My cat has food allergies. What treats are safe (no chicken/fish)?

Ark Naturals makes a poultry free dental chew. VetriScience Perio Plus also has a poultry free line. It may be difficult since chicken is an inexpensive, therefore common, ingredient in foods and treats. Another option would be to bake your own dental treats at home. You can find numerous recipes online using your preferred search engine. Search "homemade poultry free dental treat, cat".

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.

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Having said that, in terms of diets, exclusion diets are probably the best way to rule out certain allergens (what triggers the allergic reaction). Exclusion diets are made with one source of proteins (turkey, venison, salmon etc etc) and one of carbohydrates (usually potatoes or peas). These diets and ABSOLUTELY nothing else must be given for 4 weeks at least. I would recommend to discuss their use with your vet rather than try an home made diet (which is very difficult to be effective). 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.

You may try giving him commercial cats treats (there is a brand called Temptations that most cats seem to love). Greenies are treats that are actually good for their teeth and come in many flavors as well. Any type of meat you give Pelly needs to be lean and free of fat and cooked. You may try a small amount (like a pinky finger nail size) of beef or turkey. Remember this should only be in moderation. These foods could upset his tummy if he is sensitive or they are given in excess. I hope this helps.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You can use canned tuna and chicken which are both great. Also, cooked fish, lean turkey and lean red meats which they tend to like a lot too. Good luck and have a great day!

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!

Dogs are omnivores and can get enough nutrition from a balanced commercial vegetarian food. If you would like to try a meat diet, you could consider a novel protein diet. A novel protein is one that Buddy hasn't eaten before. You could consider venison, bison, fish or duck. Natural Balance makes a number of limited ingredient diets that you could consider. https://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dog-formulas/special-category-limited-ingredient-diets Another option would be to try a hydrolyzed diet. Those would be prescription only and would be more expensive, but might be a good option as well. I am attaching a handout with more information about diet trials for food allergies below. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952600 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.