Allergic cat

I have many friends who are allergic to cats, this story goes the other way -- one of my cats is allergic to something, as yet unknown. The vet first thought it was fleas, so she ordered strict adherence to monthly applications of Advantage -- the teal green one for small dogs, since this cat weighs more than 19 pounds -- and over the course of several months, gave different steroid shots and pills. No luck. The girl scratches her hip area so she loses her fur and the skin is raw.

The vet's next theory is a food allergy. Both cats have been eating Science Diet "mature" for a year or more, since they turned up their noses to Max Cat. So, instead of filling one bowl when it gets low and allowing grazing, Fat Girl is supposed to eat a single ingredient food, which she hates, so far. I also have to limit her consumption of food to 2/3 cup per day. I first tried a mixture. She refused to go near it. Now, she's getting 1/3 cup of Science, which she devours in a few minutes, and 1/3 cup of new food, which she hasn't touched.

Meanwhile Tom Cat has been eating the mixture and I've been feeding them separately, one upstairs, one down, keeping food covered when no one is eating. Today I decided to let Fat Girl try the mixture again. She put her nose near it and gave me a look like a Survivor contestant might give when told to eat some creature from the jungle mud. After a few of those, she did eat a little, maybe picking out the Science. But one small step closer to eating the new food.