Hair loss on diabetic food

[nutritiongirl22]

Hi everyone!

I posted a little about this earlier last week but 007 has been losing hair above his eyes since starting Royal Canin Diabetic food. It happened within the first week and he had already been on this brand of food, although there is some difference in ingredients. He looks like he's got bald eyebrow spots and it spreads to the front of his ears. He has just started scratching his left ear for the first time too. The vet has seen him - the ear looks fine. I am chalking it down to a food allergy at this point and want to trial a new food. He's also having increased nasal congestion which happens when his environmental allergies flare, which is another reason I think it's allergic. I have just been nervous to put him on different food suddenly & without thoroughly researching it. I don't want to upset his regimen. So I ordered some Orijen for him, which is something he's tolerated well in the past & pretty comparable nutritionally - high protein low carb for a dry food.

Has anyone had a similar issue? Any other suggestions for me? Feeding him 100% wet is not going to be an option in my pet household so I need a dry option that is low carb and reliable (minimal safety concerns). I am terrified to try anything new because of all the crazy Amazon reviews out there. Thanks in advance!!!

Sarah & 007

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

The best solution would be to change to a low carb/high protein canned food for all of you cats. Not only would it be better for 007, but it would also reduce the risk of any of your other cats becoming diabetic. I have 7 cats and they are all fed Friskies canned foods.

Evo Kitten food is a dry food that is lower in carbs.

 

[Shelly & Jersey (GA)]

We've never used Royal Canin, so I can't comment on that one. We have used Young Again zero carb dry food with our civvies; it's supposed to be around 5% to 6% carbs. I have it on hand in case of emergency (e.g., sudden travel), so I haven't fed it to Jersey. I have fed it to my civies on rare occasions, though. It's the only other dry food I know of, besides the Evo that Lisa mentioned, that's supposed to be relatively low in carbs.

Hope that helps!
Shelly

(P.S. Thanks for the tip on flea treatments!)

 

[BJM]

...Feeding him 100% wet is not going to be an option in my pet household ...

For what reasons? Many of us free feed canned and have had no problems leaving it out for 10 hours (do not set it near a vent or refrigerator exhaust as it will dry faster_. Some folks use timed feeders which can work well if you have a scarfer. Freezing part of a meal and letting it be eaten as it thaws.


And as a workable compromise, you can bake a low carb canned into a dryer version if needed. Spread it thinly on a large baking sheet, and bake like crackers. Turn periodically. Store in the refrigerator or freezer after drying.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hi,

007's symptoms do sound like an allergic resonse to me...

Are you feeding the Royal Canin diabetic dry food? Just had a look online at the ingredients and there's quite a few common potential allergens there, including various grains and soya (and a minority of cats are sensitive to chicken too...);
"Ingredientsehydrated poultry protein, barley, wheat gluten, corn gluten, tapioca, soya protein isolate, animal fats, hydrolysed animal proteins, ligno cellulose, chicory pulp, fish oil, psyllium husks and seeds, minerals, fructo-oligo-saccharides, soya oil, marigold extract (source of lutein)."

Has 007 had food intolerances/allergies before? And if so, do you have any idea what his triggers might be?
Are there any ingredients in his current food that weren't in his previous food/s? (ie, those foods that didn't trigger an allergic response) Just wondering if that would enable you to rule out some potential suspects...?

Eliz