Recommendations for sensitive / hypoallergenic foods please

[Tiggy's Mum]

Just bought enough i/d so sink a ship (or qualify for free delivery as it's also known)

They look at me like I put a chuffing bowl of sprouts down in front of them.

And this is why we love cats... 

  I quite like sprouts 

Riley initially refused to even sniff the chicken RC sensitive, the vet ordered in specially some Duck RC sensitive pate and Hills I/D. The Hills I/D was begrudgingly eaten and the Duck RC was lapped up like it was a delicacy. Ordered in some more Duck RC and guess what, he turns his blinking nose up at it and now loves the chicken one  Luckily Lu was quite partial to the duck pate stuff so it didn't go to waste 

[Corporal Smokey]

Just bought enough i/d so sink a ship (or qualify for free delivery as it's also known)

They look at me like I put a chuffing bowl of sprouts down in front of them.

And this is why we love cats... 

[Tiggy's Mum]

  Amy, that's really kind of you to offer. He's already tried Hills I/D and wasn't impressed, it was eaten very begrudgingly when he realised there was nothing else forthcoming 

I've just bought some of the Just Nature that Mark suggested although I think the ingredients list is misleading 

It says: Meat and animal deriviatives (of which minimum 60% lamb), Cereals (minimum 4% rice)... Phrased like that I read it that of the meat and animal deriviates only 60% is lamb meaning the rest is ???

I'll look into the Integra that Susanne suggested as that seems to defintely be a single source protein 

[Corporal Smokey]

I'd be happy to send you a tin of Hill's I/D. It's the only thing that's worked for Chester so far. Obviously it won't help much with just the one tin but you can see if he likes it. PM me if you want x

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Jaffa and Mosi love integra sensitive wet food

http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/canned_cat_food_pouches/integra/integra_cans/62681

I only really buy it so that I have some in if we have any upset tummies, but when I give it to them they both seem to love it.  Comes in lamb and turkey flavours.

[Tiggy's Mum]

  all, I'm thinking of going down the duck JWB for dry ('unusual' protein source + readily available) and the 'just nature' wet (unusual protein + fairly readily available).

He actually did a completely normal poo this morning so not sure what to think 

[Den]

TBH honest Helen, whilst Orijen is a fab food I wouldn't recommend trying it for Riley in this instance. It is actually quite a rich food and can cause tummy upsets because of that. It doesn't suit all furries. If his tummy is being a bit sensitive I'd be wary incase it makes the problem worse.

[Fire Fox]

Allergies can definitely develop out of the blue; a friend became violently ill at a dinner party which turned out to be an allergy to brazil nuts, having enjoyed them for years.

Perhaps felines can suffer with leaky gut syndrome, this can develop after a stomach upset.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_gut_syndrome

Or you could play "guess who ate the thesaurus" 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_gut

[Mark]

I should get ALice's TF results any time now. I hadn't heard about the foul smell thing before but that is Alice poo. The improved diet has helped but I'm sure it would with any cat?

To give you an idea, I can put her poo in a food bag and double tie it tightly. I put it in the kitchen bin and yet I can still smell it  - I have to double-bag it - you wouldn't believe that the smell could come through 

[Tiggy's Mum]

  Sheryl

I was / am a bit sceptical about the food intolerance thing, my vet explained that just because he has eaten X for years doesn't mean that he can't develop an intolerance to it but it just seems so out of the blue. Especially as Lu had intermittent diarrhoea too.

If the steroid jab combined with a switch in food works then that's great but if not then she said to ring her to discuss the options so I will defo mention the T foetus test. It mentioned the foul smelling odour... Well I don't normally have a sense of smell but have been on steroids for the last few weeks so have my smell back and  when Riley is having a squidgy poo it absolutely stinks - FOUL is not the word  Lu's poo's obviously don't smell pleasant but they're not gag-inducing 

[sheryl]

Helen, I have copied and pasted the below info from the bengal forum:  It talks about Bengals but applies to any cat

Some cats can be prone to sensitive tummies, and diarrhoea is a problem for numerous Bengal owners who join this forum asking for advice. Pet owners often have to spend time trying out different diets in the hope of rectifying the problem which can take weeks or months - if indeed the diarrhoea problem is diet-related.

