Importance of Food Trials in Cats

In this clip, Dr. Craig Webb explains the importance of food trials in cats to rule out allergies when diagnosing GI diseases.

Craig Webb, DVM, PhD, DACVIM: A critical step for me in diagnosing feline GI disease, particularly in a kitty cat who’s otherwise stable, would be a food trial. As a profession, we’ve come to appreciate food allergies as being pretty prominent in kitty cats, and the only way we still have really to diagnose it is a solid 2-week food trial with a hypoallergenic or a hydrolyzed diet. This is in the usually adult, or young adult, otherwise stable kitty cat. If you miss that diagnostic step, and I consider it a diagnostic test, a food trial, if you miss that step, you may very well end up treating that cat for inflammatory bowel disease for the rest of its life, when in fact it simply needs the appropriate diet.