My kitten has itchy skin. Is it chicken food? What non-chicken options?

Question

Lovebug is dealing with allergies right now. She is eating chicken based foods and I don't know if it's the chicken or another ingredient in the food that is making her neck face and lower back itchy. Its hard to find a turkey KITTEN food anywhere that is decently healthy. I was wondering about making homeade food for her....what would be a good recipe to feed her, that involves turkey or anything but chicken? Thank you for all the help!:). Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Female | spayed | 5 months and 20 days old | 11 lbs

Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS · Accepted Answer

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Having said that, in terms of diets, exclusion diets are probably the best way to rule out certain allergens (what triggers the allergic reaction). Exclusion diets are made with one source of proteins (turkey, venison, salmon etc etc) and one of carbohydrates (usually potatoes or peas). These diets and ABSOLUTELY nothing else must be given for 4 weeks at least. I would recommend to discuss their use with your vet rather than try an home made diet (which is very difficult to be effective). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

My kitten has itchy skin. Is it chicken food? What non-chicken options?

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