This is a specific conversation about Cat food for sensitive stomachs — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
So insect protein made the bloating worse — that's actually more common than people expect, since some cats react to the chitin in insect-based foods, which can be hard on a sensitive gut. Digestive issues like yours are usually down to food intolerance rather than a true allergy, and the good news is there are several other novel proteins worth trying. To point you in the right direction: what are the symptoms beyond the bloating — any vomiting or loose stools? How long has this been going on in total? And what was she eating before you tried the insect food?
She's a 10-year-old Tonkinese, about 4kg. The bloating started within a few weeks of switching to the insect food. Before that she was on a mainstream chicken-based wet food and had occasional loose stools but nothing dramatic. Since the insect food she's also been a bit gassy and uncomfortable-looking after meals. No vomiting. I stopped the insect food two weeks ago and went back to chicken but she's still not right.
inparticular.ai
That's a clear pattern — the insect food triggered something and her gut hasn't fully settled since going back to chicken. The fact that she had loose stools even on chicken suggests chicken may already be a low-level irritant for her, so returning to it probably isn't helping her recover. At 10, Tonkinese can also have slightly slower digestive transit, which makes bloating and gas more noticeable. What I'd want to know: is she indoor-only, and has she had any bloods done recently? Kidney and thyroid function can sometimes present with digestive-looking symptoms in older cats, so worth ruling out if it hasn't been done.
She's indoor-only, yes. She had bloods done about eight months ago and everything was fine — kidney values, thyroid, all normal. The vet said she was in good shape for her age. So I'm fairly confident this is diet-related. I want to try a proper novel protein that's genuinely unlikely to have crossover with chicken or insects.
inparticular.ai
Eight months ago is recent enough to feel confident it's dietary. Given she's reacted to both chicken and insect protein, I'd go with venison as your next trial — it's genuinely uncommon in mainstream pet food so crossover sensitivity is low, and it tends to be well-tolerated in cats with multi-protein histories. The specific product I'd recommend is Lily's Kitchen Grain-Free Venison Casserole for Cats. It's a single-protein wet food, uses named venison as the primary ingredient, no chicken, no insect derivatives, and the ingredient list is short and clean. It's available in multipacks on Amazon UK so you can do a proper four-to-six week elimination trial without running out. Keep her portion sizes slightly smaller than usual for the first week to ease the transition — her gut is still unsettled.
That sounds promising. Should I do a gradual transition or just switch straight over given that I want a clean break from chicken?
inparticular.ai
Given the context, I'd actually do a fairly swift transition over three to four days rather than the usual week — you want to get chicken out of the system so you can read the results clearly, but a sudden switch could add short-term stress to an already irritated gut. So: one or two days at roughly 25% new food mixed with chicken, then jump to 100% venison from day three or four. If bloating and gas settle within two to three weeks on the venison, you've likely found your answer. If symptoms persist even on a clean novel protein, it's worth going back to the vet to discuss a hydrolysed protein prescription diet, but I'd give the venison a proper run first.
Really helpful, thank you. I'll order the Lily's Kitchen venison and give it a proper six weeks.
inparticular.ai
Six weeks is the right call — gives you enough time to see genuine improvement rather than short-term fluctuation. Keep a simple log of her symptoms: bloating, gas, stool consistency. It makes it much easier to judge whether it's working and gives you something useful to share with your vet if you need to go back. Good luck with her — Tonkinese tend to be vocal about discomfort so hopefully you'll see her relaxing after meals within the first few weeks.
