Cat Chat Feline Forum

Will she eat cooked chicken for the wet? You can add a little chicken liver and a calcium source like ground eggshell to balance it up, and most cats enjoy it. Plus it usually works out cheaper than good quality commercial foods.

Could it be the illness making her reluctant to eat anything that has caused pain in the past? My poodle, Poppy, is an absolute gannet but went off several special diets when she was very ill with liver failure early in the year - we suspected pancreatitis as well, so it sounds rather similar. As she recovered she decided perhaps they were food after all, but she is a dog and a greedy one at that - cats tend to be more fastidious. It does make it extremely difficult I know - I have a shelf full of renal food Tilly won't touch.

If there was ever one answer we'd all be so much happier but there isn't, a cat and its condition is unique.

That said and not encouraging you to go against your vet's advice, one of the most common issues cats have with cat food is the high carb content of grain fillers in them, wet but even more so dry foods. Some replace grain with slightly less cheap potato based carbs, but cats have very little need of carbs in their diet and some are intolerant to them or become intolerant as they grow older. It's just something to be aware of if the recommended food does turn out to be less than you'd hope.

I'm as lost as you are, I know it's opposite to vets advice and vets know better than people on forums, but there are many cats out there with grain intolerances and very few with protein intolerance. I have nothing else to suggest, sorry

My understanding is that the process of hydrolysing breaks protein down into its component parts so that it is less likely to trigger a reaction. It is therefore not so important to avoid certain protein sources, as long as they are hydrolysed.

If that is really the case it does make it exceptionally difficult! It may be easier to make your own salmon food by pureeing tinned salmon if she is allowed it - at least that way you know exactly what is in it. Most pet foods are made with unidentified meat and poultry meals and fats that change according to what is available cheaply, making an exclusion diet almost impossible. Blue Buffalo do a canned hydrolysed salmon, but I don't think it is available in the UK.

If I were making a mousse for humans it would involve eggs, or perhaps soft white cheese for a pate, but I suppose both of those are vetoed? Do you have a stick blender? I would try whooshing the salmon to a puree then freezing it in an ice cube tray - that way you can defrost just as much as you need. Must it be salmon, or is other fish permitted? Mackerel or tuna perhaps?

I went through some similar anxieties with Poppy - she was meant to be strictly on the hepatic food to give her liver a chance to recover, but refused to eat it. After some research I concocted a sort of porridge of oats, chicken, eggs and a supplement or two that my vet accepted as an adequate alternative - I was very glad when she decided the canned food was edible after all, though, as it was both decidedly easier and better balanced (or at least it was once I added extra protein in the form of chopped chicken to every meal, and a good splash of water to keep her hydrated!).