Giardia and coccidia are the more common causes of persistent diarrhoea in cats which can be detected through faecal testing.

Tritrichomonas foetus more commonly known as ‘TF’ is a single-celled parasite only recently found in felines. Symptoms can include diarrhoea with or without blood present and with a particular ‘foul’ smelling odour.
Cats can carry this parasite for years without showing any symptoms.
It is becoming more common in the Bengal breed.
Giardia is often misdiagnosed for TF.


Bengals don’t have to suffer with this condition; it is treatable. Many people and some breeders are still unaware of TF. Some vets will be unaware of TF in Bengals and won’t offer testing.

Below is a link which provides comprehensive and invaluable information on TF.

http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infosheets/tritrichomonas.html

PLEASE, if your Bengal is suffering from chronic diarrhoea ask your vet to test for TF. Our cats need not suffer from this condition; it can be detected and it can be treated

[Tiggy's Mum]

Thanks everyone  I think I'm spoilt for choice with dry food - Hills D/D, Orijen, Arden Grange, JWB, Purina HA, Royal Canin Hypoallergenic.

More wet ideas would be great as he has wet breakfast and dinner with biccies as a snack so his main meals are wet. The 'Just Nature' Tesco food that Mark suggested look promising. Just looked them up on Tesco, unusual protein sources and wheat free. 22p is very cheap too. My only worry with something like that is you can bet your bottom dollar Tesco will stop doing them whereas if I can find a wet food that's a pet food 'brand' there's a better chance it'll be around for longer.

Sheryl - the poo sample wasn't tested for TF, he's been OK poo-wise all through kittenhood and adult life apart from a similar blip around 18 months ago. Would TF lay dormant all that time do you think?

The vet is hoping the steroids can calm things down internally for him and then get him settled on a hypoallergenic food, if he's no better in a week she suggested another poo sample so I might ask about TF too.

[Liz]

Some links for you Helen - now had they been Jack Russells I am your hypo allergenic Jack Russell expert

http://petfoodwarehouse.co.uk/browse_218

http://www.wellbeloved.com/products/cat_food.aspx

Both of these should send you some samples

We feed a lot of Royal Canin, Hills and Purina and seem to have no issues have used all of the above foods at some point and all ahve been received well

[sheryl]

Hi Helen, my Benglies (who had loads of tummy problems) are on Orijen and Arden Grange sensitive.

Has Riley been tested for TF? vets dont normally test for it routinely and it can come and go.

Love, huggles and proper poo vibes for handsome Riley xxx

[Dawn F]

if I remember the idea behind was that they wouldn't have come across venison before and so were unlikely to have an allergy - apprently chicken is a common allergy source

[Mark]

I just looked up the duck & oat one by Eagle Pack but Postal Products have stopped selling it.

An easy one to try is Tesco "only Naturals" they do a lamb one and a turkey one 60% meat with rice pate - they are only 22p a tray.

Hi-life little tins - the salmon one is made from salmon pork & whitefish*, Not sure about the turkey one

*I checked one earlier before giving it to Alice but she wasn't interested 

Not sure how I feel about this one, but I saw one on Zooplus made from Horsemeat 

[Tiggy's Mum]

Thanks Dawn, just googled it and think it's Hills D/D. I wonder why she didn't mention that one as it's a prescription food 

[Dawn F]

a friend of mine used a venison and pea dry food but I can't think of the name

[Tiggy's Mum]

Riley still isn't right tummy-wise, he had a few days of normal poos after the oral anti-biotics but when I gradually started to introduce normal food he had diarrhoea again. I'm not sure if that's a coincidence as he hasn't eaten normal food for 8 days now but is still having poo issues.

He's had a steroid jab tonight to see how that helps and the vet said once he's firmed up to maybe try him on a different sensitive / hypoallergenic type food, if possible with 'unusual' protein sources like turkey/duck/lamb rather than the usual chicken/beef.

He prefers wet to dry but he does like to munch on biscuits so recommendations for both would be great. He's currently on RC sensitivity pouches and still having issues so that's not a long term solution.