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The Spruce Pets / Amelia Manley
Hypoallergenic cat foods provide a healthy diet for cats with allergies and chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, typically by avoiding common allergen triggers like beef, fish, or chicken. Some also incorporate “hydrolyzed” protein, which means protein that’s been broken into pieces too small to trigger allergic responses. If your cat is experiencing a potential allergic reaction, your veterinarian may recommend trying a hypoallergenic food as a way to eliminate some potential causes of their discomfort.
“An allergy doesn’t mean an ingredient is bad or unhealthy; it simply means that for whatever reason, that pet’s body has an abnormal, allergic response to that ingredient,” Dr. Gabrielle Fadl, Director of Primary Care at Bond Vet, told The Spruce Pets.
To help you select the best food for your cat, we polled 299 cat owners about which foods they choose for their cat and why. We collected a wide range of data to inform our cat food selections, and more than 20 respondents specifically called out the cat food brands offering formulas that worked best for their cat’s allergies. You can learn more about our polling methodology below our recommendations, under the heading How We Found The Best Hypoallergenic Cat Foods.
Our favorite overall hypoallergenic cat food is Hill’s Prescription Diet Food Sensitivities d/d formula, which uses either duck or venison as the sole protein source, and is further formulated to aid digestion, skin health, and immune support.
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Amazon
Includes omega fatty acids
Available in two different flavors
Formulated for better digestion and stool quality
Palatable triangle kibble
Requires a prescription from your veterinarian
Hill’s Prescription Diet Food Sensitivities d/d formula addresses the most common cat allergens by incorporating only a single, non-allergenic protein source, with both venison and duck versions available.
Assuming that your cat’s allergic reactions are due to food, Hill’s Prescription Diet can soothe digestive issues, firm up your cat’s stool, and relieve skin irritation. It’s a complete and balanced formula that incorporates high levels of vitamin E, lots of fiber, omega fatty acids, and a limited mineral load to reduce calcium crystals and other urinary ailments common to cats. Its triangle-shaped kibble has a high palatability score among cats too, coming in two different flavors: duck and green pea, and venison and green pea.
Hill’s Pet Nutrition is a well-established brand, trusted by veterinarians, with high scientific and manufacturing standards. This bore out in our polling data too—among nearly 300 cat owners, people were most satisfied with the ingredients found in Hill’s brand formulas. Our respondents almost universally agreed that their cats liked the taste of Hill’s food too.
As with many of our favorite hypoallergenic cat foods, Hill’s Prescription Diet requires a prescription from your veterinarian. Hill’s Prescription Diet also offers a “z/d” dry cat food formula, which uses hydrolyzed chicken protein instead. While incorporating chicken liver, the protein source has been broken down to the point that it won’t trigger allergic reactions in cats with chicken allergies.
There’s also a wet food version available.
Primary Ingredients: Yellow peas, pea protein, duck, green peas, soybean oil, powdered cellulose (duck & green pea recipe) | Sizes: 3.5- and 8.5-pound bags | Flavors: Duck & green pea, venison & green pea
Best Hydrolyzed Protein
Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein
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Chewy
Includes prebiotics for better digestion
High in omega fatty acids
Good for skin and coat
Hydrolyzed protein minimizes allergic reaction risk
Palatable triangle kibble
Requires a veterinary prescription
Only available in one flavor
Rather than opting for a hypoallergenic protein source, Royal Canin Veterinary formula uses hydrolyzed soy protein, breaking down the chemical structure sufficiently for it to retain nutritional value while shedding allergen triggers.
This hydrolyzed protein diet will require veterinary authorization, but contains added ingredients not only for skin and coat health but digestive health, too. Prebiotics like fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and beet pulp as a fiber source help cats with gastrointestinal concerns, while omega-3’s health supports skin health and immunity.
While our best overall from Hill’s Prescription Diet also offers a hydrolyzed formula, we think the higher dose of omega fatty acids and moisture content makes the Royal Canin the best possible hydrolyzed pick for most cats. While not the most popular brand among our poll respondents, Royal Canin was consistently recommended and trusted by cat owners who have cats with specific dietary needs.
