An allergic reaction to dry food is more common in cats than in dogs. You must be able to distinguish between food allergies and intolerance to certain foods. The allergy to food in cats has multiple symptoms, but most often it is irritation and other skin problems. Food intolerance leads to nausea or diarrhea, without provoking an allergic reaction of the animal body. In cats, food intolerance is similar to a human reaction to an upset bowel or diarrhea from eating fried or spicy foods. But there is an opportunity to avoid this, however, like allergies, finding out the cause and eliminating the ingredient from the cat's diet.
Allergies to food in cats: symptoms, causes
Allergies in cats can occur for various reasons, but most often it is food. Moreover, regardless of what it eats - natural or dry food. Studies have indicated that certain ingredients in dry food give rise to an allergic reaction. In cats, these are some allergens.
Allergens
- The meat of the bull.
- Ram meat.
- Seafood.
- Corn.
- Soya products.
- Milk products.
- Hen.
- Wheat and so on.
Based on this list, it is easy to guess that the products listed are most often a significant part of the cat's diet. This dependence is not accidental. A large number of additives are included in dry feeds that contribute to an inadequate digestion reaction. This happens because some proteins are more antigenic than others, and they are identical in shape. That is why the frequency of occurrence of allergic reactions directly depends on the number and duration of their exposure. In addition, in addition to the listed products, the animal may have its own preferences, for example fruits, which can also cause allergies.
Food allergy
It is not easy to distinguish an animal that is suffering from a food or other type of allergy by physical characteristics. Nevertheless, there are signs of allergy in cats to food, symptoms indicating the presence of an animal reaction. With an allergy to food, he may have a very strong irritation on the skin, which cannot be removed even with steroid drugs.
This type of disease is very insidious, this is due to the fact that it does not appear unexpectedly, but in connection with the prolonged use of a certain type of dry food and the accumulation of harmful substances in the cat's body. It is difficult to find and exclude this substance, since the animal can eat the usual food for several years without any signs, and then food allergy to food in cats will be expressed at one point, the symptoms of the disease that did not appear before. Allergies are especially aggravated in cats aged 12 months.
An allergic reaction can occur to any dry food, but most often it occurs when eating protein-rich foods. The problem can also worsen when changing feed. According to statistics, when using even the highest quality and most expensive product, some animals also express an allergic reaction. Pay great attention to what your cat eats, the only way to identify the ailment in time and change the nutrition of the animal.
Symptoms of food allergies in cats
What is the allergy to food in cats? Symptoms are similar to signs of other varieties of the disease. The main manifestation is itchy skin. In addition, miliary dermatitis and much more can occur.
The allergy in cats to dry food symptoms has the following:
- The cat may have hair loss and dandruff.
- The cat constantly rubs against the walls, nibbles its paws and itches.
- Experiencing aggression or, conversely, complete apathy.
- An unpleasant odor emanates from the pet’s coat.
- Increased sweating in the armpit area.
- Sores and combed red spots may appear on the pet's body.
Such symptoms can not only inform about the occurrence of allergies, a number of other diseases are manifested in the same way.
Possible diseases
- Disturbed endocrine glands.
- Fungal or bacterial infections.
- Atopy.
- Reaction to flea bites.
- Hypersensitivity to digestive tract parasites.
- Avitaminosis.
- Cat scabies (notoedric mange).
- Seborrhea.
- Deprive and so on.
Therefore, it is urgent to contact a veterinary clinic to establish an accurate diagnosis.
By the way, the nature of an allergic reaction can affect the localization of spots:
- The occurrence of spots in the area of the back and tail most often informs about the reaction to flea bites.
- When reacting to cat-like filler, the paw pads peel off and the paws swell.
- The ears swell with an allergy to medications, and sores in the area of the superciliary arches are also possible.
Diagnosis of food allergies in cats
To conduct effective treatment, you need to correctly establish the type of disease. If the animal has typical signs of an allergic disease, such as itching, spots, bald patches, poor coat condition, etc., you should consult a specialist as soon as possible. You can also examine the pet yourself and make sure that there is an allergy to food in cats. Symptoms, photos of skin diseases presented in the subject literature, compare with the existing lesions. It is especially important to establish the fact of the presence or absence of parasites, such as fleas, lice, and so on. It will be useful to conduct additional processing of the animal from fleas and ticks.
The reaction to insect bites can be detected only after a blood test. When a diagnosis is made, the room should be decontaminated, the animal is prescribed special droplets or a flea collar, damaged areas are treated with ointments.
Diagnosis of the disease is a simple procedure, complicated by the fact that other diseases can provoke similar symptoms, and at the same time the cat may suffer from other diseases. It is very important to detect and cure others until a diagnosis of an allergic disease is established. Only after a thorough check and treatment can you start the procedure for identifying food allergies.
Unfortunately, cats are not given allergy tests, such kits are available, but they have a very limited number of allergens. In the process of communication, the veterinarian will ask several general questions: about nutrition, whether plants, medical preparations or cleaning products are available to the animal, how hygiene procedures, treatment, etc. are carried out.
Diagnostics
How is food allergy diagnosed in cats? Symptoms, for example, are all present, the diagnosis is food allergy. In this case, special nutrition is prescribed to the pet. You can purchase cat food, which is specially designed for pets with sensitive digestion, or cook your own food, observing the symptoms and including various components gradually. If the cat, on the contrary, ate homemade food and ate mainly chicken, it should be excluded from the diet for several days. In addition, it is necessary to reduce the use of dairy products.
To relieve itching, the veterinarian may prescribe steroid medications (in the form of ointments or injections), antihistamines, and washing with a special shampoo. If the cat combed the wounds strongly, infection can be introduced, in this case, course treatment with antibiotics should be taken.
For its part, you can also help your pet, namely:
- Carry out regular cleaning in the room, wipe the dust.
- House plants and flowers to remove higher.
- Keep cleaning agents out of reach.
- Thoroughly think over the cat's diet.
- Carry out treatment from ticks and fleas according to the rules, that is, systematically.
If symptoms persist, an allergen test should be taken.
Food allergy in cats: symptoms, treatment
Once a food allergy is diagnosed, an exception regimen should be used. When, based on the results of the examination, components were established that stimulate an allergic reaction, they are completely eliminated from the animal’s diet. When using steroid and antihistamines and fatty acids, you can get a short effect, but to solve the problem is possible only by eliminating the harmful ingredients. If you are allergic to food in cats, the symptoms of how to treat? Only two options are possible - a special pet food with allergies or self-cooking for a cat.
homemade food
With natural feeding, from time to time you can experiment and add new foods, tracking the body's reaction. For example, if you are allergic to food in cats, the symptoms do not appear when eating potatoes with a rabbit, you can try to introduce chicken meat into the diet. If after a couple of weeks there is no reaction, you can give beef. If an allergy occurs, accordingly, it was provoked by beef, and the product must be excluded. In a similar way, you can enter and exclude different products, setting allergenic.
Self-cooking has a significant drawback, it is very difficult to achieve a balanced diet, the correct ratio of the necessary ingredients, mineral and vitamin substances, so the diet should be drawn up with a veterinarian.
Please note that in some animals, an allergic reaction to new ingredients may not occur immediately, but after a long amount of time.
Conclusion
Each owner of a cat should remember that if there is a pronounced reaction to an individual product in an animal, it is necessary to be careful when choosing a diet. Study the composition of dry food, monitor the reaction of the body. Carry out regular treatment of ticks with the help of injections that are made in veterinary clinics, protect the pet’s access to medical and disinfectant drugs, etc. If you follow these simple rules, you can avoid signs of allergies and preserve the health of your beloved cat.