Hills Z/D wet food

[GloiredeDijon]

Does anybody's cat like Hills Z/D tinned wet food?

I keep hearing that no cat will eat the wet version, although they accept the dry version.

Not looking for advice on other hypoallergenic / food intolerance diets, just wanted to see if anyone here has a cat who happily eat this specific food.

Surely it wouldn't be sold if no cats eat it??

Obligatory photo of her hypoallergenic highness to follow once MN approved.

The cat who is allergic to everything would only eat it when he was on steroids. The cat who can eat anything loved it.

My cat was on it for about 2 years. Yes she ate it but didn’t lap it up. It’s quite a solid pate texture. As pp said - went down very well when on steroids!

How utterly typical of cats!

Having been on steroids myself and gained three stones I can understand that!
I think I would have eatern cardboard if nothing else was available.

I have read that many cats like the Z/D better if you add warm water.

It does seem a bit of a design fault if that is necessary though.

FosterCat with IBD was quite happy to eat it at first so long as mixed with water to a slushy consistency, but starting getting less keen after a few months. I think as well as not really liking the taste and sticky texture he was bored with having no other alternatives. Still eats it so long as its . I do now mix it with Dechra Specific Allergy Management Plus which he likes much more and seems happier to eat the mixture. If he stays much longer I will just use up the last of the Hills in this way and not buy more.

I had also seen on cat forums that lots refuse to eat it so I was worried when I first bought it. I think it's strange they can't make it a bit more palatable and its annoying there are so few choices of the hydrolysed protein wet food.

I totally agree.
The only wet version for cats seems to be Royal Canin Sensitivity Control whereas there are more for dogs.
I did see Concept for life on Zooplus but reviews seem poor. It's made of insects which puts me off even though I know many cats love the odd spider!

just saw your reply @GloiredeDijon

Although it's labelled 'Sensitivity' I don't think the Royal Canin is hydrolysed protein . This was recommended by the vet for FosterCat as the hydrolysing process breaks the proteins down into much smaller molecules so less likely to provoke an inflammatory response in the gut. As we don't now what exactly he's reacting too it was considered best option. I do recommend trying the Dechra Specific wet if you haven't - it's a much better texture for a start and is salmon based.

There is certainly more choice of hydrolysed dry food. I also looked at that insect based one and there is one based on feathers too! (I've got very good at reading ingredients in detail). I rejected both as he's happy with the hydrolysed dry Purina Plan HA Hypoallergenic and Hills z/d dry so it was the wet food I was struggling with.

Before that he was on normal supermarket cat food then I moved to Catz Finefood Rabbit & Lamb which seemed to help calm things down a bit. There's some evidence novel proteins they haven't eaten before are more easily tolerated as many cats are allergic/sensitive to chicken and fish which most common brands are based on. I did draw the line at kangaroo though. It's hard having a cat with a special diet, I'm just lucky he's not too fussy.

RC Sensitivity Control is definitely hydrolysed. However they also sell something with a similar name amongst their non prescription diets so sometimes that causes needless confusion.

I actually looked into Dechra based on your recommendation but from what I read online it appeared that it wasn’t hydrolysed.

It seems to be hard to get clear information on this issue.

Numerous foods call themself “Sensitive” and even “Hypoallergenic” when they aren’t.

Can you tell me where to find the information confirming Dechra is hydrolysed please? I’ll be happy to order some if so.

At the moment her highness is eating a mix of Purina Hydrolysed and Hills Z/D biscuits. The Purina is both hydrolysed and is a novel protein, being pork based.

I’ve ordered some Hills Z/D wet to try but fully expecting her to refuse to eat it.

As you rightly say, it is a challenge!

@TemporaryCatSlave Do you mean this one from Dechra? There seems to be a few. This one is lamb and rice based though.
I can’t see a salmon based one.
Photo to follow once approved.

@TemporaryCatSlave Aha! I have found the salmon one you mean and see it is hydrolysed.
Photo to follow once approved.
This completely demonstrates my point about confusing names and descriptions!
Seems to be out of stock from the all big places I usually buy from - Animed, Viovet, Zooplus etc.
Do you know of anywhere which has it in stock please?

Just adding this for the sake of anybody reading this thread in future:

I decided to give Hill Z/D wet a try despite all the negative reviews and so far (only two meals) she loves it. I mash it with warm water which adds fluid to her diet and improves the very solid texture.

I have ordered some of the Dechra Specific Food Allergen Plus for her too, will see how that goes down.

Cats! It’s never easy pleasing these tiny tyrants but that’s part of why we love them so much.

Sorry for delay in replying but glad you found the right Dechra one to try and hope your cat likes it! It's good to have a choice.

Yes the various and often misleading names for products is so confusing & irritating. I had to go full Sherlock Holmes to find hydrolysed ones by reading all the very small print ingredients. I also have bought last lot of Dechra in a larger quantity because of the supplier and low stock problem,

Good luck with your cat! I've not yet fully cracked what is going on with FosterCat as he still gets red skin on his face and scabby bits on his ears which indicate maybe a different allergy flaring up.

My cat was on a hydrolysed trial for a bit. He's off it now and eating a wider range of food, but the Hill's z/d pate is still his absolute favourite, clean bowl every time. Trying to wean him off it but he seems to genuinely love it. Weird creature.