I have an unfortunate problem. My 11 y/o cat seems to have developed a
food allergy. He's been scratching his face and head for over eight
months. He was on Hill's Prescription x/d dry food for five years for
CaOx stones. (He has never, ever, like canned food and has always been
picky about food. He also won't drink out of water bowls, except for
those fountains like Drinkwell.)

Several months ago, around the time the food allergy was suspected,
Hill's discontinued the x/d food. The vet switched him to Hill's
Prescription k/d dry and hoped that would help with his scratching.
The problem with that is both the x/d and the k/d have the same main
ingredients. It's been three months since he started the k/d food and
he's still scratching. So now the vet isn't sure what to do. Here's a
cat that needs to be on prescription food for CaOx stones, especially
since he has one stuck in his ureter. The vet said it's important to
keep him on this food because it would be bad if he developed more
stones or if the one gets bigger. He said if the one gets bigger, it
would cause damage to the kidneys.

So what are we supposed to do about the food allergy? The vet says
there aren't any hypoallergenic cat foods for cats with urinary
problems. It's obviously bad to switch to a hypoallergenic food
because of the urinary problems. The vet says the cat could try Iams
Urinary-O Moderate pH/O but we're both hesitant about that. The
problem with Iams is that it has higher levels of Calcium (1.11
compared to .76) and a broader target pH range (6.3-6.9 compared to
6.6-6.9) than the x/d or k/d. In fact, all the levels (Sodium,
Phosphorus, Magnesium) are higher in Iams than in the x/d or k/d.
Additionally, I believe the Iams food has the same main ingredients as
the Hill's k/d food. Both have chicken, corn, and fish although,
Hill's also has Brewers rice. The vet feels that the k/d food is the
best food for my cat and his history of urinary problems.

Am I supposed to just let my cat suffer or is there some remedy that
we haven't heard of?


The only tests that have been done are senior blood work and an
urinalysis. Everything came back normal. It's highly unlikely he has
fleas, mites, mange, etc. He's an indoor only cat, none of the other
cats (also indoor only) are scratching. I've combed all the cats for
fleas numerous times with a flea comb and nothing is showing up.

Please help. I don't want my cat to suffer.


Jo