Hypoallergenic food for cats and kittens: features, types and subtleties of choice

If a cat has diarrhea, it has become ill, has no appetite to eat, it often gets sick, possibly because of a food allergy. It also includes symptoms such as lethargy after eating, unwillingness to eat, dullness and lack of shine in the coat, redness and itching of the skin. If at least one of the above signs is present, the cat needs nutritional adjustments.

Before you change anything, contact your veterinarian to have the animal taken tests and find out what causes it to be allergic. After that, work with your veterinarian to make a nutritional plan for your cat, deciding on the right food for her. Of course, it must be hypoallergenic food.

Hypoallergenic cat food is designed and developed to minimize negative reactions to food from the pet's digestive tract. Often, their formulas contain small amounts of basic ingredients. They are selected in accordance with such requirements as:

• absence of the most common allergens;
• highly digestible;
• nutritional value;
• quality raw materials.

To date, it has not been established why cats and cats develop food allergies, although expert nutritionists conduct a large amount of research on this issue. It was possible to establish only that certain types of proteins in animal food can cause allergies to them. These are, for example, products such as soy, corn, wheat, beef, pork and chicken.

It is in this, and not in disorders of the immune system of cats, that the reason for the general allergic reaction to chicken and pork meat lies.

It is important to remember that the very concept of "hypoallergenic food" is rather arbitrary, because, for example, if the composition does not contain gluten, but is based on animal protein and is marked as hypoallergenic, then your cat may suffer from it if he is allergic to animal protein. We should talk not so much about the hypoallergenicity of the composition, but about the basis on which it was developed, what components are contained in its formula, and how useful and safe it is for the pet.

Buying a pack of dry formula marked "hypoallergenic" economy class does not guarantee that allergy symptoms will disappear immediately, nor does a super premium class feed guarantee this. It's not enough just to buy food that says "hypoallergenic" to make your cat healthy and happy. Like humans, cats have any allergy - an individual thing. Therefore, you need to select food carefully, taking into account the condition of the animal, excluding what causes a negative reaction. This component should not be included in the feed.

Finished feeds are conventionally divided into the following groups.

• Gluten free... Many cats do not tolerate gluten (vegetable protein). There are mixtures in which vegetable protein is completely absent - there is no wheat, no corn, no other grains. Either the gluten is replaced with rice (both white and brown), oats, or millet.
• Animal Protein Free... The formulation of such feeds does not include chicken, beef or pork. Duck, fish, lamb, rabbit meat may be present due to the fact that they are easily digestible and low-allergenic. There are also options with one type of protein (type of meat), the so-called mono-protein feed.
• If your cat is lactose intolerantas well as foods such as eggs and yeast, choose foods that are labeled “limited ingredients” on the package. These formulations contain the minimum amount of ingredients and are designed to eliminate all allergens.

The market for cat food is highly competitive, so manufacturing companies have to constantly work to expand the range, including introducing hypoallergenic food into it. Of course, the composition and quality of the final result are different for different companies, however, there are also leaders whose products are of higher quality than others.

• Royal canin - a company from France with a solid reputation in the domestic market too. This manufacturer has two different hypoallergenic foods: Hypoallergenic DR25 and Anallergenic. And here we are not talking about a successful idea of ​​marketers, but about two completely different recipes. The first is developed on the hydrolyzate of soy protein and rice, as well as prebiotics and substances that improve the quality of the skin.

• Pro Plan - food included in the line with dietary and medicinal properties. It contains only one protein - hydrolyzed soybeans, as well as highly refined carbohydrates in the form of rice starch. This food is recommended to be consumed from 8 to 10 weeks.

• Hill's Prescription diet z / d - therapeutic cat food from a manufacturer known all over the world. It is aimed precisely at reducing allergic reactions in the gastrointestinal tract and skin of the animal. The main ingredient in the feed is rice with the addition of hydrolyzed animal protein. This minimizes the response of the immune system to the feed.

• 1st Choice - manufacturer from Canada. Its Hypoallergenic foods are suitable for cats with intolerance to traditional protein. The product contains duck meat and sweet potatoes, there are no cereals at all.

• Farmina UltraHypo - Italian food included in the veterinary series. This formulation is based on a combination of fish protein hydrolyzate and refined rice starch. Fish oil is responsible for the "supply" of lipids. In addition, the formula is fortified with natural antioxidants, prebiotics, chelated minerals and vitamins for cats.

