Cat food advice question

[untonuggan]

Hello fellow dw cat people!

So Chance appears to have some sort of food-related allergy. The "is it food or is it environmental" has been up in the air for awhile, as the symptoms are intermittently GI but also sometimes involve sores on his face (which he sticks into *everything* so it's like "well maybe he stuck his face in a dust bunny again"?).

However recently we had a short time where he was just on wet food because the sores were making it hard to eat dry kibble (I *know*). Everything resolved. I transitioned him back to kibble + wet, symptoms reappeared. I went back to wet food, everything was fine. I tried a *slower* transition back to kibble + wet, symptoms reappeared. So at least it's pretty clear that probably whatever he's allergic to is in the ingredients of his kibble, and he's unlikely to be allergic to things in his wet food.

We try to give our cats cat food without a lot of additives, etc. anyway. So we definitely can't afford to feed him wet food all the time, nor do I have spoons for "attempting to create homemade cat food". I am...not up for the raw food thing that is popular atm.

Anyway, the wet food he eats is Weruva Love Me Tender, and his dry food is Orijen Cat and Kitten (which of course has a variety of ingredients because of course it does). He does eat Orijen Original Treats as bribes with no issue, though obviously in a much smaller quantity.

The vet has suggested prescription diet cat food, at least to rule out what he's allergic to. I'm side-eyeing it both because of the cost and because I think that aside from "ensuring there's no cross-contamination", we can source healthier ingredients anyway. I am also not sure if I'm just reflexively reacting as anti Big Pharma Cat Food or something. It's also suuuuper spendy, so there's that.

It seems fairly clear that he at least does not have issues with Chicken and Duck meat. Probably he is allergic to a protein source, so it seems likely that it's fish rather than one of the nutrient additives (like kelp or something). I guess I could put him back on the wet food for a bit and then give him whitefish or something and see if he reacts. IDK.

Meanwhile, here's the real question: does anyone have recommendations for dry cat food that is poultry-based (preferably chicken and duck) and does not contain fish, states where the ingredients are sourced? Our budget could probably absorb about $20/5 lb bag, but once it gets into $30/5 lb bag range it's a bit of a stretch, though we can probably shop around as we have with Orijen and find the least expensive supplier.

standard disclaimer you are not a vet (or at least, my cat's vet), etc.

Comments

[indywind]

https://www.beyondpetfood.com/products/cat/dry-food/

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/product-category.aspx?ProductCategoryID=40&category=LID+Limited+Ingredient+Diets+Dry+Cat+Formulas

Our cats do well on Science Diet, most varieties of which have one fish ingredient, "fish oil" , no fish protein.

I doubt you will find a limited-ingredient ethically-sourced prepared dry food that is inexpensive.

You might be able to make home-made wet food for reasonable cost of $, but more spoons. It needn't be raw; you could crockpot or pressure-cook (if using bones) thebetter-cooked ingredients before running them through a food processor with the non-animal additives. It is possible to online-order a balanced formula vitamin supplement intended for home-made cat food, so you don't have to figure out the micronutrient proportions. For example:
http://www.knowwhatyoufeed.com/alnutrin_supplements.html

[untonuggan]

belated thank you!

[silveradept]

Some of the Limited Ingredient types of dry food may be able to make the kibble and the budget work. The sourcing may not be as easily available.

Sometimes the pet food clerks know a thing or five about those requirements, too. But that assumes you have a local, non-national chain pet store near you to use.

[untonuggan]

belated thank you! :D have talked to local pet food clerks, got good suggestions. :D

[silveradept]

Hooray! Here's hoping something works and doesn't cause the reactions. Good luck!

[rainbow]

oh gosh, my binxy gets horrible sores on his chin from dry food. every brand we've tried and all sorts of different proteins, and something in every single one breaks out his chin. you are the first other person i've found out had a kitty with thte same thing!

for wet, we can't afford the good stuff, so they get friskies pate (which is gluten free so safe in the house for me) -- and on that suboptimal food, he has no break outs on any of the proteins: fish, poultry, or beef. i have no clue what's causing it in the dry food (and i hope chance's is less obstinant. i also wonder if it's a black cat thing...).

(note for friskies: only the pate is gluten-free, if that's a concern for you. all the oens with different forms bits have gluten).

i checked the dry food we get, acana pacifica, but (doh, chris, look at the name) it's fish based. they have a couple that are mostly poultry, but still ahve perch it them. nothing fish-free :(

[untonuggan]

this is all good to know. :D