1/28, Pookey, AMPS 111, +3 77, +4 79, PMPS 108, +3 70, +4 78

[Tim & Pookey]

Good morning,

Yesterday’s post:
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...amps-116-3-71-4-83-pmps-119-3-80-4-81.297836/

An update on the food allergy situation, it’s been roughly 4 weeks since eliminating beef and fish ingredients and we are still itching, licking, and biting fur.

Pookey is my first cat so I don’t really know all the signs, but I feel like I’m failing him when it comes to food.

I am concerned about the phosphorus in FF pates as well. His lab values didn’t show kidney issues yet, and I know they need phosphorus in general, but the FF seems to have a lot…

I think we’re going to try a Weruva pate. Could we get lucky and a brand switch helps? I’m not ready to accept that chicken could be the culprit, and I’m nervous about changing foods with the BG progress we’ve made.

Am I overthinking this?

Thank you! - Tim

 

[Karolina & Nestle]

Good meowning Tim and Pokey

I'm sorry to hear about the continuing struggle with the food allergies. I don't have much to say about that as Nestle is a food monster and he will eat anything and everything. He doesn't discriminate.
Of course meow he only eats the LC soft food.
There's so many different brands and varieties of LC soft that I don't think you should have issues with the BG. The only thing is whether Pookey will like it or not. Maybe try by mixing the new brand with the FF to get him started?

Good luck and we wish you a nice, stable day.

 

[Tim & Pookey]

Good meowning Tim and Pokey

I'm sorry to hear about the continuing struggle with the food allergies. I don't have much to say about that as Nestle is a food monster and he will eat anything and everything. He doesn't discriminate.
Of course meow he only eats the LC soft food.
There's so many different brands and varieties of LC soft that I don't think you should have issues with the BG. The only thing is whether Pookey will like it or not. Maybe try by mixing the new brand with the FF to get him started?

Good luck and we wish you a nice, stable day.

View attachment 72634

Thanks Karolina. It helps having other people to talk it out with. If we do switch brands we’ll do it slowly for sure. Have a great day!

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Thanks Karolina. It helps having other people to talk it out with. If we do switch brands we’ll do it slowly for sure. Have a great day!

Hi Tim, Good advice from Karolina about switching slowly from one brand to another.

How long has Pookie been having these issues?

If a brand switch doesn’t work, you may want to ultimately consider trying a novel protein, diet, which it would be something he’s never eaten before.

That’s how I ended up feeding Ivy lamb because she had never had it before and they felt she had some form of IBD going on and that’s what was recommended, (a novel protein).

Just more food for thought…
I hope the brand switch helps and makes Pooky feel much better.

 

[squeem3]

Take a look at Leroy's profile sheet on spreadsheet. He's got so many food allergies / sensitivities Sometimes it's not the protein that's the culprit. It could be a filler ingredient or an oil or vague "flavoring" or even the source of a particular ingredient.

You can start a bland-ish food that doesn't have a long list of ingredients like an LID-type food or the Rawz brand. A novel protein like rabbit or lamb are good choices.

 

[Tim & Pookey]

Hi Tim, Good advice from Karolina about switching slowly from one brand to another.

How long has Pookie been having these issues?

If a brand switch doesn’t work, you may want to ultimately consider trying a novel protein, diet, which it would be something he’s never eaten before.

That’s how I ended up feeding Ivy lamb because she had never had it before and they felt she had some form of IBD going on and that’s what was recommended, (a novel protein).

Just more food for thought…
I hope the brand switch helps and makes Pooky feel much better.

Thank you Staci it’s hard to say, I think even pre-diagnosis he had this going on to some extent. We’ve had humidifiers and Feliway going for a while now too. It’s going to be trial and error no matter what we do, I guess we just need to make a decision.

I know you feed Ivy raw, but I wonder if there is commercially available novel protein LC wet? I haven’t investigated that yet.

 

[Tim & Pookey]

Take a look at Leroy's profile sheet on spreadsheet. He's got so many food allergies / sensitivities Sometimes it's not the protein that's the culprit. It could be a filler ingredient or an oil or vague "flavoring" or even the source of a particular ingredient.

