Asthma Diet for Felines

Felines are susceptible to asthma from allergy triggers. One of the feline allergy triggers can be their diets. It's important to take your cat to the vet if you notice asthma symptoms. The vet will give allergy tests and recommendations for your feline based on the lab and test results.

Simplistic Diet

Read cat food labels and select ones with the fewest number of ingredients. A diet of simple foods is the best way to prevent food allergies in cats. Felines are more likely to have an allergic reaction from foods that have a large quantity of ingredients. The reaction to the allergy then sets off an asthma attack.

Eliminate Specific Foods

Immediately eliminate certain foods from your feline's diet when asthma is a problem. Tuna and other fish are common allergy triggers. An asthma diet for cats should avoid these. Give your cat beef-, lamb- and chicken-based food products and flavors as an alternative.

Dairy products also can trigger allergies. Cats with asthma should not be given any dairy products. Don't share human dairy foods with them.

Read labels and avoid cat foods with wheat or gluten. These two ingredients can trigger allergies. Eliminating certain foods immediately will help you determine what asthma diet is best for your cat.

Eliminate New Ingredients

Start eliminating new ingredients or brands of cat food once you've taken fish, tuna, dairy, wheat and gluten out of your cat's diet. Select one ingredient at a time. Feed your cat the new diet for a week. Watch for any asthma attacks. If no reaction occurs, add back the ingredient eliminated. Again, watch the cat for one week for asthma symptoms. Keep the ingredient in the food if no reaction occurs. Write down the ingredient and remove it from the feline's diet if there is a reaction.

Repeat this process with several ingredients. Add back the allergy trigger foods one by one if you find other ingredients or cat food brands that trigger the asthma. Some specific cat food preservatives can cause asthma symptoms. Switching cat food brands might be the only thing needed to alter your feline's diet to avoid complications. If this is the case, it is safe to slowly add back to the diet other ingredients such as tuna, dairy or wheat.

Homemade Feline Food

Discuss with your veterinarian the different food ingredients and amounts necessary to keep your feline healthy. The veterinarian can give you specific recipes to make for your cat to reduce the chances of allergic reactions and asthma problems. Store the food properly and give the appropriate portion sizes recommended by your veterinarian.