8/25 Callie PMPS 247, +2.5 180, +4 112, +5 87, +6 99, +7 111

+4.5 283 Looks like we are just bouncing high today. I'm going to give Callie's ears (and myself) a rest until PMPS. (Who knows what she has planned for tonight...?)

Question about food allergies/ sensitivities - Has anyone done 5 strands testing https://www.5strands.com/ and made changes to your cat's diet based on the results? If so, I would love to hear about your experience.

Back story: Our vet doesn't particularly buy into 5 strands testing but Callie has always been very itchy -- and has only become itchier since we changed her diet to the low carb food we are now feeding -- so we decided to do the testing to see if it could provide us with any answers. We just got the results and the report indicates that Callie has moderate/severe intolerances to a whole bunch of things, including both novel proteins we have been feeding her (rabbit and lamb), as well as many of the additional ingredients added to cat food, like mussels, blueberries, coconut oil, flaxseed, pumpkin, cranberries. The report indicates no intolerance to venison or bison so I have started looking at foods with those proteins and checking the other added ingredients against her results. Alternatively, we may end up switching to raw since that gives us maximum control over what is going in her food (Thanks @PerfumedCatMom for the raw feeding senior kitties sticky you put together. It really breaks everything down and makes the idea of switching to raw feel a lot more doable in my mind.)

Anyway, I am still in the "digesting" / researching phase but figured I would reach out here to see if anyone has first-hand experience with the 5 strands testing. Thanks!
 
You're welcome! I'm glad you found the information useful.

I have heard the 5strands testing is not very accurate, and that elimination is best way of figuring out what works for your kitty. My kitties absolutely love bison and venison. They will gobble both up and they seem to vomit the least with them, and they both have lots of great vitamins that are good for them (bison has more B vitamins than beef). If you're going down the raw route and are worried about allergens, I would start with Alnutrin as you can add the kind of liver that Callie will tolerate, whereas EZ Complete has chicken liver that may pose a problem for her. I've been able to get freeze dried lamb and duck liver that are sold as treats to add to my cats' meals. EZC also has green lipped mussels and that might be an issue for her as well.
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
You're welcome! I'm glad you found the information useful.

I have heard the 5strands testing is not very accurate, and that elimination is best way of figuring out what works for your kitty. My kitties absolutely love bison and venison. They will gobble both up and they seem to vomit the least with them, and they both have lots of great vitamins that are good for them (bison has more B vitamins than beef). If you're going down the raw route and are worried about allergens, I would start with Alnutrin as you can add the kind of liver that Callie will tolerate, whereas EZ Complete has chicken liver that may pose a problem for her. I've been able to get freeze dried lamb and duck liver that are sold as treats to add to my cats' meals. EZC also has green lipped mussels and that might be an issue for her as well.
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Thanks, it does look like Alnutrin would make more sense for Callie. Good to know that your babies love venison and bison :) .

As far as her allergies, unfortunately, Callie did the best on a hydrolyzed type of prescription dry food that I'm sure is at least part of the reason she ended up with FD... we didn't really see much of a difference with the elimination trials we've done w novel proteins but I'm guessing that was because of the additional ingredients in the foods. We never tried it with raw. I was looking at the Hare Today website you mentioned and I saw that they have dehydrated bison liver "treats" so I thought those could work if we decide to do an elimination trial with bison (which I don't think Callie has ever had before.)
 
Jessica A said:
I was looking at the Hare Today website
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I started my kitties on Hare Today because they are a bit closer to me in NYC and so cheaper and faster shipping, but then I realized they much preferred the meats from Raw Feeding Miami, who also has a good selection of organ meats as well.
 
PerfumedCatMom said:
I started my kitties on Hare Today because they are a bit closer to me in NYC and so cheaper and faster shipping, but then I realized they much preferred the meats from Raw Feeding Miami, who also has a good selection of organ meats as well.
Click to expand...
Oh, interesting thanks. I'll take a look at them as well.
 
+2.5 180

Looks like Callie likes to clear bounces at night, though her drop tonight was not nearly as big as last night at this time. I just gave her her regular LC snack. Will get a +4.
 
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