You can start a bland-ish food that doesn't have a long list of ingredients like an LID-type food or the Rawz brand. A novel protein like rabbit or lamb are good choices.

Thank you it feels like a guessing game right now. And with a 4-week commitment I want to make sure we have a thought out plan. I’ll check out your process with Leroy!

 

[squeem3]

Koha LID: https://kohapet.com/collections/lim...TLfK1CqfPqqiP-J5SUkufJMq1KmxAQZdliB1IejBbCahe

Hounds and Gatos: https://houndgatos.com/product-categories/wet-cat-food/

Rayne: https://raynenutrition.com/

There are others.

Leroy also has IBD so whatever food gave him a flare up or strange bald spots was immediately put on the no-no list. Symptoms may not show up right away. It took a week or so for pork to cause a flare up. The salmon flavored toothpaste allergy was figured out years ago. Every time I brushed his teeth, he'd get random bald spots. I switched him to poultry flavored toothpaste and no more bald spots. One brand of raw food gave him acne. I don't know exactly what in the food was the culprit.

 

[cecile & bella]

Hello Tim. Bella had allergies, we elminated fish and the results were not evident either. she improved a lot when I switched her to raw food, and Tiki Cat. I tried to pick brands that had as little "add-ins" as possible, and Tiki is great for that, as is, I believe Weruva. They tend to be more expensive than FF.
Did you try giving him Zyrtec, too? i/2 tablet once a day, it works very well to help go over a flare-up.

 

[Tim & Pookey]

Koha LID: https://kohapet.com/collections/lim...TLfK1CqfPqqiP-J5SUkufJMq1KmxAQZdliB1IejBbCahe

Hounds and Gatos: https://houndgatos.com/product-categories/wet-cat-food/

Rayne: https://raynenutrition.com/

There are others.

Leroy also has IBD so whatever food gave him a flare up or strange bald spots was immediately put on the no-no list. Symptoms may not show up right away. It took a week or so for pork to cause a flare up. The salmon flavored toothpaste allergy was figured out years ago. Every time I brushed his teeth, he'd get random bald spots. I switched him to poultry flavored toothpaste and no more bald spots. One brand of raw food gave him acne. I don't know exactly what in the food was the culprit.

This is awesome! I will be doing a deep dive on these later. Thank you!

 

[Tim & Pookey]

Hello Tim. Bella had allergies, we elminated fish and the results were not evident either. she improved a lot when I switched her to raw food, and Tiki Cat. I tried to pick brands that had as little "add-ins" as possible, and Tiki is great for that, as is, I believe Weruva. They tend to be more expensive than FF.
Did you try giving him Zyrtec, too? i/2 tablet once a day, it works very well to help go over a flare-up.

Hi Cecile! Thank you for the tip on Tiki, I’ll check them out later. Was Bella allergic to any specific protein? Or do you think it was related to some additive?

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I am concerned about the phosphorus in FF pates as well. His lab values didn’t show kidney issues yet, and I know they need phosphorus in general, but the FF seems to have a lot…

low carb/ low phosphorus for diabetic cats
if you tap on this link and look at post #32 I listed some Weruva pates for another member that's low carb/ low phosphorus.
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-member-11-8-and-i-am-tired.283363/#post-3124085

 

[Tim & Pookey]

low carb/ low phosphorus for diabetic cats
if you tap on this link and look at post #32 I listed some Weruva pates for another member that's low carb/ low phosphorus.
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-member-11-8-and-i-am-tired.283363/#post-3124085

Thank you Diane

 

[Mary & Jude]

