Diabetes and allergies

[harrysmom]

I have a cat at my shelter that is diabetic and we suspect has allergies. She currently eats canned Friskies and is on .8 unit Prozinc. Her numbers are good PS 250-300 and nadir around 100. I'm wondering if anyone knows of other canned food that may help with the suspected allergies. She has not been tested for anything but wanted to start a food trial but have never done one with a cat that is diabetic. Would the merrick before grain be a good option for this, if so which flavor would be best?? I know that this brand has a higher fat content so what would be a good daily amount for a cat that is probably a tad chunky at around 14lbs?? She currently is eating about 2-2 1/2cans of friskies/day.

Thanks!!

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Well I had one civie that had food allergies and he couldn't tolerate anything with grain whatsoever, and well Friskies has rice in it, so when he was living (we lost him to cancer on the 14th of this month) he ate nothing but Fancy Feast. This kept him allergy free until the day we had to say our final good-byes. He was 14lbs and he ate 3 cans a day of FF.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

[BJM]

One option is to keep the protein categories in a rotation, so the same thing isn' fed twice in a row.

Alternatively, pick a food with 1 protein source (ex turkey) and feed only that for about 2 6-10 weeks while monitoring symptoms.
If changing the protein source (ex fish) after the trial period results in symptom change, it gives you clues as to whether to change back or not.

A daily diary of food and symptoms may help identify contributing components. Note that a few hours may elapse before something happens, like vomiting or increased scratching.

 

[Sandy and Brie]

When I first adopted my civie Boo we did food allergy trials. This was over 12 years ago. At that time they were suggesting a unique single source protein to be done for at least 6 weeks but more like 8 to 10 weeks. They were suggesting a protein that he had never been exposed to before. Back then venison and duck were big. There was also something else but I can't remember. Hills had also come out with ZD at the time and that was being used as well. The ZD only came in dry at the time. Boo wanted nothing to do with the venison or duck. He just would not eat it. The ZD I did manage to get him to eat but after 8 weeks no change. As far as these foods for diabetic cats I'm not sure about the ingredients. They're probably not good. I was also told to give nothing but the food I was trialing. I started the food trial on the suggestion with my regular vet. When I finally took him to a dermatologist the dermatologist agreed with how my vet had me go through the food trial. The derm said you should stay on it for 8 to 10 weeks and if there is improvement start adding other foods and see if things stay the same or get worse. The food trial didn't work for Boo he ended up with other allergies. Cats can develop food allergies at any time in their lives. I remember being told grain and fish can be triggers. Their are so many more grain free options available now. It can be almost anything in the food. If it is a food allergy I would look for something grain free, limited ingredients and if at all possible a protein your kitty has never been exposed to. Being diabetic is going to make this harder because your going to have to research the carb content. Before I went to a dermatologist I tried a holistic vet. The holistic vet was big on raw food. Well Boo would not eat the raw food either. Hopefully there is someone on the board that has gone through a food trial and has been successful. My Boo would get rodent ulcers and eosinophilic plaques. I ended up giving him allergy shots. He had many environmental allergies but I wouldn't rule out that he had allergies to something in some of the foods as well. Boo would starve before he would eat some of the things I tried on him.

Sandy

 

[BJM]

If it turns out you must feed a prescription diet such as Z/D, you'll just have to adjust the insulin as indicated by your insulin's protocol.

Another way to approach it is to eliminate 1 thing during the trial period, such as corn or fish, monitor symptoms, re-introduce, monitor symptoms, and compare.

Make yourself a checklist of the symptoms to track & put in a page of your spreadsheet:
Scratching
Hair loss
Abdominal (over the GI tract) skin 'plaques - hairless, shiny, red, scabby - size/number scabs, degree of redness
Diarrhea
Vomiting
Excess salivation
Nasal/occular discharge
Need for cone to control licking/furr pulling
Etc.

 

[Martica and Fred]

The cheaper the food, the more preservatives, artificial flavoring, and very poor quality meat--rendering which could include even chemicals from euthanised animals and the plastic bags they come in.it's worth it to spend the extra money to get the highest quality animal protein in your anned foods and that means the premium brands--Wellness, Evo, By Nature, Nature's Variety etc.

Also, if you have anything with grains that can cause allergic reactions.

Trying the raw could help too--you can get a free sample sent to you from Feline's PRide--look up the website and phone Jennifer who runs it, or buy Nature's Variety Frozen Medallions at Petco, they have a trial bag.