Unfortunately, cats are susceptible to the same diseases as humans. Various allergic reactions of animals are considered to be quite common; they can occur to anything: bites of fleas, mosquitoes, wasps, house dust, pollen of house plants, chemicals, medicines. Food allergies in cats are also common, which bothers our pets and occurs due to food. In our article we will tell you how to recognize a food allergy, consider the most common symptoms, and tell you what principles should be followed when selecting food.
Causes leading to allergies
There are many reasons leading to the development of food allergies:
- The negative environmental situation not only affects the health of people, but also animals.
- Poor quality food. Very often, cheap types of food purchased from dubious places can lead to a similar reaction in the body.
- Infection with helminths undermines the body's vital processes and can lead to allergies.
- Intestinal infections can cause a similar illness in an animal.
- Frequent illnesses can lead to a decrease in immunity and the occurrence of an allergic reaction in the form of inability to digest foods.
- If a cat has had all kinds of allergic reactions in its family, then the cat has every chance of acquiring this problem.
Prognosis and possible complications
The disease cannot be cured, so all treatment comes down to eliminating allergens and stopping the symptoms that arise. In the absence of drug therapy, a furry allergy sufferer’s immunity suffers and internal pathologies develop. He becomes more vulnerable to viral infections, and his attacks can become chronic.
Of particular danger is bronchial asthma, which occurs in severe and acute form. It causes respiratory failure, which can be fatal if oxygen levels are too low.
With the right diet and lifestyle, the cat will feel the same as a healthy animal - without experiencing discomfort or suffering.
What foods most often cause allergies?
Veterinarians have found that there are certain foods that most often cause an allergic reaction. Most often the reaction occurs to:
- Chicken.
- Wheat.
- Eggs.
- Beef.
- Fish.
- Dairy products.
All cats are big fans of dairy products and fish, but many veterinarians say that these products are contraindicated for them. Moreover, allergies can occur to both natural and dry food containing similar ingredients.
To eliminate food allergies, you need to identify the product included in the animal’s food that causes the main problems.
How to find out what causes cat food allergies
It is very difficult to find out which allergen causes such a reaction. Even more difficult is to remove it from the diet. Therefore, the best option would be to go to a specialist in the clinic as soon as symptoms are identified.
You should not self-medicate, because symptoms similar to food allergies appear in atopic dermatitis and some other diseases.
To determine which product your pet is allergic to, an elimination diet is used. All nutritional components in it are replaced with hypoallergenic ones, and special food is purchased. As soon as the allergy symptoms go away, the diet is changed to a provoking one - elements are introduced one at a time and the body's reaction is monitored. This is a very time-consuming detection method, but, alas, there is no other method.
It is very important to carefully monitor that during these diets the cat does not receive additional nutrition, which can confuse the clinical picture.
Symptoms of food allergies
Listed below are the most common symptoms that cats experience when they develop an allergic reaction to food. Moreover, the better the owner remembers and lists the signs that appeared in the cat, the more correct the animal’s treatment will be prescribed, for example:
- Itching that appears regardless of the seasonal manifestations of allergies.
- There is no positive reaction to the use of hormonal medications in the form of improvement in the cat's condition.
- Vomit.
- Diarrhea.
- Bloating and fermentation in the stomach.
- Ear infection.
- Dermatitis, skin scratching.
- Redness on the skin of the animal.
- Increased hair loss, appearance of bald spots.
- Ulcers caused by scratching the skin.
- Darkening of the skin.
- Inflamed and purulent blisters.
Allergy to food or food intolerance: how to distinguish between these pathologies
Food intolerance and food allergy are often confused because both pathologies are caused by the animal's diet. However, it is important to distinguish between them, because the future health of the animal depends on the correct treatment.
With allergies, the main symptoms occur on the pet's skin, while with food intolerance, problems with the gastrointestinal tract are observed. Food intolerance does not appear from the allergenicity of the product, but most often from its quantity. With this disease, the body simply cannot digest certain foods because it does not have the necessary enzymes.
How to check which food component causes an allergic reaction
In order to carry out the treatment as effectively as possible, it is very important to exclude the ingredient that gives the animal an allergy. To do this, you need to identify this component, and this is a rather difficult procedure. Allergy treatment will not give a positive result if the cat regularly consumes food that causes a reaction in the body.
The principle of the test is that the animal is transferred to a new type of food for 3 months. At this time, the cat must have a strict diet, that is, the consumption of sweets, any flavorings, and medications must be excluded; the animal must consume only the selected food and water. After 3 months, you can accurately say whether the cat has an allergic reaction to this type of food.
Some cats have an allergic reaction to a new type of food immediately after consumption, while in others it may take several months.
Reasons for reactions
Food and non-food allergies in cats occur due to increased sensitivity of the immune system. Harmless irritants are perceived by immune cells as a dangerous enemy. As a result, the amount of free histamine in the body, an organic compound that causes an allergic reaction, increases.
In addition to the previously listed factors, the development of pathology is influenced by:
- weakened immunity resulting from improper maintenance, poor feeding or chronic diseases;
- prolonged stress;
- similar diagnoses for the cat’s parents and grandparents;
- prolonged helminthiases;
- infectious diseases;
- drug intolerance.