I'm concerned about the phosphorus as well, Tim. Once I got Jude off the Purina ProPlan (wet--mostly chicken), it seems his hotspots have cleared up (I know I mentioned this to you once before). Since the diabetes diagnosis, I've been feeding Jude Tiki After Dark Pates and FF pates. Tiki's protein source is better, and it's an overall better food. Guess what Jude has decided he prefers as of late? FF pates. He's pretty much rejecting the Tiki now. :-( My other non-diabetic cats eat Weruva; I know that some of their foods are LC and low phosphorous, but, again, Jude is not a fan. And this little dude will put his paw down and refuse to eat for a long time if he doesn't like a certain food, which, of course we can't allow with his diabetes. This past weekend I spent hours trying to calculate the carb value of some of the Weruva foods that aren't are the lists that are posted (many of the foods are new since the lists were created)--it was a little bit of a nightmare. I read all the info on Dr. Lisa's site as well as other sites, but I'm just going to need to contact the companies to ask for the actual carb values to make sure I'm giving him what he needs. Let us know what your research reveals.

 

[cecile & bella]

Hi Cecile! Thank you for the tip on Tiki, I’ll check them out later. Was Bella allergic to any specific protein? Or do you think it was related to some additive?

Our vet at the time thought she might be allergic to fish, but I doubt it, she was fine if she had some (she loved it, too). No specific protein she was allergic to either. It seemed to be worse at certain times of the year, and definitely when she was eating foods like FF or Purina. The change was amazing as soon as I switched from that.

 

[Niko's Mom]

Hi! Just wanted to chime in here, as our journey has been kind of backwards compared to yours. Niko has had (what I assume) are food-related allergies for a while - last year, he was licking his legs and chest raw, which prompted us to go visit the vet. He gave us some steroid shots without bothering to find the issue. Then Niko continued to scratch his ears bald, which prompted another vet visit. Vet gave use ANOTHER two steroid shots, which ended up causing his diabetes (here we are now). We did a lot of diet changes - Tiki Cat, hydrolyzed protein (before the diabetes), diabetic prescribed food (which was high carb), and none of it worked. Got an air purifier, Feliway, started CBD and omega-3 oils. He only VERY recently (maybe 1 month or so into his official diagnosis) stopped itching. We currently have him on freeze-dried Stella and Chewy's and FF medley pates. I think the freeze-dried has been a good addition to his diet, I am hoping he doesn't go back to having allergies.

I also plan to introduce Weruva pates into his diet eventually as FF is high phosphorous and that worries me. All to say, what type of pates does Pookey eat? As someone mentioned, it might not be all protein-related... I think for Niko it really was trial and error and eliminating foods with too many additives/fillers. We also had another vet recommend Atopica but given Niko's diabetes, I am trying to just tackle that first before we get him on too many meds...

 

[Tim & Pookey]

I'm concerned about the phosphorus as well, Tim. Once I got Jude off the Purina ProPlan (wet--mostly chicken), it seems his hotspots have cleared up (I know I mentioned this to you once before). Since the diabetes diagnosis, I've been feeding Jude Tiki After Dark Pates and FF pates. Tiki's protein source is better, and it's an overall better food. Guess what Jude has decided he prefers as of late? FF pates. He's pretty much rejecting the Tiki now. :-( My other non-diabetic cats eat Weruva; I know that some of their foods are LC and low phosphorous, but, again, Jude is not a fan. And this little dude will put his paw down and refuse to eat for a long time if he doesn't like a certain food, which, of course we can't allow with his diabetes. This past weekend I spent hours trying to calculate the carb value of some of the Weruva foods that aren't are the lists that are posted (many of the foods are new since the lists were created)--it was a little bit of a nightmare. I read all the info on Dr. Lisa's site as well as other sites, but I'm just going to need to contact the companies to ask for the actual carb values to make sure I'm giving him what he needs. Let us know what your research reveals.

I will, and same keep me posted. The Weruva’s not listed on Lisa’s look good but I have a feeling they’re higher in carb than we want… we’ll see.

