4 Great Food Options from Hill’s For Cats With Environmental and Food Sensitivities in 2024 Battling Allergies Through a Well-Planned Diet!

BY | March 04 | COMMENTS PUBLISHED BY
4 Great Food Options from Hill’s For Cats With Environmental and Food Sensitivities in 2024

Addressing food allergies and sensitivity to allergens in the environment is critical for your pet’s health. In this article, we explore four ideal food options from the trusted Hill’s brand and learn how their formulations help address specific aspects of food and environmental allergies.

We tend to think that animals are hardy beings who can eat anything and survive. After all, cats catch and eat mice, and they are resilient enough to have developed the nine-life status. 

 

Interestingly enough, they are still prone to a few health issues that their caretakers might not expect. 

 

Allergies and sensitivity to environmental irritants are very much a real issue for many cats. The symptoms can arise in several ways, including itching skin, breathing difficulties, and digestive problems. Cat parents who suspect that their pet is sensitive to something need to take steps to protect their cat. 

 

While there are many potential sources of triggers, adverse reactions to food are one of the more common situations. In this article, let us look at four products by Hill’s that are made specifically for sensitive cats.

Key Aspects to Remember if Your Cat Shows Symptoms of Allergy

According to DVMs Stephen D. White and Karen Moriello, cats can be allergic to a wide variety of substances. These include particles from plants and other allergens in food and the environment. This can cause conditions like feline atopic dermatitis, which, as the name suggests, affects the skin, causing severe itching and redness. 

 

For some cats, skin problems are particularly pronounced, and food-related causes of skin irritation can be concerning. 

 

According to a post by VCA Animal Hospitals, you might notice your cat suffering from vomiting and diarrhea in addition to the typical itching and skin inflammation problems. They also state that the most reliable test to diagnose food allergies is an elimination diet trial. 

 

This takes around eight weeks or so, during which your cat is fed a trial diet. Your vet will recommend specific foods to feed your cat, and it’s critical that you avoid feeding them anything your vet hasn’t approved. 

 

If your cat ends up being allergic or sensitive to something in one of the trial diets, your vet will probably recommend a hypoallergenic diet. These diets are carefully formulated to not only be allergen-free but also provide several benefits, like a healthy skin barrier, improved immune response, etc. 

 

Let's take a look at some options and what they’re all about. 

 1. Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Skin/Food Sensitivities Dry Cat Food

Observing your cat deal with severe itching and skin problems can be distressing. It can cause your cat to overgroom itself, leading to fur loss, which further increases the risk of additional skin conditions. 

 

This particular Hill’s diet features a carefully selected combination of ingredients, which include vitamin E, natural fiber, and essential fatty acids. Vitamin E promotes a healthy immune system and is one of many clinically proven antioxidants that help stabilize free radicals and keep oxidative damage in check. 

 

It also has great anti-inflammatory properties, which explains why it is often prescribed for a number of skin and gastrointestinal tract conditions. 

 

The Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Skin/Food Sensitivities Dry Cat Food also comes with hydrolyzed animal protein. This means that the proteins are broken down into extremely small pieces to the point that your cat’s body doesn’t see them as dangerous. 

 

A lot of allergies in cats tend to be triggered by proteins, and cat food with hydrolyzed proteins is far less likely to cause a reaction. 

 

The natural fiber content is also worth talking about. They offer bioactives and phytonutrients to your cat, which offer several benefits, such as their anti-inflammatory properties and their promotion of immune cell production. These benefits go a long way toward improving your pet’s health in ways that would surprise you. 

 

For instance, you might find that the anti-inflammatory properties help reduce night scratching, and the improved immune system helps ward away infections, keeping your cat resilient. 

2. Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Skin/Food Sensitivities Canned Cat Food

A big part of creating a hypoallergenic food option is reducing the overall number of ingredients used. With conventional cat food, carbohydrates often come from a number of sources. If your cat is allergic to even one of them, then you can say hello to the allergic symptoms once again. 