Primary Ingredients: Brewers rice, hydrolyzed soy protein, chicken fat, powdered cellulose, dried beet pulp, fish oil | Sizes: 7.7- and 17.6-pound bags | Flavors: One flavor
Best Budget
Blue Buffalo Hydrolyzed for Food Intolerance
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Amazon
Salmon is primary protein
No poultry or by-product meals
Flaxseed and fish oil for omega-3 fatty acids
Costs less than other top hypoallergenic prescription formulas
Also available in a wet food formula
Needs a prescription from your veterinarian
Only available in one size
Hydrolyzed salmon is the primary protein in this excellent alternative to more expensive hypoallergenic foods. This diet requires veterinary approval but it contains no chicken, corn, wheat, soy, or artificial preservatives. It also contains probiotics for digestive health, omega-3’s for skin and coat health, and a variety of antioxidants. The food provides complete and balanced nutrition and comes in a round kibble shape.
Our research group found households who prefer Blue Buffalo cat foods saw the brand as the best value of any cat food we considered. It is also rated highly for digestibility, with many cat owners reporting that Blue Buffalo was well-tolerated and suitable for their cat’s digestive health. While the dry food is only sold in 7-pound bags, you also have the option to get it in wet food.
Primary Ingredients: Salmon hydrolysate, peas, potatoes, pea starch, canola oil, pea protein, flaxseed | Sizes: 7-pound bags | Flavors: Salmon
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Chewy
Available in different flavors and a variety pack
Contains fish oil
Supports urinary health
Available in loaf and kibble
Contains meat by-products
Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EN Gastroenteric Savory Selects wet cat food is smothered in gravy to help any cat with stomach issues enjoy a tasty meal. There are two flavors of the nutrient-rich formula, chicken and salmon. Both are hydrating, gentle on the digestive system, and designed to support urinary health as well, making it less likely for your cat to develop struvite and/or calcium oxalate crystals.
The food is manufactured in the United States and packaged in 5.5 ounce cans with pull tab lids. You can also find variety packs with both flavors to keep things a little interesting for your feline. The canned cat food is fortified with vitamin B complex and omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil to support overall wellness, a shiny coat, and healthy skin.
A prescription from a veterinarian is required to purchase this food, but it is readily available online. Purina Pro Plan also offers this beneficial food as a kibble, Veterinary Diets EN Gastroenteric Dry Cat Food, and a wet food without the additional gravy, Veterinary Diets EN Gastroenteric Wet Cat Food, which is lower in carbohydrates.
Primary Ingredients: Water, meat by-products, wheat gluten, chicken, salmon, corn starch-modified, powdered cellulose, potassium chloride, fish oil, inulin, tricalcium phosphate, glycine, sodium bisulfate, salt, natural flavor, taurine, choline chloride, vitamin supplements (chicken flavor) | Sizes: 5.5-ounce cans, sold in a case of 24 | Flavors: Chicken, salmon
Best Non-Prescription
Natural Balance Grain Free Green Pea and Duck Formula
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Amazon
Single-source animal protein
Fish oil and flaxseed for omega fatty acids
Flavor was popular with our tester cats
Widely available
Multiple formula and package sizes
Sporadic availability for certain flavors and package sizes
Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets are dry cat food formulas that have only one primary protein source, which makes it easier to select a food without your cat’s particular protein allergen. This replicates some of the features of our favorite hypoallergenic food, including the addition of fish oil and flaxseed, but without the need for a prescription. Natural Balance L.I.D. is an especially good choice for cats with protein sensitivities, rather than a diagnosed allergy, but any dietary changes should be done under the advice of a veterinarian if your cat has allergic reactions or sensitive digestive responses.
This food is available at many retailers, and comes in several flavors and sizes, although it has been reported that it can sometimes be hard to get certain sizes and flavors. Our tester cat loved the green pea and duck flavor.