 

[Mary & Jude]

Hi! Just wanted to chime in here, as our journey has been kind of backwards compared to yours. Niko has had (what I assume) are food-related allergies for a while - last year, he was licking his legs and chest raw, which prompted us to go visit the vet. He gave us some steroid shots without bothering to find the issue. Then Niko continued to scratch his ears bald, which prompted another vet visit. Vet gave use ANOTHER two steroid shots, which ended up causing his diabetes (here we are now). We did a lot of diet changes - Tiki Cat, hydrolyzed protein (before the diabetes), diabetic prescribed food (which was high carb), and none of it worked. Got an air purifier, Feliway, started CBD and omega-3 oils. He only VERY recently (maybe 1 month or so into his official diagnosis) stopped itching. We currently have him on freeze-dried Stella and Chewy's and FF medley pates. I think the freeze-dried has been a good addition to his diet, I am hoping he doesn't go back to having allergies.

I also plan to introduce Weruva pates into his diet eventually as FF is high phosphorous and that worries me. All to say, what type of pates does Pookey eat? As someone mentioned, it might not be all protein-related... I think for Niko it really was trial and error and eliminating foods with too many additives/fillers. We also had another vet recommend Atopica but given Niko's diabetes, I am trying to just tackle that first before we get him on too many meds...

Jude's diabetes was steroid induced as well. He had hotspots or spots he licked raw, and the doctor gave him a steroid shot (a couple of times) to calm the itching and heal the wounds. Then he developed a UTI, and the vet gave him a steroid shot and an antibiotic--so three steroid shots in a year's time--and that steroid shot put him into diabetes.

Do you water down the freeze-dried? I read that it's important to do that, but Jude doesn't like it watered down--he only likes it as a "kibble."

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

@Tim & Pookey
Go to Weruva.com, link below and to the left tap on the lines to the left and then tap on Explore Cats pick the ones you want , then tap on one of the cans or pouches ,then tap on where it says
Click to View Detailed Nutrition Information, all the information will be there
With weruva foods
You want the metabolizable energy profile percentage of carbs to be less than 10%, and the phosphorus which Weruva lists in Minerals to be less than 250 mg per 100 cals. So you have to look at two different places in the Weruva charts.


https://www.weruva.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqx_P38yfPOqsKDRv4WX7g9ImDEQS08DBsIiKMl-AVmTQJp0qBD

 

[Niko's Mom]

Jude's diabetes was steroid induced as well. He had hotspots or spots he licked raw, and the doctor gave him a steroid shot (a couple of times) to calm the itching and heal the wounds. Then he developed a UTI, and the vet gave him a steroid shot and an antibiotic--so three steroid shots in a year's time--and that steroid shot put him into diabetes.

Do you water down the freeze-dried? I read that it's important to do that, but Jude doesn't like it watered down--he only likes it as a "kibble."

Ah, sounds very similar to Niko's journey too. We had about 3 steroids within a year as well, and lo and behold, his pancreas decided it was out to lunch (I don't blame it). The last two steroids that put him over the edge were Depo-Medrol and Convenia. I'll never forgive the old vet for administering those without even asking us or giving us the side effects.

We tried watering down the freeze-dried but he is a texture guy and enjoys the crunch probably similar to Jude (getting him off kibble has been hard, so the freeze-dried has to retain its dry texture for him to eat it). We just overcompensate by heavily watering down his pates and also incorporating Tiki cat broth (it's the only low carb broth I can find) to make sure he is hydrated. Fortiflora on the broth/pates also helps to encourage his moisture intake.

 

[Tim & Pookey]

Hi! Just wanted to chime in here, as our journey has been kind of backwards compared to yours. Niko has had (what I assume) are food-related allergies for a while - last year, he was licking his legs and chest raw, which prompted us to go visit the vet. He gave us some steroid shots without bothering to find the issue. Then Niko continued to scratch his ears bald, which prompted another vet visit. Vet gave use ANOTHER two steroid shots, which ended up causing his diabetes (here we are now). We did a lot of diet changes - Tiki Cat, hydrolyzed protein (before the diabetes), diabetic prescribed food (which was high carb), and none of it worked. Got an air purifier, Feliway, started CBD and omega-3 oils. He only VERY recently (maybe 1 month or so into his official diagnosis) stopped itching. We currently have him on freeze-dried Stella and Chewy's and FF medley pates. I think the freeze-dried has been a good addition to his diet, I am hoping he doesn't go back to having allergies.

