What is a food
intolerance?
A food
intolerance is an adverse reaction to a food, one of it's
ingredients or additives. It differs from a
food allergy
in that the immune system is not involved.
Food allergies typically cause non seasonal itching,
especially around the head & face, swollen & inflamed areas
on the face & ears, hair loss due to itching, vomiting &
diarrhea.
A common food
intolerance that many people have heard of is milk. This is
because many mammals lack the enzyme necessary in order to
digest the lactose in, which is the major sugar in milk.
The most
common causes of food allergies & intolerances in cats are
fish, beef, eggs, wheat & milk. Cats can become allergic &
intolerant to foods they have eaten for a long period of
time.
What are the
symptoms of food intolerances?
As you can see
above, vomiting & diarrhea are symptoms which can also be
displayed in a cat who is allergic to a food, however the
allergic cat also has other symptoms such as itching, which
is caused by the immune response.
How are food
intolerances diagnosed?
Food
intolerances cannot be tested for like food allergies, so
they can be harder to diagnose.
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.
How are food
intolerances treated?
Avoiding the
food which caused the intolerances 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.
Please note:
The medical
articles on this site have not been written by a
veterinarian & should not be considered a replacement for a
veterinarian visit. The articles are provided for
informative purposes only.
Always seek
immediate veterinary advice for any problems (health or
behavioral) in your pets.
While great
care has been made in the creation of these articles, we
cannot guarantee the accuracy or omissions on these pages.
If in any doubt whatsoever, seek professional medical
advice.
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