Changing Special Needs Cat Diet?

Question

I just found out my kitten has allergies to cat food. I was feeding her Friskie's Shredded and Prime Filets which she loved. I'd occassionally give her some dry food. The doctor just put her on a canned food all duck diet. His instructions was to feed her the duck food only. However, she's not eating it. She nibble but she knows where the "other stuff" is. I try hiding it and she just rubs against the cabinets looking for it. I have to feed my other cat in the bathroom and my kitty scrapes the door knowing there's other food behind it.

I've read all the websites and previous postings that suggest slowly changing diet by mixing new and old. My vet says -- duck food only. This stuff is way to expensive to be wasting, So here's my question, should I ignore doctor's orders and gradually mix. Or, continue to put down duck food until she eventually starves herself and has no choice but to eat it?

Answer 1

Your vet didn't do any tests to determine what your cat is allergic too.

  Was IBD or IBS definitely diagnosed?  There are many things you can do here and feeding the vet's food isn't the best option

First no dry foods Cats should not eat it period and yours especially.

  Have you ever read the label of what you were feeding? Your cat is a carnivore an needs meat to survive.  Muscle meat should be the first ingredient. Not meal and certainly not grains or byproducts.

  I would try a grain free food like wellness. A 12 ounce canned goes for under 2 dollars so that is about 4 servings of top quality food for cheaper then fancy feast. If that doesn't work I would consider a raw food diet which you can prepare yourself. You can email me for links if you want

  Your cat needs to eat and shouldn't go more then a day without food.

Make sure she eats, Have you tried plain chicken as a treat or any other plain meat?

  I assume this was diagnosed because of diarrhea. get some acidophiles from the health food store and sprinkle some in the food each day

Answer 2

Cats are peculiar in that they would rather starve themselves than eat something they don't want, so if she's not eaten much after say 36 hours, it might be time to rethink strategy. The novel protein your vet has suggested does not have to be duck, as stated. Make sure there is no grain whatsoever in whatever you give her, and stop giving her kibble (dry food) which is full of loads of nasties. Of course, the best thing to give her is a raw prey diet which will not be full of grain and will keep her teeth and gums healthy. Kibble will not do this and is full of carbohydrate and extremely bad for cats. Please don't feed her dry food if you want her to get better.

Answer 3

It does sound mean, but its for her won good, I say only duck and if she gets hungry she will eat, she will be fine even if she doesnt eat for a day.  and I would suggest only feeding your animals dry foor, the canned foor will rot their teeth and dental work on a cal is REALLY expensive!!  And I believe Natural Balance has Duck

Answer 4

mix

Answer 5

Gradually mix it.  No cat should go very long without food, and kittens and overweight adults are the most at risk.

If your cat has allergies they aren't going to get any worse if it takes you a while to switch.

But here's another idea.  The vet obviously believes your cat has allergies to common protein sources such as chicken or perhaps fish.  That's why he gave you a food with a novel protein source.

Truth is, it's not the duck that's important, it's the fact that it's not chicken (or whatever).

You could try another food.  There are several out there that offer these novel proteins.  Natural Balance is one, Evo has a line called 95% Meat, and Nature's Variety Instincts is another.

All three of these are grainless, which is another thing.  Many cats are sensitive to grains, and corn, wheat and soy are common allergens.  (I'm willing to bet the food your vet gave you has one or more of those which rather defeats the purpose of a food trial).

Answer 6

You will need to gradually mix it.  If she is resisting the duck food, add some baby food (not any with garlic or onions) and mix things well.  The more potent scent often gets the cat to eat what they normally won't.

Yes, your vet says duck food only, but the change is normally done over a week period as you change the proportions.  That delay is not going to be fatal.

I hate to inform you of this, but a cat will starve themselves to death rather than eat something they don't like.  That is perhaps the major frustration when your beloved kitty needs a special diet.

If she remains resistant to the new food, there are vet specialties in allergies, and consulting one of those may give you other paths to a diet change, with perhaps even a different food other than duck.