I also plan to introduce Weruva pates into his diet eventually as FF is high phosphorous and that worries me. All to say, what type of pates does Pookey eat? As someone mentioned, it might not be all protein-related... I think for Niko it really was trial and error and eliminating foods with too many additives/fillers. We also had another vet recommend Atopica but given Niko's diabetes, I am trying to just tackle that first before we get him on too many meds...

Thanks for sharing your experience!! And great news that the itching has improved. Right now he is strictly on the Chopped Grill Feast (which was the only classic FF pate that didn’t have fish as a lesser ingredient). I’ve read that some of the additives like Guar Gum or oils can be problematic and probably tough to single out…

 

[Niko's Mom]

Thanks for sharing your experience!! And great news that the itching has improved. Right now he is strictly on the Chopped Grill Feast (which was the only classic FF pate that didn’t have fish as a lesser ingredient). I’ve read that some of the additives like Guar Gum or oils can be problematic and probably tough to single out.

I've read this too. We even had tried a raw food diet for him completely but it actually spiked his BG and did nothing for his allergies lol.

I've even considered doing one of those strand tests for food allergies but they don't seem to be very accurate, just a waste of money. I do want to say that I've been told with food elimination diets that it can take up to 6 weeks for results/decrease of itching to really show, which is so long... :/

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Thank you Staci it’s hard to say, I think even pre-diagnosis he had this going on to some extent. We’ve had humidifiers and Feliway going for a while now too. It’s going to be trial and error no matter what we do, I guess we just need to make a decision.

I know you feed Ivy raw, but I wonder if there is commercially available novel protein LC wet? I haven’t investigated that yet.

I do feed her lamb but I cook it. We don’t do raw.
My nutritionist said with all of Ivy’s concurrent conditions, She didn’t want to throw any possibilities of any contaminants from raw food into her system and I agreed with that.

But many others do feed raw.

 

[Tim & Pookey]

I just found a cat only vet nearby and explained his situation to them this afternoon. They sound experienced and are wanting to meet him next week. It’s 25 minutes from my house though and he gets so stressed in the car/vet. I think this would be good to have for the future but idk if it’s worth risking his BG for an “intro” type meeting… I was hoping for a phone call or something first.

 

[Angela & Cleo]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but could it be an ingredient in the food not necessarily a protein. I noticed that with Cleo if she eats something with wheat gluten she gets itchy. The itchiness was nothing compared to what you described though.
Maybe compare the labels on the foods and see if there are similar ingredients other than the protein.

PS we switched our Cleo to Wervua for a lot of the same reasons but mainly because their foods are lower in phosphorus than other commercial wet foods. A lot of their foods do have fish in them though . A couple are single ingredient chicken, but no other single proteins at least that I've found as of yet. We also keep other brands on hand (w/o glutens) because she suffers from food boredom. Those include Ziwi Peak pates, Koha, Instinct Nature's Variety - but those are higher in P.

 

[Tim & Pookey]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but could it be an ingredient in the food not necessarily a protein. I noticed that with Cleo if she eats something with wheat gluten she gets itchy. The itchiness was nothing compared to what you described though.
Maybe compare the labels on the foods and see if there are similar ingredients other than the protein.

PS we switched our Cleo to Wervua for a lot of the same reasons but mainly because their foods are lower in phosphorus than other commercial wet foods. A lot of their foods do have fish in them though . A couple are single ingredient chicken, but no other single proteins at least that I've found as of yet. We also keep other brands on hand (w/o glutens) because she suffers from food boredom. Those include Ziwi Peak pates, Koha, Instinct Nature's Variety - but those are higher in P.