Allergy symptoms in a cat can appear at any age. Their severity is determined by the amount of allergen ingested and the duration of its exposure.
Treatment
When an animal has a component that causes a reaction in the body, then, first of all, it is necessary to completely exclude it from consumption. The treatment procedure includes:
- The cat is treated with antihistamines.
- Hormonal drugs are often prescribed to help relieve a critical situation.
- Eating specially formulated hypoallergenic food will help avoid repeated incidents.
- To treat allergies, you need to strictly monitor new foods you eat. To do this, if the symptoms of this disease are not noticed when consuming a certain type of food, a new ingredient is gradually added. For example, if two weeks after adding chicken, the animal feels fine, then you can try adding potatoes. When, after starting to eat potatoes, signs of the disease appear, we can conclude that the potato causes a reaction in the body. This way you can check how the cat tolerates certain products.
- Allergy treatment involves testing for the presence of worms. If parasites are found in a cat, then anthelmintic measures will need to be taken.
- Vaccinations help your pet avoid all kinds of diseases, and thereby strengthen the pet’s immunity.
If a cat has a severe allergic reaction to ready-made food, then you should think about switching it to food prepared with your own hands.
In the modern world, allergies are the most common disease, occurring not only in humans, but also in cats. If you have a negative reaction to cat food, you need to eat hypoallergenic food that will help the animal live comfortably with such a difficult disease. At the same time, the quality of life of the mustachioed pet does not change at all.
Diagnostics in different conditions
You won’t be able to determine what your cat may be allergic to on your own. The symptoms of the disease often overlap with pathologies of internal organs and infections. After detecting alarming signs, make an appointment at the veterinary clinic for laboratory tests.
Laboratory research
To identify the allergen, the veterinarian takes a blood test, performs intradermal testing, and uses a method of exclusion. With a positive diagnosis, an increased amount of immunoglobulin E and eosinophils are detected in the blood serum - compounds that fight foreign or potentially dangerous substances.
Intradermal testing is performed less frequently. Animals undergo this procedure exclusively under anesthesia, which distorts the final results. The most accurate method is the elimination method, that is, the exclusion method.
If asthma is suspected, the veterinarian will listen to breath sounds and take a chest x-ray. In the absence of noise and thickening of the walls of the bronchi, bronchoalveolar lavage is prescribed - the introduction of sterile liquid into the bronchi for the purpose of subsequent removal and study. The procedure is performed under general anesthesia and has a number of contraindications.
Elimination method
It is possible to find out what your cat may be allergic to by consistently eliminating suspected allergens. Depending on the existing signs, the veterinarian will recommend changing food, changing household chemicals or filler.
If the elimination method and other studies do not produce results, the veterinarian prescribes drug treatment. When the symptoms disappear, the diagnosis is confirmed.
Allergens
The following substances can cause allergic reactions in cats (only in sensitive cats, of course):
- mold, pollen, house dust, especially house dust mites;
- food;
- fleas and their metabolic products;
- medicines;
- perfumes and other aerosols with a pronounced odor;
- chemicals and cleaning products;
- cigarette smoke;
- rubber and plastic materials.
A flea allergy can set in after just a few flea bites and cause itching for weeks!
Preventive actions
If you want to have a pet, it is recommended to experimentally test the reaction of your body and household members for the presence of allergies. For example, visit acquaintances or friends who already have a cat or cat. It is better if the communication is long and not five minutes, since an allergic reaction may not appear immediately. If after the experiments no signs of allergy were observed, then with a high degree of probability we can talk about its absence.
If you know that you are prone to an allergic reaction, but your love for cats does not allow you to completely give up your pet, then before getting a kitten, you need to carefully choose the breed. Hypoallergenic breeds will make the life of an allergy sufferer much easier.
But what if you already have a cat and are later diagnosed with an allergy? In this case, to reduce allergy symptoms and maintain a normal state, the following preventive measures must be taken:
- minimize direct contact with the animal if possible;
- take special anti-allergenic drugs;
- bathe the animal, and then comb the fur at least once a week (if possible, this should be entrusted to household members who do not suffer from allergies);
- If possible, remove as much as possible carpets, rugs, blankets and other soft coverings that can accumulate wool;
- regularly ventilate the premises;
- Do not leave personal items and items of your wardrobe in a place accessible to the animal.
Allergy medications
Since certain substances that cause allergic symptoms cannot be completely removed from the environment, the following medications may be recommended:
- steroids, or other immunosuppressants (cyclosporine)
- Antihistamines can be used, but they are rarely effective once significant clinical symptoms have developed and are best used as a preventive measure
- Dietary fatty acid (omega three) supplements may help reduce itching
- shampoos that can prevent skin infections commonly seen in cats with allergies
- flea prevention products that can be used monthly
By using these medications, you can significantly improve the quality of life of a cat with allergies.
(c) Veterinary center for the treatment and rehabilitation of animals “Zoostatus”. Varshavskoe highway, 125 building 1. tel.
8 (499) 372-27-37