Primary Ingredients: Green peas, duck, duck meal, pea protein, canola oil (green pea & duck formula) | Sizes: 2-, 4-, 8-, 10-, 15-pound bags | Flavors: Green pea & chicken, green pea & duck, green pea & salmon, green pea & venison
Best Natural
Evanger's Super Premium Rabbit & Quail Dinner
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Amazon
Clear and identifiable ingredients list
No soy, corn or wheat
Chelated minerals for easier absorption
No GMO ingredients
Not widely available
Evanger has been making pet food since 1935, perfecting their formula over generations of cats. Their Rabbil & Quail dinner is the culmination of all that progress, creating a nutritious and unique meal that
Evanger’s Super Premium Rabbit & Quail Dinner is a pate wet food offering a complete and balanced diet, with rare proteins that are less likely to trigger an allergic response. It’s a great choice for animals with chicken or beef allergies. It uses all-natural ingredients, including liver for taste, and is cooked directly inside the can so there’s less opportunity for outside contamination. This food has chelated minerals for better and easier absorption, no GMO ingredients, and no soy, corn, or wheat added. Plus, it doesn’t require a prescription.
The family-owned company has been making pet foods since 1935, and was also the first pet food company to hand-pack its products instead of using a machine to fill cans. The company philosophy is to make “simple, meat-based formulas.” It's not widely available so when you see it, best grab a few of them.
Primary Ingredients: Rabbit, quail, water, liver, whole egg, tomato paste, flaxseed, guar gum (rabbit & quail dinner formula) | Sizes: Case of 24 cans | Flavors: Duck dinner, holistic quail dinner, rabbit & quail dinner, seafood & caviar
Best Limited Ingredient Topper
Instinct Grain-Free Wet Cat Food Topper
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Amazon
Farm-raised rabbit is sole animal protein source
No corn, wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, or potato
High in moisture for easier hydration
At 68 calories per pouch, should only be used as an intermittent treat
Only available in one flavor
These pouches of farm-raised rabbit in gravy are meant to be used as a food topper, and are a great way to entice cats to a new food, or to enhance their dry food with a hydrating supplement. The base is rabbit, rabbit liver, and chickpeas, with no corn, wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, or potato. The extremely limited ingredients list (just nine ingredients) means this is more likely to be safe for use with a cat that has allergies or digestive sensitivities. It's available in just the one flavor, rabbit, but is high in moisture for easier hydration.
While only really appropriate as an occasional treat due to the high calories, the Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet food topper is great way to reward a cat that may not have a wide range of food and snack options.
Primary Ingredients: Water, rabbit, rabbit liver, chickpeas, guar gum, natural flavor, sodium phosphate, salt, sodium carbonate | Sizes: 3-ounce pouches, sold in a case of 24 | Flavors: Rabbit
Final Verdict
Our favorite hypoallergenic cat food is Hill’s Prescription Diet Food Sensitivities d/d Dry Cat Food, which uses non-allergenic protein sources and a limited list of ingredients to provide a diet for cats that have common dietary allergies. Specialty prescription food can get expensive, but we can also recommend the more affordable Blue Buffalo Natural Veterinary Diet HF Hydrolyzed for Food Intolerance, which uses hydrolyzed protein, where the allergen components have been removed. While we recommend several non-prescription cat foods with limited ingredient lists—which means they’re less likely to have your cat’s allergen trigger—responding to allergic reactions with a dietary change should be done under guidance from your cat’s veterinarian.
How We Found The Best Hypoallergenic Cat Food
To evaluate hypoallergenic cat foods, our research panel created an in-depth questionnaire, which asked cat owners what food they give their cats and why.
In total 299 cat owners responded with details about their cat’s diet, in addition to information about their cat’s age and health issues. We heard from 20 cat owners who had cats with allergies or dietary sensitivities. Their responses gave us a sense of which foods cats liked most, and which gave them relief from reactions and side effects.
We also learned what brands were recommended by veterinarians and had the most trustworthy ingredients, using an array of expert sources and interviews.
What to Look for in Hypoallergenic Cat Food
Ingredients
Hypoallergenic cat foods are also referred to as novel protein or hydrolyzed diets, and may contain a hydrolyzed protein and a single carbohydrate source. Many people think that grain allergies are common in pets but they are actually very uncommon. Animal proteins are what cats are more often allergic to, so by hydrolyzing them, the body is tricked into thinking they aren’t allergens.