Thanks for this Angela. I am suspicious of an additive. I’m going to do a deep dive this week and see if I can come up with a plan that changes the least amount of variables…

 

[Angela & Cleo]

See this LINK. Its kept pretty much up to date. Its for CKD kitties, but one of the documents is lower carb lower phosphorus foods for diabetic cats.
In 2023, Cleo's annual example showed an increase in bun-creatinine-phosphorus and an SDMA of 14 indicating that she would develop CKD in the future. I went down a dark rabbit hole of feline nutrition only to find that a lot of the analysis was already done for me. That's when we switched her to lower P foods and slightly higher carbs but still considered LC (around 6-8%). At her next annual exam in 2024, her numbers came down significantly and the SDMA also went down to a 10. Sorry if this is more than you wanted to know, but us crazy cat people sometimes can't help but ramble on and on about our kitties

 

[Tim & Pookey]

See this LINK. Its kept pretty much up to date. Its for CKD kitties, but one of the documents is lower carb lower phosphorus foods for diabetic cats.
In 2023, Cleo's annual example showed an increase in bun-creatinine-phosphorus and an SDMA of 14 indicating that she would develop CKD in the future. I went down a dark rabbit hole of feline nutrition only to find that a lot of the analysis was already done for me. That's when we switched her to lower P foods and slightly higher carbs but still considered LC (around 6-8%). At her next annual exam in 2024, her numbers came down significantly and the SDMA also went down to a 10. Sorry if this is more than you wanted to know, but us crazy cat people sometimes can't help but ramble on and on about our kitties

No need to apologize! Wow there is a lot of good information in there. I haven’t seen that sheet before. Thank you!!

@Marielle some light reading for you if you haven’t seen this…

 

[squeem3]

Weruva also makes the nearly identical but lesser expensive Soulistic line of food https://www.soulisticpet.com/ Many of the Soulistic foods are the same as the Weruva foods, just a different name and a slight ingredient difference. Weruva's Paw Lickin Chicken is Soulistic's Good Karma, for instance.

 

[Maddie & Kai]

I don't have any experience with food allergies but as an over-thinker myself, I just want to add my two cents about Weruva and Tiki Cat which a lot of people have recommend. I wanted to 2nd those recommendation.

When I began "The Great Switch" (dry food to wet food only), I jumped down a rabbit hole for food research because Kai is such a picky eater. The wind can blow the wrong way and he will turn his nose up at his food. I first switched him from dry to wet with Weruva and then this month we decided to give Tiki Cat After Dark a try as another non-fish lower Carb option. Originally, I tried Tiki Cat Luau first before Weruva and Kai did not like it because he is not a big fan of fish. But he LOVES chicken. He has really enjoyed the Tiki Cat After Dark flavors and is more excited about it than his Weruva lately.

Even though both of these brand are a little bit more expensive than others, I choose them because they meet all of the protein, fat, and carb recommendations, and even more specifically because of the low Phosphorus content. Like Pookey, Kai's labs have not shown any signs of Kidney issues yet and I wanted to keep it that way, especially as he gets older. We have an internal med appointment this Friday and I hope I don't eat these words lol

I have a tab on Kai's spreadsheet that shows a comparison of all the brands and flavors we looked at before selecting. Feel free to take a look. You don't have to.

Good luck with the food! You have been so successful with Pookey so far. I know you will figure it out.

 

[squeem3]

I just remembered... some years ago someone (whose cat was allergic to nearly everything in commercial cat food and raw / cooked was not an option due to some health condition) and I put together a spreadsheet where one could filter by ingredients. It was very helpful for cats with food allergies. I'll try to get it on Google to share.

 

[Tim & Pookey]

I don't have any experience with food allergies but as an over-thinker myself, I just want to add my two cents about Weruva and Tiki Cat which a lot of people have recommend. I wanted to 2nd those recommendation.

When I began "The Great Switch" (dry food to wet food only), I jumped down a rabbit hole for food research because Kai is such a picky eater. The wind can blow the wrong way and he will turn his nose up at his food. I first switched him from dry to wet with Weruva and then this month we decided to give Tiki Cat After Dark a try as another non-fish lower Carb option. Originally, I tried Tiki Cat Luau first before Weruva and Kai did not like it because he is not a big fan of fish. But he LOVES chicken. He has really enjoyed the Tiki Cat After Dark flavors and is more excited about it than his Weruva lately.

