I'm sure you've heard that someone you know has allergies to cats, but did you know that cats can also have allergies to different things, including allergies to humans and their habits?
If you are a cat owner you will be interested in this article on our site, where we are going to tell you everything about allergies in cats, their symptoms and their treatmentIf you think your cat has allergy symptoms, don't hesitate to take it to the vet for tests.
What is allergy and what types can a domestic cat have?
Allergy is a physiological reaction of the body that arises when the immune system detects a substance that is harmful to the body. Therefore it is a defense and warning system that something is damaging the he alth of our cat.
Felines can be allergic to many different things just like us. Some of the most common things that cause allergies in our felines are:
- Different floors
- Mushrooms
- Pollen
- Some foods
- Tobacco smoke
- Fragrances
- Humans
- Flea products
- Cleaning products
- Plastic materials
- Flea bite
Aggravating factors of allergies in cats
There are factors that will make the allergy more severe. These factors are:
- The amount of allergens our cat is in contact with. For example, if he is allergic to pollen, in spring there are much more quantity and our feline will be much worse than at other times of the year.
- The association of other allergies. It is typical for a cat suffering from an allergy to have other allergies as they are very sensitive. For example, if you are allergic to pollen, it is likely that you are also allergic to some food.
- The association of other diseases. This leaves affected felines weaker and with a very low immune system. Also, problems like skin infections will cause the cat to scratch a lot more.
- External factors. Excessive heat and the presence of things that cause stress to the feline affected by allergies are other factors that will worsen the allergy and its symptoms such as continuous scratching.
Most common symptoms of cat allergies
As there are many types of allergies, there are many symptoms. Here are the most common and easy to identify symptoms:
- Cough
- Sneezing
- Runny nose
- Eye discharge
- Itchy nose
- Itchy eyes
- Lack of hair
- Itching and scratching
- Red skin
- Inflamed skin
- Skin infections
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
Remember that if you notice any or more of these symptoms, you should take your kitten to the vet immediately for testing and treatment.
How to diagnose allergies in cats?
Many times It is not easy to find the cause of the allergy Therefore, the veterinarian will need to perform some tests. Therefore, in most cases, the allergen is detected by eliminating the possible causes until we locate the cause. The most used ways to diagnose the origin of an allergy are:
- The vet should do different tests such as blood tests, skin scrapings from the affected areas and allergy tests, among others.
- In case of suspecting a food allergy, in order to identify the food that is causing it in our kitty, we must give it back the food that we gave it before the treatment to stop the allergy. Once the allergy has passed with the treatment provided by the veterinarian, we will have to introducing the foods that are suspected of causing the allergy back into the diet, one by one. This way we will identify the causing food and therefore we will avoid giving it to it again for life. For food allergies, this is a much more reliable form of detection than blood tests, which are usually not fully explanatory. This manifestation of food allergy can appear in cats older than seven years that have always been eating more or less the same, since the allergy usually has a long process for the body to end up triggering it and therefore it is possible that it did not occur previously no symptoms.
- At home we must remove the objects suspected of causing the allergy from our cat's environment. If the allergy subsides and we want to know what is triggering it, we will introduce the removed objects one by one again to observe the symptoms in our cat until we find the cause of the problem.
How to treat allergies in cats?
You must bear in mind that there is no medication that cures allergies, you can only administer the appropriate antiallergic according to the diagnosis and remove the object causing the allergy. Therefore, the treatment to be followed will depend on the type of allergy that we think the feline is suffering from. Some of the steps to follow regarding the treatment and solution of some allergies are in each case:
- If we detect that the allergy comes from food, the treatment is simple since the vet will inject our companion with antihistamines that reduce his symptoms and will recommend that we give him aspecial hypoallergenic food These specially hypoallergenic cat food and cans, as the name suggests, contain nutrients that do not cause allergies in cats and thus in a minimum of 12 days we will see a clear improvement of our cat. In these cases it is recommended that the hypoallergenic diet be for life.
- If we notice that it lacks hair and has reddened and inflamed skin on its back, neck and tail, it is most likely that our cat has an allergy to flea bites, specifically toflea saliva The allergic reaction begins as soon as our feline friend is bitten by a flea. In severe cases it can spread to the legs, head and abdomen. In addition, it will end up triggering a miliary dermatitis with scabs and peeling of the skin. In this case, we must take him to the veterinarian so that they provide him with the necessary medication to alleviate the allergy, in addition, as a treatment, they will recommend us to eliminate all the fleas both from the cat and from his environment and give him baths with special soap to calm the itching and help recover the he alth of your skin. We must always use an anti-flea treatment, especially in the months when they are most active, thus preventing fleas from biting our cat who is allergic to them.
- Sometimes cats are allergic to some plastic materials used to make the feeders and waterers we use for them. We will detect this allergy because the skin and hair problems will occur in the area of the head, the face and more specifically the nose. They will not be able to stop scratching themselves and will avoid eating or drinking from these containers. We must go to the veterinarian to treat the symptoms of skin allergy as in the previous case and we must remove these containers and provide some of stainless steel, glass or porcelain that do not cause allergic reactions in our feline.
- In the event that the diagnosis made by the veterinarian reveals that the feline's allergy comes from the habits that we have at home, we must change and stop these habits so that our cat stops suffering from allergies. In addition, the veterinarian must provide the necessary medication to help the remission of the allergy. Some of these habits that produce allergies in domestic cats are the use of tobacco, perfumes, certain cleaning products and the accumulation of dust, among others. All these components produce a respiratory allergy and even asthma.
- The case that most complicates the coexistence between cats and humans is the allergy that a cat can have to people, that is, to dandruff and flaking of the skin of humans In this case the veterinarian will provide the appropriate anti-allergic treatment and we must try to keep our house as clean as possible in terms of dust, because that is where our remains of flaking skin accumulate. cause allergies to our partner.
