Feeding a hypoallergenic diet is the most effective treatment for food allergies in cats. Choosing the proper ingredients is important to insure success in controlling the cat's symptoms.
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Novel Protein Diets
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Cats can develop allergies to any ingredient in their food. The most commonly diagnosed involve corn, soy, rice, beef, milk products such as whey and cheese, egg, fish, lamb, and chicken. Protein sources in the food are frequently the cause of a feline food allergy although carbohydrate sources can also be responsible.
Novel protein diets are an option because the method provides a protein source to your cat, which it has never been fed before. The diet can consist of both a protein and a carbohydrate source or just a protein source. Review your cat's diet history and choose a single protein source which your cat has never eaten before. If a carbohydrate is to be included in the diet, it should be novel to the cat also.
Vegetarian diets are not recommended for cats because of their carnivorous nature. Meats provide nutrients such as taurine, thiamine, and essential fatty acids which are essential to the physical health of the feline species.
Commercially prepared novel protein diets are available and most often include rabbit, kangaroo, alligator, ostrich or venison as the protein source. Carbohydrate sources include peas, lentils or potatoes. Home cooked meals can also be used. If a home cooked diet is to be fed long term, consultation with a veterinary nutrition expert is important to make sure that the diet is nutritionally balanced and will satisfy all of your cat's nutritional needs.
Hydrolyzed Diets
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Hydrolyzed diets use a process called hydrolysis to break the proteins down to individual amino acids. The theory behind feeding a hydrolyzed protein diet is based on the amino acid components being small enough to avoid detection by the cat's immune system and being less likely to elicit an immune response as a result. Hydrolyzed diets offer an alternative to feeding a novel protein diet.
Several commercially available hydrolyzed protein diets are available and they work well for some allergic cats but not for all. Some cats which have experienced allergies to specific proteins can still react to the similar hydrolyzed protein as well. Therefore, if feeding a hydrolyzed diet, it is still best to avoid sources of protein which your cat has eaten previously.
Treats
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Feed your cat only hypoallergenic treats. Do not administer any flavored medications or vitamins. Hypoallergenic cat treats are commercially available or can be home cooked using novel proteins and/or carbohydrates.
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