Hydrolyzation involves breaking a protein down into smaller pieces and typically prevents the immune system from reacting to it. This means that some hypoallergenic foods may still contain beef, fish, chicken, or other proteins, but they will be hydrolyzed and therefore unlikely to cause a problem.
Other hypoallergenic foods contain different types of animal proteins aside from beef, fish, or chicken. These less common proteins are often called novel proteins. Grains or carbohydrates are less likely to be a problem, but a hypoallergenic diet may also have only one of these options to further decrease the variables.
To further complicate things, some pet foods have also been found to contain ingredients that aren’t on the label. This makes it even more difficult to avoid ingredients that your cat is allergic to or to figure out what your cat is allergic to in the first place. Finding a high quality, trusted hypoallergenic cat food is of utmost importance if you and your veterinarian suspect your cat has food allergies.
Age of Cat
The Association of Animal Food Control Officials (AAFCO) recommends feeding different diets to kittens and adult cats. The nutritional requirements of these two age groups should therefore be taken into consideration when looking for a hypoallergenic cat food. Most hypoallergenic foods are designed to meet the needs of an adult cat, but kitten formulas are possible to find.
Senior or geriatric cats should eat adult hypoallergenic cat food options, but some products may be labeled for seniors. These foods may have added ingredients to help support an aging cat but the nutritional requirements will still follow the AAFCO recommendations for an adult.
Weight of Cat
Obesity is a common problem among housecats. If you have an overweight cat that also needs to be on hypoallergenic food, decreasing the total amount you feed is your best option for your cat to lose weight. Increasing the amount of exercise that your cat gets will also help to get the weight off your cat but cutting calories, regardless of what type of food you are feeding, is what will really help your feline friend lose those unwanted pounds. This way they’ll feel better not only because they have less weight putting stress on their joints, but because their skin and coat are more comfortable from the hypoallergenic food.
Veterinary Authorization
Some hypoallergenic cat foods will require a veterinary authorization before you can purchase them. This is because these foods are not designed for cats that don’t have diagnosed allergy concerns. Many “prescription” diets are intended to be fed under veterinary guidance because they will not work as intended if you feed your cat other things or don’t manage your cat’s symptoms with other therapies.
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What is hypoallergenic cat food?
A hypoallergenic food is any formula tailored to avoid specific allergic reactions when eaten. This typically means they have fewer ingredients, and eliminate potential allergen triggers, but many hypoallergenic cat foods also employ hydrolyzed proteins, which Dr. Gabrielle Fadl, Director of Primary Care at Bond Vet, describes as a “protein ingredient broken down in a way that is less likely to be recognized as an allergen by the body’s immune system.”
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What are the most common food allergies in cats?
“Contrary to popular belief, the most common food allergies in cats are to protein ingredients, not to ingredients like grains,” Fadl told The Spruce Pets. “Common culprits include chicken, beef, fish, and dairy. An allergy doesn’t mean an ingredient is bad or unhealthy; it simply means that for whatever reason, that pet’s body has an abnormal, allergic response to that ingredient.”
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Do I need a prescription for hypoallergenic cat food?
No, but they are some of the best options. “Prescription diets have very strict control standards to prevent cross-contamination in the manufacturing facility, and may also be less likely to switch ingredients without changing the package label to reflect that change in a timely manner,” Fadl said.
Why Trust The Spruce Pets?
This article was written by Steven Asarch, a freelance writer for The Spruce Pets. He has firsthand experience working with different feline products and taking care of two rambunctious felines.
To gain a better understanding of what cats are looking for, he spoke to Dr. Gabrielle Fadl, Director of Primary Care at Bond Vet. Using her expert insights, we determined which food is best suited for cats with allergies. We prioritized price, ingredients, and quality.
Steven has previously analyzed testing data, tried out products at home, and provided recommendations for other categories of pet products, including catnip toys, wand toys, litter disposal systems, and also wrote an exhaustive list of the essentials you should have before welcoming a new kitten into your home.
A previous version of this article was written by Adrienne Kruzer, a Registered and Licensed Veterinary Technician in three states, who has been writing about pet and vet information for over a decade. She also regularly lectures on pet nutrition to fellow veterinary professionals and works for a major veterinary supplement manufacturer.
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