 

The Hill’s Prescription Diet z/d Skin/Food Sensitivities Canned Cat Food features a single carbohydrate source, which drastically reduces the number of potential allergens. Moreover, it features carefully controlled minerals for bladder health through its S+OXSHIELD formula. 

 

The S+OXSHIELD primarily focuses on protecting your pet from urinary tract infections, but the balancing of minerals has other advantages. For instance, potassium can be extremely important if your cat has had vomiting or diarrhea as part of its allergic reaction. 

 

When this happens, potassium levels in your cat can fall, causing a host of other symptoms, including a lack of appetite, nervous disorders, and even cardiac arrest. 

Ensuring potassium levels are at a balanced level is a priority that any vet-recommended diet should address. 

3. Hill's Prescription Diet d/d Skin/Food Sensitivities Dry Cat Food

Unlike the previous two recommendations, which were z/d (where the focus was on hydrolyzed protein), the d/d diet formulation focuses on gastrointestinal care. Conditions like IBD, or inflammatory bowel disease, can sometimes be triggered by allergies, and they can be serious, chronic problems. 

 

Food and nutrition become critical in such situations, and Hill's Prescription Diet d/d Skin/Food Sensitivities Dry Cat Food addresses them. It also avoids soy as a protein source, which is commonly found in many cat treats from other brands on the market. This is because soy tends to be an allergen and contains phytoestrogens, which can mess with your cat’s hormonal balance. 

 

The formulation also comes with vitamin A, which is one of the best supplements out there to boost a cat’s immune system. It also contains chicken liver, a high source of vitamin B, which is known to help with skin and fur, in addition to stimulating the immune system and metabolism. 

 

Moreover, beans can be a little hard for cats to digest, and there’s a chance that they trigger gas and bloating. Robert, a cat caregiver, reported that regular, store-bought cat food gave his pet a lesion on the lip. However, his vet recommended the Hill’s d/d skin and food sensitivities option, and his cat loved it. Despite being a little pricey, Robert claims his cat has been on the diet for over eight years.  

4. Hill's Prescription Diet Hypoallergenic Cat Treats

WebMD emphasizes the need to avoid all table scraps and treats when your cat is being treated for IBD. However, your cat might not be the biggest fan of that advice. All of us enjoy a good snack from time to time, and it’s the same with your cat. 

 

One of the possible reasons that WebMD advises this is that treats and table scraps are often unhealthy. They may contain harmful or allergenic ingredients like salt, onion, oil, and other additives that cause food allergies. If your vet has been trying to narrow down the allergen that is affecting your cat, you are ruining their efforts with unapproved snacks. 

 

However, Hill's Prescription Diet Hypoallergenic Cat Treats are designed to be hypoallergenic. They ensure that cats dealing with skin conditions are still able to enjoy a tasty treat from time to time. 

 

Moreover, these treats are extremely calorie efficient, being only 2.3 kcal per treat, so you don’t have to worry about overfeeding your pet with them. Despite being so calorie-light, they still pack a punch with a number of essential ingredients. 

 

These include the riboflavin supplement, which is known to support healthy skin. Similarly, it also contains biotin, which also plays a big role in maintaining skin and hair. Studies have shown that deficiencies in biotin can cause hair loss- something you are actively working against in the case of skin allergies. 

 

In conclusion, despite their reputation as resilient animals, cats aren’t invincible. Depending on the breed, genetics, and other facts, allergies and food sensitivities can be challenging to work through. 

 

Thankfully, there are several great cat diets out there, as we have seen in this article. Diet really makes a big difference and leads to visible skin improvement. It’s natural to think that a health issue warrants medication, but that’s not always true. 

 

When the problem revolves around allergens and sensitivities, food and environmental factors play a big role. Remember, addressing these factors not only helps deal with the primary symptoms, like skin issues but also helps improve sleep quality and the overall well-being of your pet.

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