Balancing a Recipe for a Cat with Food Allergies

The incidence of food allergy in cats remains unknown. Some studies indicate that, overall, food allergies are the third most common type of allergy in cats, eclipsed only by allergies to flea bites and inhalants (atopy).

Novel Proteins and Limited Ingredients

Food allergies in cats place major limits on the foods we can use to create a balanced diet while suppressing immune reactivity related to the allergic processes that cause inflammation and physical damage. Special diets that limit ingredients to those non-reactive for the animal can at least aid repair and start the potential road back to health.

But therein lies a huge challenge, because by limiting the proteins to probable novel forms, and limiting additional foods because of reactivity, this process significantly reduces the pool of foods from which to choose that can be optimally balanced nutritionally to create actual health. Essentially, every recipe I have analyzed for these purposes is nutritionally imbalanced and lacking many nutrients required to support both recovery from illness and a return to full, optimal health.

Enter the brilliant software, Pet Diet Designer, providing the ability to work with limited ingredients and adjust specific foods and amounts while observing instant changes in nutrient profiles, with successful outcomes in creating a scientifically balanced, optimized recipe that achieves both stopping the production of ongoing disease and beginning the foundation for re-creating health.

Here I share the result of creating a balanced recipe for Silo the cat, with limited ingredients, easy-to-acquire foods, short preparation times, and a recipe that could be used both raw and with limited cooking. Without the ability of Pet Diet Designer, this recipe would be nearly impossible to create!

David’s Bison Limited Ingredients for Cats

This recipe is set and balanced for an 11-pound (4.99 kg), 1-year-old, neutered, female, purebred Savannah cat with an underweight body condition score (BCS = 4). Your cat may require adjustments to this recipe.