My cat with food allergies is sick and losing weight. What wet food?

Food allergies could be one of the reason for the persistent diarrhoea and weight loss, but these conditions must be differentiated from IBD (inflammatory bowel diseases) and unfortunately from more sinister conditions like tumors. Weight loss in old cats can have different causes as well, and endocrine diseases (hyperthyroidism and diabetes mellitus) are frequently associated with intestinal diseases as well. Considering all these possible clinical scenarios, I would recommend a check up and more tests (blood test+urine analysis including thyroid hormone and feline pancreatic lipase and possibly an ultrasound of the abdomen) to determine underlying cause and treat appropriately. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. With gastrointestinal disease, sometimes the intestines are just unable to absorb nutrients regardless of the type of food you feed. So, it is important to feed Elvis whatever he will eat. There are no natural remedies, as there is no quick medical fixes, either. Oral steroids often help for a while, but then other medications are often needed. You can try some of the cat foods labeled as sensitive stomach or sensitive skin. The best ones are made by Science Diet & Royal Canin. I would also try him on a good probiotic, like Purina's FortiFlora. It really does seem to help some of these cats with GI issues. I hope this helps Elvis with his weight loss & vomiting.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Bingy! I am not sure how old Bingy is but I would highly recommend a Vet visit and blood work first. Losing 3 pounds, that isn't planned, worries me. If her blood work comes back normal, I would deworm her then treat her for presumptive IBD. I would recommend either a novel protein diet (avoid chicken, trying all fish, vension, rabbit, duck) or a prescription novel protein or hydrolyzed diet. I hope this helps and I wish Bingy the best!

Hi! It does concern me that Myla has lost a noticeable amount of weight over the past few months. It's certainly possible that this could be due to her picky eating habits, but I wouldn't necessarily expect her to lose a considerable amount of weight from that alone since I'm assuming that she's always been a bit picky. Other causes of weight loss can include inflammatory bowel disease, a heavy burden of parasites, cancer, kidney disease, or diabetes, although we often see other changes associated with many of these conditions. I do think it would be best to take Myla to her vet for an exam and some diagnostic testing (blood work and/or imaging - x-rays or ultrasound) to try to get to the bottom of this situation. Until her appointment, try feeding her wet food in a room away from your other two cats so that you can more accurately see exactly how much she's eating. I hope that everything goes well!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Romeo. What a handsome boy! Pet nutrition is a confusing topic and the internet is filled with inaccurate information. I agree that high quality ingredients are important. However, it is equally important that these ingredients are combined appropriately and in the right proportions to give the best nutrition. For this reason, I support companies that have board certified veterinary nutritionists on staff and perform feeding trials in live animals as opposed to simple laboratory analysis. I like Purina ProPlan, Royal Canin and Hill's Science Diet. They are will have each have a variety of flavors and formulas that would be appropriate for him. I hope this information helps!

Cats, unlike dogs can eat only meat and be fine, as they are obligate carnivores. Dogs can actually be fed a vegetarian diet but cats cannot. If she was doing well on the previous food then transition her back if you want, or you can give her a little more time to get used to the new diet. You could even transition her to a completely canned diet. If you changed her abruptly from one to the other, that could be what started her problems, especially if she has a sensitive stomach. Since she's eating fine I don't think you need to rush her to the vet just yet, as long as she seems well otherwise. Decide what food you want to feed her long-term and transition her slowly from her current diet by offering her some of each dry food in two separate bowls for a few days. Then put 75% old food/25% new food in the bowl together for a few days. Then go to 50%/50%, then 25%/75%, taking a few days each time. Gradually reduce the amount of old food until she is completely fed the new dry food. If she gets an upset stomach, you can back up a step and hold there until she feels better. If she loses her appetite, starts vomiting, becomes lethargic, then do get her in to see your vet as soon as you can.

If Maze was previously diagnosed with food allergies and they don't seem to be better yet, then they were not adequately diagnosed. First, it can take several weeks for the allergy to go away after a diet change. So, if it's been less than six weeks after the diet was switched, then you'll need to wait a little longer before you know if it worked. Food allergies are due to certain proteins and they are usually animal proteins (beef, pork, dairy, etc.). To find the actual protein Maze was allergic to, you must have done an elimination trial. If there was not an elimination trial done, then you would be only guessing at the source of the allergies. One way I often bypass the elimination trial is by recommending a hydrolysed protein diet such as Hill's i/d. In these diets, the proteins are broken down, so there is minimal chance of them causing an allergy. This would have to be prescribed by a veterinarian though. In the meantime, you may consider starting a diet trial to see if that helps to relieve the problems Maze is having. Here is a link to a good article that explains how to do the diet: http://communityvet.net/2010/03/diy-elimination-diet-for-the-dog-an-cat/ Keep in mind that your diet trial will cease to work if she is getting any treats or table scraps. Make sure that there is no possibility of this happening - especially if there are kids in the house. As always, it's recommended to do these things in consultation with your vet.