DIY Elimination Diet for Dog and Cat « Dr. Matt Allworth – Veterinarian. Dogs and cats with long- standing skin or gastrointestinal troubles may be suffering food allergy. Commercial laboratories offer vets a blood testing service with an accuracy of up to 6. Many vet dermatologists view them as . I don’t recommend wasting your money on blood tests; spend it on an venison instead. Have as few ingredients as possible: preferably one source of protein, and one source of carbohydrate. Are you a new cat parent, or looking to brush up on your pet care skills? Here are our tips for keeping your cat happy and healthy. Diet is the brick and mortar of health. This web page lays out some often-ignored principles of feline nutrition and explains why cats have a better chance at optimal. Choosing the right diet for cats with kidney disease is an important part of managing this condition. Check out our best wet cat food list for 20, feed your cat the best way possible! We have evaluated the best cat food out there, to help you! The more ingredients, especially if commercial foods are included, the greater the likelihood an allergen may be inadvertently included in the elimination diet, ending in a false negative result. Dogs should be fed a protein and carbohydrate that has rarely, if ever, been offered previously. Unusual protein sources are ideal, such as kangaroo, rabbit, duck, turkey, crocodile, or other game meats. Fish is a good choice as it’s also loaded with anti- allergy Omega- 3’s. The offal of the protein source can be fed, but not that of other species. Protein can be served cooked or raw. Unusual carbohydrates are potatoes, rice or pulses. An approximate recipe is 2 parts carbohydrate to 1 part protein. Protein content shouldn’t fall below 2. While it’s tempting to incorporate other veggies, they’re not necessary in a short term trial. Cats can receive a 1. Kangaroo, rabbit, and turkey are good choices. Offal of the chosen species is ok. If your cat is unwilling to eat the one species for the 6 to 8 week trial period, you may need to select 2 proteins, and alternate. My cat ate Science diet dry food for the first several years of his life, at the recommendation of his vet (I’ve since learned that the closest thing to nutritional. Learn more about Science Diet Cat Food, specially formulated to meet your cat's life stage, life style or life care needs. Discover some useful methods for training your cat, from socializing to using the litter box. Explore our library of articles to learn more. In both cat and dog, religiously exclude ingredients commonly used in commercial pet food such as beef, chicken, lamb (for dogs), soy, dairy, fish (for cats), wheat, oats, and corn. Dairy exclusion should encompass lactose- free milk products, manufactured for pets. In young, rapidly growing animals, it’s best to consult with your regular vet regarding balancing a formulation, or using a specialised commercial diet. Ingredient lists can’t always be relied upon. Supermarket brands can contain a Noah’s Ark of unlisted protein and other ingredients. If life’s already busy enough, preparing meals for the family, and 2 months of homecooking for the pet isn’t feasible, there are a handful of commercial foods recommended by vets for an elimination trial. These cost 2. 0- 3. Hills Prescription Diet Z/d or D/d – rice/egg. ![]() Eukanuba Response Formula FP – fish/potato. Royal Canin Therapeutic, feline: pea/duck, pea/venison, pea/rabbit, pea/lamb, or Hypoallergenic HPRoyal Canin Therapeutic, canine: potato/duck, potato/venison, potato/rabbit, potato/whitefish, or Hypoallergenic HPIf however, your pets skin or tummy trouble fails to improve on these commercial diets, it is still possible a home- cooked, novel protein diet may be effective. Most food allergies are perennial and the flow of seasons offers no relief. However, when a pet suffers multiple allergies,and some seasonality is observed, conduct the elimination trial a time of year when the skin is usually bad, so a therapeutic benefit is easier to detect. This is important, to firm- up our confidence the diet actually worked, and identify the exact allergen(s). Understandably, once a food allergen is excluded and long- standing symptoms begin to clear, some pet owners are reluctant to enter a challenge phase. The trouble wih this approach is: Failure to identify the allergen, so all future dietary decisions are made in the dark. Fingering individual allergen(s) offers greater flexibility when selecting commercial foods and formulating homecooked recipes. Home cooked diets are often unbalanced. This is especially important in young, rapidly growing dogs, and cats living on 1. Having at least a small amount for commercial food in the daily ration is like giving a multivitamin. For more, see The Arguement for Dietary Diversity. Scientifically test for the allergen, using staged re- introduction of ingredients, one- by- one. It can take between 2 days and 2 weeks for symptoms for reappear after introducing a food allergen, so don’t add a new ingredient more frequently than one every 2 weeks. Test all the major allergens starting with beef, chicken and lamb, fish for cats, and then check dairy, eggs, and pasta for wheat. Cases of multiple allergy are rare, but if you discover one, continue to test the others. If no symptoms return, you have to question if the response to elimination diet was real, or if the skin problem spontaneously resolved, coincidentally. Once the allergen is fingered, you can start scrutinising labels and testing their claims wih your beef- detecting dog. More crudely,experiment by offering commerical diets. As these represent a pot- purri of potential allergens, listed on packaging and unlisted contaminants, this process is very hit- and- miss. When symptoms return, guess which is the offending ingredient. If you’re lucky, after 3 months of scouring butchers for exotic meats, boiling rice and potatoes, and getting dirty looks from a fussy cat, you may be liberated from the treadmill of derma- pharmaceuticals. Pinging is currently not allowed.
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