What are
allergies?
The word allergy
means 'altered working'. Just like humans, cats can have
allergies too. Allergies are a common cause of skin disease in
cats.
The purpose
of the immune system is to keep infectious microorganisms, such
as certain bacteria, viruses, and fungi, out of the body, and to
destroy any infectious microorganisms that do invade the body.
Allergies are caused by an inappropriate response to a substance
which would usually be considered harmless.
In an allergic
animal, the immune system over reacts to the substance & mounts
an immune response against it.
Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex &
Miliary Dermatitis
have been linked to allergies.
Food Allergies
This
is caused by an allergic reaction to one or more ingredients in
the cat's food. The most common causes of food allergies are
fish, beef, eggs, wheat & milk. Cats can become allergic to foods they have eaten
for a long period of time.
Symptoms of
food allergies:
-
Non seasonal
itching, especially on the front half of the body, head, face,
ears & neck.
-
The ears may
also be swollen & or infected
-
Hair loss (due
to excessive scratching, grooming etc)
-
Vomiting & or
diarrhoea
Diagnosis of
food allergies:
Your veterinarian
will place your cat on a food trial which usually lasts between
8-12 weeks. During this time, you must not give your cat any
other foods, vitamins, minerals or chewable medications apart
from the prescribed diet. If any other foods or vitamins
are given during this trial it will invalidate the results. If
the allergy clears up after the specified time then a food
allergy is the likely cause. The diet given to your cat during
the trial will be a food the cat has never had before such
as rabbit, duck or venison. The diet may be home made or a
special 'prescription' diet. This is known as 'elimination
food trial'. After the trial, if the cat's allergies have
cleared up it will be placed back onto it's regular food & if
after a short period of time the allergies return then it is
safe to conclude that the food was the cause of the allergy.
After the trial
you may be asked to 'challenge' your cat by re-introducing
one ingredient back into the diet. If after 2 weeks the
re-introduced food hasn't caused a flair up then add another
ingredient & so on. If the allergy returns with the
re-introduction of the ingredient then this is eliminated from
the diet once again.
Occasionally new
food allergies develop over time, if this happens then it will
be necessary to re-evaluate the new diet.
Treatment of
food allergies:
Avoiding the food
which caused the allergies is the best method of treatment. This
may either be a home made diet or a commercial one. If you are
feeding a home made diet it is important to ensure that your cat
is receiving the correct nutrients in the diet.
Also see
Food
Intolerances in Cats
|