Even though both of these brand are a little bit more expensive than others, I choose them because they meet all of the protein, fat, and carb recommendations, and even more specifically because of the low Phosphorus content. Like Pookey, Kai's labs have not shown any signs of Kidney issues yet and I wanted to keep it that way, especially as he gets older. We have an internal med appointment this Friday and I hope I don't eat these words lol

I have a tab on Kai's spreadsheet that shows a comparison of the all the brands and flavors we looked at before selecting. Feel free to take a look. You don't have to.

Good luck with the food! You have been so successful with Pookey so far. I know you will figure it out.

Thanks Maddie!! Sounds like we’ve had similar thoughts on the food. I will definitely be snooping in that tab, you really did your homework… good luck with the visit on Friday

 

[Mary & Jude]

I do feed her lamb but I cook it. We don’t do raw.
My nutritionist said with all of Ivy’s concurrent conditions, She didn’t want to throw any possibilities of any contaminants from raw food into her system and I agreed with that.

But many others do feed raw.

How do you cook her lamb? What specific cut do you buy? I live in a rural area in the south, and I really don't think I could find lamb in the grocery store or even at the butchers, but I might look. I've seriously toyed with the idea of making food for all (five of) my cats. I've studied some of the material Dr. Lisa has published, and some other websites. I'd like to make cooked rather than raw for the reason you stated--I don't want to jeopardize Jude's already compromised system. Along with wanting to make food for Jude's health, I'd like to make it for my four other cats because they are SO expensive to feed (because I insist on good quality food). I think I can do it more cheaply and more healthily if I make it on my own.

Edited to add: I'll do this, of course, with all the spare time on my hands

 

[Wendy&Neko]

In 2023, Cleo's annual example showed an increase in bun-creatinine-phosphorus and an SDMA of 14 indicating that she would develop CKD in the future.

Take the SDMA value with a large grain of salt. Some interesting reading here by a vet. I adopted a kitty in 2017 who's first b/w showed a SDMA of 14. Here we go again I thought. My vet told me not to worry, she had mixed results with SDMA. Sure enough, next test the SDMA was 4 and has been bobbing around well below 14 since then. Higher SDMA may be a result, but shouldn't be taken in isolation. The traditional kidney values are still important too.

I was interested in reading people's experiences with this thread as same kitty also has IBD and small cell lymphoma (in remission). And of course picky so looking for more ideas on food options. Neko was another one allergic to wheat gluten, in spite of her love for bread products. . Gums are also a common allergen. One of the reason I've tried making my own with a premix with safer ingredients.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

How do you cook her lamb? What specific cut do you buy? I live in a rural area in the south, and I really don't think I could find lamb in the grocery store or even at the butchers, but I might look. I've seriously toyed with the idea of making food for all (five of) my cats. I've studied some of the material Dr. Lisa has published, and some other websites. I'd like to make cooked rather than raw for the reason you stated--I don't want to jeopardize Jude's already compromised system. Along with wanting to make food for Jude's health, I'd like to make it for my four other cats because they are SO expensive to feed (because I insist on good quality food). I think I can do it more cheaply and more healthily if I make it on my own.

Edited to add: I'll do this, of course, with all the spare time on my hands

I cook the lamb just baking it in the oven. I buy a lamb roast and cut it down to smaller pieces so it cooks pretty quickly. But it’s got a lot of fat so it’s very time-consuming because I cut the fat off before I cook it so that takes me the longest.
It usually takes me a few hours in the kitchen when I’m just cutting down the roast to cook it.

