Food Allergy Workup: Running an 8-Week Elimination Trial

Adverse food reactions show as itching, recurrent loose stool or vomiting, or ear inflammation, and the gold standard is an elimination-challenge trial, not blood allergy panels. The vet leads: pick a hydrolyzed or novel single-protein diet, feed it exclusively for 8-12 weeks, then challenge old foods one by one after clear improvement to identify triggers.

Discipline decides success: cut all treats, paste supplements, flavored medications, and stealable housemate food during the trial, feeding multi-cat homes separately or on one diet, with every family member committed. One violation can invalidate weeks of work, so log daily symptom scores and any breach.

If nothing improves, revisit the diagnosis with the vet; it may be environmental allergy or parasites instead. Trial diets must be complete and balanced, and kittens or pregnant cats need individually designed plans rather than homemade single-meat diets.