• Bosch Tiernahrung - manufacturer from Germany. In addition to the usual formulas, we have developed the Sensitive food, aimed at animals suffering from food intolerances. The formula contains poultry, lamb, rice, potato protein and sorghum. There is no chemistry and cannot be - this is the company's policy. In addition, there are no cereals in the feed.

• Another Italian manufacturer - Monge Vetsolution, in the line of which there is a super-premium hypoallergenic dietary food Dermatosis. It is 100% gluten free and grain free. The composition is based on hydrolyzed salmon protein, as well as some tapioca, potatoes and freeze-dried chicken protein.

• Acana - a manufacturer from Canada, whose products are distinguished by high-quality ingredients in the recipe. Their mixtures are suitable for cats with gluten intolerance because they are completely grain-free. Components such as lamb, duck, turkey, fish and chicken are responsible for animal protein. The recipe is complemented by a chicken egg. If your cat has an intolerance to chicken or eggs, then the Acana Pacifica fish mix is ​​recommended.

• Acana Orijen - a feed line from a previous Canadian manufacturer. They are free of grains and potatoes, which means they are suitable for animals that react to gluten. In addition, the meat component is increased in them.

• German feed Leonardo developed by Bewital. If the cat reacts negatively to cereals, a composition based on amaranth and chia seeds with the addition of poultry and fish is suitable for her. There is a composition based on meat (lamb) and rice, it is intended for cats over a year old.

• Pronature holistic - Canadian food, which contains exclusively natural ingredients, produced or grown organically. The ingredients do not include wheat grains, soy protein, corn and, of course, "chemistry". So that food is better absorbed without creating problems for the digestive tract, there are formulas based on salmon and brown rice, duck with orange, turkey with cranberries, white fish with wild rice.

• Czech company Brit care the entire product line is declared as hypoallergenic, since the composition does not contain wheat, soy and corn, but rice is present. There is also a grain-free Sensitive digestion food based on lamb, salmon, and dried potatoes.

• Canagan - very high quality products made in Great Britain. All foods in the range are grain free. There are recipes based on duck, venison and rabbit, and there are recipes based on salmon, herring and trout.

• Now Fresh - another Canadian ruler. The composition contains exclusively fresh meat, nothing dehydrated. For those cats whose digestive system is particularly sensitive, a recipe is offered, which includes trout and potatoes.

• Go! - "brother" of Now Fresh food, they are produced by one company. The brand offers a line of recipes for cats with the most sensitive digestive tract. It includes recipes that are completely grain-free, but with a lot of healthy meat and fish protein.

First of all, when choosing food, you should focus on the individual characteristics of your pet, its age and veterinarian advice. For example, Pronature foods are best for kittens, as they contain everything a growing body needs.When making a choice between dry and wet food, you need to know that each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Consider the pros of dry food:

• cares for teeth, helps to avoid dental problems, for example, the development of tartar;
• profitability, since it is stored for a long time and is not susceptible to deterioration;
• strengthens the jaw muscles.

There are also disadvantages:

• high carbohydrate food, and cats need a lot of protein;
• cats that have been eating wet food for a long time find it difficult to adapt to assimilating dry food;
• Many feeds contain cereals that cause allergies, read the ingredients carefully.

When it comes to wet food, there are the following advantages:

• contains the required amount of proteins and fats, which contributes to the shine of the coat and liveliness of the animal's character;
• three-quarters of it consists of water, that is, the product is almost liquid, in the process of feeding the cat receives a sufficient amount of water;
• prevents overeating: it is with wet mixtures that animals eat up faster;
• smells delicious and looks attractive.

The disadvantages of wet mixes are:

• are more expensive than dry food;
• susceptible to rapid deterioration;
• cause the formation of plaque and calculus, as a result - bad breath.

Of course, you need to study the reviews of veterinarians on the Internet before purchasing food. Moreover, for cats with allergies, when drawing up a diet, the opinion of an observing veterinarian who knows all the features of the animal must be taken into account without fail.

If your cat shows signs of allergies, change not only the food. Think, maybe the point is in the delicacy with which you indulge him, study its composition. It is important to analyze everything that the animal regularly eats, and, if necessary, completely change the entire diet - from sweets to mixtures.

See below for an overview of medicated cat food for food allergies.