feline saliva could be counteracted by an egg-based ingredient containing Fel d1 antibodies.
Many people think that cat hair is the root of their problem, explained Ebenezer Satyaraj, Ph.D., immunologist for Nestlé Purina Research and lead investigator on the research that led to the development of Pro Plan LiveClear, but its actually whats on it the major cat allergen called Fel d1, a protein that cats produce naturally in their saliva.
This breakthrough solution, Purina Pro Plan LiveClear, does not alter the nutrition or physiology of the cat, but can significantly reduce allergens by 47% on average in as little as three weeks, according to Purina.
According to the company, one in five adults globally are allergic to Fel d1 and can lead to isolation or abandonment of a pet cat.
LiveClear is able to neutralize the saliva in the cats mouth, thanks to the egg-based anti-Fel d1 ingredient, which prevents the allergen from spreading from the cats mouth to its fur during grooming and, ultimately, to its surroundings.
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Ingredients To Look For
Not every ingredient is prone to giving cats allergies. There are some important ingredients to look out for that will not only benefit your cats skin, but that can ease allergic reactions before they even occur. Lets take a look at some of the ingredients to look out for in your cats food. All or even one of the listed ingredients will provide benefits to your cats allergies.
- Fish oil provides fatty acids that will boost skin immunity and reduce secondary infections.
- Quercetin is a bioflavonoid that has natural anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and antihistamine properties essential for fighting against allergies.
- Coconut oil can prevent inflammation and has an antioxidant property that can prevent cell damage and can help dry and itchy skin heal.
Talk To Your Vet About Cat Food Allergy Tests
This is where working with your vet comes back around as being really important. If the cat food allergy symptoms are moderate to severe, blood tests may give an indication of food allergies, on a shorter timeline. These serum IgE tests are a cat food allergy test option to discuss with your vet.
Kick the preservatives and switch to a natural hypoallergenic food diet, free from preservatives and additives
Whats a fail-safe method of a hypoallergenic diet? Feeding your cat something where you know exactly whats inside.
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Identifying The Cat Allergen
As you probably can tell, there is a wide range of culprits for food allergies and intolerances in cats. If your cat is showing symptoms of a reaction to food, the trick is trying to figure out precisely the ingredient causing the issue. Considering most regular cat foods are made up of a whole heap of common allergens, pinpointing the problem ingredient can be challenging.
Tests exist to test allergies from skin scrapings and saliva samples, but these tests are often unreliable, with some tests confirming allergies in pieces of fake fur! More often than not, your vet is going to recommend an elimination diet.
An elimination diet will usually start with moving your cat to an entirely novel and limited ingredient diet. Novel means a protein they have never ingested before, so there is no chance of an allergic reaction.
Once they are settled into this new diet, you can very slowly introduce new ingredients one at a time until the culprit causing an adverse reaction is pinpointed. Its important to only introduce a new ingredient after a few days, as an allergic reaction can occur anywhere from immediately after ingestion to up to a few days later.
Be aware that there is no true completely hypoallergenic product, as different cats will have different allergies, so no one product can exclude all possible allergens. Finding the right diet for your cat and identifying the problem allergen takes time and patience!
Here’s How To Help Her Feel Better
If your cat has a food allergy, it can feel like the itching never stops.
Luckily, with the help of your vet, you can figure out the food shes allergic to so she never has to eat it again.
So how is it done?
The Dodo reached out to Dr. Lori Hammond, a veterinarian at the VCA Mission Animal and Bird Hospital in California, to find out how vets diagnose and treat cat food allergies for good.
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Symptoms Of Chicken Allergy In Cats
The most important symptom in chicken allergies is chronic itching, which causes complications. The affected areas are the ears, the face, the belly and groin, the armpits and the legs. The itching is chronic because it is generated by the allergic reaction fueled by the food the cat is getting. While the cat is on a chicken diet, the itching is continuous.
The complications of the chronic itching are irritability, skin inflammation, and even lesions caused by the overgrooming and scratching. You will notice that the cat’s skin is red in the affected areas and you may see bald spots where the cat has scratched or groomed excessively. Sometimes, when the itching is so bad, the cat scratches so intensely that it causes abrasions or other wounds. When left untreated, the lesions can get infected.
Aside from the dermatological symptoms, some cats also develop gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting and/or diarrhea. The allergic reaction causes the cats to have more frequent bowel movements, which causes discomfort to the cat. After several diarrheic instances, the inflammation in the digestive tract increases, and the cat will strain while defecting. The rectum will also become inflamed and the cat may display scooting, as it tries to deal with the itching in the area.
What Should I Look For In Food For Indoor Cats
When looking for the best cat food for indoor cats, you need to consider several factors such as:
- First Ingredient. High-quality cat foods must have animal proteins as their first ingredient. As obligate carnivores, cats thrive on meat-based protein sources.
- Ingredient Quality. All ingredients in the best cat food for indoor cats must be of premium quality and carefully blended into the optimal mix for the cats nutritional needs.
- Micronutrients. The ingredient list should include nutrients like vitamins, minerals, probiotics, prebiotics, fatty acids, and antioxidants. They are found in fruits, veggies, and fish oils.
- Nutritional Value. The best cat food for indoor cats will be high in meat proteins and low in carbohydrates. This is because indoor cats are prone to obesity.
- Life Stage. You need to make sure the food you are getting is suitable for your cats age. The adult cats needs are different from those of kittens and senior cats.
- Food Type & Taste. It is also important to check what type of food your cat likes best dry or wet cat food. The taste is also an essential factor to consider.
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