What should cats with food allergies eat?

Cats with food allergies should give priority to hypoallergenic prescription food that excludes known allergens, novel protein food, or homemade fresh food with a single ingredient.

Not long ago, my friend's one-year-old cat scratched his face repeatedly for more than three months. He applied a lot of eye drops and ointments to no avail. Finally, he did a food provocation test and found out that he was allergic to chicken and corn in the cat food. He switched to a grain-free and hypoallergenic food with rabbit meat as the single protein source. Within two weeks, the frequency of scratching his face dropped by half, and even the tear stains that had been indigestible before were gone.

If you haven’t found out what you are allergic to, doctors will usually recommend eating deeply hydrolyzed protein prescription food first. The proteins in this food are broken down into very small molecules, which are not recognized by the cat’s immune system and will basically not trigger allergic reactions. However, there are now different views on hydrolyzed food in the cat-raising circle. Some people think that the protein utilization rate of long-term feeding of hydrolyzed food is not as good as that of ordinary food. Others think that as long as the cat eats stable weight and normal feces, long-term eating will have no effect. There is currently no clear research conclusion that hydrolyzed food cannot be fed for a long time. You can make adjustments according to the condition of your own cat.

There are also many parents with strong hands-on skills who prefer to make fresh food for cats. In fact, the core logic is very simple, which is "single protein + no unnecessary additions". First choose a protein source that the cat has never eaten before, such as venison, ostrich meat, turkey, which are relatively rare, without adding grains, fruits, vegetables, and seasonings. Feed it continuously for 8-12 weeks. If the allergic symptoms completely disappear during this period, it means that the protein is safe. Then slowly add other ingredients in small amounts and check for allergens one by one. Don’t believe it, I’ve even seen a puppet who was allergic to chicken breast. The owner used to give boiled chicken breast a nutritional supplement every day. As a result, the cat always had soft stools with blood. After a search, I found out that it was an allergy to egg protein. Later, he switched to steamed venison, and after half a month of eating, the cat’s stool was completely formed.

Don’t think that cats with food allergies just can’t eat grains. Among the allergic cats I’ve come into contact with, more are allergic to common animal proteins such as beef, chicken, and fish. Some are allergic to certain food attractants and preservatives. Try not to touch those off-brand snacks with a long list of ingredients. There was a cat owner who managed to recuperate his cat for three months, and all the allergic symptoms disappeared. He suddenly felt soft and fed a brand-name cat strip given by a friend, which contained a beef-derived food attractant. The cat started to have soft stools again the same day, and all previous efforts were in vain.

As for whether to conduct allergen testing specifically for cats, there is currently no consensus in the industry. Some people think that the test results have a high probability of false positives, so it is not as accurate as directly doing a food challenge test. Others think that testing first can narrow the scope of the investigation and lessen the suffering for the cat. If your cat's allergic symptoms are mild and you can slowly try the ingredients, you can try it first. If you have frequent vomiting, bloody stools, or severe dandruff and hair loss, it is safer to listen to the doctor's advice first.

After all, there is really no standard answer to the diet for cats with allergies. Putting someone else’s “magic diet” on your cat might be a minefield. The key is to avoid identified allergens and don’t feed random things. In fact, it’s not that troublesome to raise.