2 cats and one needs a prescription diet

[sassykitty]

So what to do? I hate this - should I just feed them both a hypoallergenic diet or sneak and feed the other cat her regular food? I feel like I'm being unfair to one of them either way The past 2 days I have fed wet food that I know the cat that needs special food won't touch.

I gotta say I think a life of prescription food is going to suck, but I guess if it takes care of the problem and keeps her healthy and I can find a food that she really likes it will be worth it. I need to find more options for a hypoallergenic food, can prescription foods be bought anywhere other than from a vet? I am searching the internet but not finding a lot of options. Right now mixing Hills z/d with her regular food and at 75% old and 25% z/d she is not eating much. So yesterday I went back to the vet because they also had IVD Pea and Venison, but she won't touch that at all. And I have a question about that - I suspect she may be allergic to seafood and the Pea and Venison has salmon oil in it so that's not good is it? Bless her heart she loves her seafood

[jennifer2]

I feed my cats different foods, but it's never been a problem in my house.
Another food to consider for allergy problems is California Natural. It's a limited ingredient food so it's better for animals with allergies. I think it has only 3 ingredients then it's all vitamins and minerals.

Jennifer

[BaileyAndSammi]

You could try switching to Wysong's canned food. It's 100% meat, so you would have to add some vitamins and supplements, but it is great for allergic kitties. It's a little on the expensive side, at about $3-4 per 13 oz can.

Natural Balance (I think) makes a Venison food also. I knew of a cat that was allergic to corn, turkey, chicken, and other things so she ate the Natural Balance Venison food and did fine on it.

[moggiegirl]

Are you sure she's allergic to seafood. Did the vet actually say so? Salmon oil is not the same as feeding fish. Fish oils are a good source of omega 3's for a healthy shiny coat. I am feeding Spotty the IVD Rabbit and Pea diet. At first he was a bit picky but after a few days he was eating the food. You might try persistence and gradually and slowly changing the food. The nice thing about the IVD diets is that you can feed it to multiple cats which is not the case with the Hills z/d diet. It's nutritionally balanced enough and fine for healthy cats. You can also try the Natural Balance allergy formula sold at Petco and feed that to all your cats. Spotty has inflammatory bowel disease and Rosie does not. So what I do is feed both cats the same dry food IVD rabbit and pea. I also spoil them by adding Live a Littles Halo Purely For Pets dried chicken to their dry food. Don't do this if your cat is allergic to chicken. Spotty is not. He just needs to eat food that easy for him to digest. He was originally prescribed Hill's i/d diet which is a low residue diet. I switched to IVD Rabbit and Pea because I don't like the Hill's company. Spotty gets canned IVD rabbit and pea, a serving twice a day and Rosie gets a variety of different canned foods from different companies, Nutro, Wellness and I'm going to try Prairie tomorrow, and she also sometimes gets Spotty's canned Rabbit and Pea and both Rosie and Spotty get canned venizon and pea occasionally as a treat and they both get occasional table scraps like cooked chicken. I go through loop holes. But if you're cat has serious protein allergy problems you may need to take your vet's advice quite seriously. It would make your life (as well as the cat's life) easier to select a food that both your cats can eat.

[nanook]

There's another thread under Health and Nutrition about alternatives to Science Diet Z/D. It may be helpful for you. As long as your feeding a balanced food that is hypoallergenic there is no reason why both cats can't be on it. I think cats get "addicted" to fish because it has such a strong smell but they will get over it, with time.