Cat with Food Allergies and Behavior Issues

Question:

Sophie is an approximately six-year old cat who weighs a little over eight pounds that I rescued from the local shelter.  Her diet was whatever mixture of donated food that was put down in the morning.  Her coat was dry and coarse and except for a Mommy-tummy, she was thin.She wasn't friendly with the other cats and kept herself apart from them, but wanted a lot of human attention. When I took her home to live with me, everyone was happy, especially Sophie and me.  This was three years ago.When I saw that she wouldn't eat IAMS, I started her on Science Diet dry food and an assortment of wet food as a treat morning and night, as instructed by the vet.Within the first year, she began to scratch and itch.  Eventually she pulled her hair from her back in tufts.

After giving her a physical, the vet decided the problem was food allergies. I began to try to find a hypoallergenic food that she could - and would - eat. When I got to canned rabbit and dry Z/D, she did well for awhile.  No more itching!

Although I had no plans to add another cat, I rescued a stray. Sophie did not like this strange cat in her house - she would hiss and chase Honey - but she was otherwise doing fine.  Then two months later she once more began to itch again, have "dandruff" and tear out her fur from her lower back.

I took Sophie back to the vet where he tried a steroid shot as a "diagnostic tool". He said he wasn't comfortable giving them to her regularly and I agreed. The shot made Sophie a zombie.  We were then trying other wet food with the same dry Z/D.  The shot wore off and Sophie came alive but the itching began again.

Finally, we tried canned Z/D Ultra with the dry Z/D. Sophie began to sometimes have explosive diarrhea.  Her breath was terrible and she even burped. When she lowered herself to her belly, it was slowly with great care. She appeared to have a bad stomach ache. I tried putting a tiny bit of my probiotic on her food but I saw no effect.Now she eats dry Z/D, which is down all the time, and a tiny smear of canned venison, just enough to give her the satisfaction of a treat twice a day.  While she's perkier in the morning - after probably eating less during the night - by afternoon she looks droopy-eyed and uncomfortable.  She has puddly, very smelly stools and her back ripples with itching.

She sleeps a lot as the result, I think, of the Elavil the vet prescribed (she gets slightly less than 1 mg. daily transdermal).  He was trying to see if her dislike of the other cat is causing enough stress to cause the allergic reaction.  I think the culprit is food, maybe protein??  If so, then what?

The vet said we've tried "everything" but I love Sophie and I refuse to give up. I've considered trying raw food but I don't know that Sophie would accept it and it's very expensive with all the right vitamins in it.  I desperately need a more informed mind than mine to figure out what to do next. I came across your site this morning and hope you'll help us.  I will eagerly await your advice.

Thank you. Marcia N.

Response:

Hello Marcia,

Thank you for you inquiry to Holistic Pet Info.  It does appear from your description that Sophie has food allergies and behavior issues.  The primary food allergies that cats develop can be to chicken, beef, corn, wheat, white rice and soy.   Even though she is on Z/D (ultra) it is made from hydrolyzed chicken that in some animals will still trigger the immune system. I highly recommend trying a diet elimination trial, which contains only one protein source and no grains. You may have to try several formulations depending on outcome, but I would also recommend offering digestive enzymes, fiber and probiotics with the diet. 

If you would like to offer a raw diet, The Honest Kitchen makes an excellent dehydrated balanced raw that is very easy to prepare. Two very good premium foods are Evo 95% meat or Wellness with no grain. I would definitely offer only wet food due to the fact it has more protein per dry weight and dry food inherently has more carbohydrates. Cats are true carnivores and unfortunately dry food is developed for ease of feeding but poorly meets the true nutritional needs of felines. 

Supplements that may work for her are Digestive Support by Pet Alive, Gastriplex by Thorne or Medibulk by Thorne. You may also add canned pumpkin to her diet, which if she likes, should help firm up the stool.

As far as the behavior you may try several natural treatments such as Feliway, which is a plug- in atomizer that mimics the “happy” pheromones that cats deposit when they rub their face. For a supplement you may offer Sedaplus by Thorne, which helps with anxiety and fear induced behaviors. A holistic veterinarian may also help after examining your cat and selecting a homeopathic remedy specific for her personality. Conventional medicine dictates that these two issues are unrelated but as a holistic and eastern medicine practitioner both of these issues are linked. With the severity of both issues seeing a holistic/acupuncture veterinary doctor may improve both concerns drastically. Best of luck.
Sincerely,
Colleen Smith DVM, CVA