Cody's journey with food intolerance was challenging, heart-breaking and soul destroying, but rewarding as it taught us the importance of perseverance and the power of a tailored approach to pet care. If your pet is struggling with similar issues, don't give up. Seek professional help, research yourselves as I did, be patient, and make the necessary changes to improve their health. Cody is a testament to the fact that with the right care, attention and love, even the most severe cases can find a path to recovery and happiness.
Cody:
1. Early Signs and Symptoms
Cody's food intolerance journey began when he was about a year old with incessant itching, red raw skin from head to toe. He couldn’t sleep due to being in pain and scratching. He refused his daily walks due to the pain and discomfort, which robbed him of valuable socialisation time and cuddles. He also wouldn’t eat, as he associated food with pain and discomfort. His once smooth and shiny coat became patchy, inflamed and extremely sore. He was clearly in distress, and it was heart-breaking to witness, whatever we did didn’t seem to help him.
2. Seeking Help: Vet Visits and Testing.
We took Cody to the vet who gave him medication to try and help the skin condition, which didn’t help. The vet recommended a hyper allergenic food this made him worse, which I refused to continue to feed him much to the vets disgust. Then a series of tests to determine the cause of his discomfort. Blood tests and skin scrapes revealed a shocking list of intolerances: chicken, beef, lamb, fish, rice, carrots, oats, soya, maize, grasses, and even dust mites. It felt overwhelming, frustrating and left me in tears many times, but we were determined to help Cody.
3. Navigating Dietary Changes
With such an extensive list of intolerances, finding the right diet for Cody was a challenge. We searched the internet for a solution, everything we researched had chicken, beef and foods he had issues with. Even foods labelled single protein were far from a single protein, which left me feeling extremely frustrated and angry. Eventually I discovered a single protein of raw duck, which I paired with sweet potato, and green beans. This protein source worked wonders for Cody which was such a huge relief, everything he ate was pure and freshly prepared every day. I kept everything crossed for him and for us! A few days pasted and Cody was doing great, his skin started to heal and he was sleeping. Over time we were able to add other proteins and foods to his diet in very small amounts. He was becoming more like is old self, which is what we hoped and prayed for. It took us about a year before he was able to eat most things in small amounts. It took another 6 months or so before we could relax and feed him most foods and not see the reactions appear!
4. Managing Environmental Factors
In addition to dietary changes which were trial and error, we had to manage Cody's environment. Regular cleaning, using hypoallergenic bedding, and avoiding grassy areas as much as possible, helped reduce his exposure to allergens. We also changed the house carpets and replaced them with wood flooring. This was a blessing in disguise, I hated the carpets anyway lol!
5. The Road to Recovery
Over a few months Cody's skin healed, and his coat became shiny and healthy again. He was no longer in constant discomfort and pain, and his playful, joyful personality returned. Walks became a pleasure and joy again and Cody was sleeping through the night and was his normal gorgeous self. Seeing Cody happy and healthy was the greatest reward for all our efforts. The other thing I missed were my cuddles, which I was glad to have back to enjoy once again.
Comments