The recipe I use also uses ground lamb. I am able to buy both of those products at my local grocery store so I guess I’m pretty lucky in that regard that I have access to that.
I work with a nutritionist and she formulates the different percent carb recipes for me to use. I use sweet potato as my carb and the percentages of ingredients vary depending on the percent of carb recipe I am making.
I have recipes for 6,12, 20 and 25% now.
6% is Ivy‘s main recipe so that’s what I make the most of and I freeze batches of it and pull out of the freezer what I need for the coming day, so it is thawed by the time it’s ready for me to add her different supplements before feeding.
My schedule really revolves around Ivy and most of my days off from work are spent cooking for her.
It’s a big commitment but I feel it’s very important for her well-being.
I’ve been doing it for about six years now and every doctor I see tells me they’re sure that it’s helping her that I’m feeding her really good ingredients, so that helps keeps me inspired.

 

[Mary & Jude]

I cook the lamb just baking it in the oven. I buy a lamb roast and cut it down to smaller pieces so it cooks pretty quickly. But it’s got a lot of fat so it’s very time-consuming because I cut the fat off before I cook it so that takes me the longest.
It usually takes me a few hours in the kitchen when I’m just cutting down the roast to cook it.

The recipe I use also uses ground lamb. I am able to buy both of those products at my local grocery store so I guess I’m pretty lucky in that regard that I have access to that.
I work with a nutritionist and she formulates the different percent carb recipes for me to use. I use sweet potato as my carb and the percentages of ingredients vary depending on the percent of carb recipe I am making.
I have recipes for 6,12, 20 and 25% now.
6% is Ivy‘s main recipe so that’s what I make the most of and I freeze batches of it and pull out of the freezer what I need for the coming day, so it is thawed by the time it’s ready for me to add her different supplements before feeding.
My schedule really revolves around Ivy and most of my days off from work are spent cooking for her.
It’s a big commitment but I feel it’s very important for her well-being.
I’ve been doing it for about six years now and every doctor I see tells me they’re sure that it’s helping her that I’m feeding her really good ingredients, so that helps keeps me inspired.

Wow! Yes, what a commitment! Ivy is so fortunate to have you.

 

[MinnerPip]

I'm concerned about the phosphorus as well, Tim. Once I got Jude off the Purina ProPlan (wet--mostly chicken), it seems his hotspots have cleared up (I know I mentioned this to you once before). Since the diabetes diagnosis, I've been feeding Jude Tiki After Dark Pates and FF pates. Tiki's protein source is better, and it's an overall better food. Guess what Jude has decided he prefers as of late? FF pates. He's pretty much rejecting the Tiki now. :-( My other non-diabetic cats eat Weruva; I know that some of their foods are LC and low phosphorous, but, again, Jude is not a fan. And this little dude will put his paw down and refuse to eat for a long time if he doesn't like a certain food, which, of course we can't allow with his diabetes. This past weekend I spent hours trying to calculate the carb value of some of the Weruva foods that aren't are the lists that are posted (many of the foods are new since the lists were created)--it was a little bit of a nightmare. I read all the info on Dr. Lisa's site as well as other sites, but I'm just going to need to contact the companies to ask for the actual carb values to make sure I'm giving him what he needs. Let us know what your research reveals.

Your description here could have been written by me describing my same concerns, Minner’s food choices and stubbornness, and spending many hours researching foods. Wow. My vet has told me that cats will actually starve themselves if they don’t like the food given. Given Minner’s large size, not eating for enough time can invoke hepatic lipidosis too, which kills quickly. Now with diabetes, as you said, we can’t go long w/o food so trying to wait out the stubbornness is problematic.

Re: allergies, a good friend of mine has battled this with her cat Ziggy for over a decade. He’s been on steroids on/off the whole time and she has labored extensively with testing, foods, different steroids, special litters, etc. Most recently, in past week, she has started trial of Apoquil, a skin allergy med used mainly in dogs. I’ll check in with her to find out how that is going.

 

[squeem3]

There are web sites that sell raw meat specifically for pet food use. These meats can be cooked if needed. Hare-Today.com is the most popular and has a wide variety of novel proteins like cavy aka guinea pig

A good butcher shop should be able to order most any type of meat you want. Talk to the butchers and see what meats they can get and how long it would take for them to get the meat. There used to be a butcher shop in the area here that also sold meats for pet food use. A farm that raises their own meat may also be an option. I don't know about the whole butchering and processing part.