What are the most common signs of allergies in cats?
The most common signs of allergies in cats would be extreme itching, principally focused around the head. However, it can also occur to a lesser extent around the base of the tail and the hindquarters of the cat.
What are the most common allergens affecting cats?
The most common allergens that we see affecting cats would be either food or fleas. Cats can be affected by some environmental allergens such as dust mites, grasses, weeds, trees, and things like that. But in cats, unlike dogs, we principally see allergies as a result of food and/or fleas.
How is the treatment for cat allergies determined?
Treatment is dependent upon what the underlying problem is. For a food allergy, the treatment involves selecting a food for that cat that does not cause an allergic response. This generally means feeding them what we call a hydrolyzed diet or a diet that has been prepared in such a way that when the offending agent moves through the cat's digestive tract, it's so small that the cat's immune system doesn't recognize it as an allergen and therefore does not set off an allergic response.
What is the most common allergic response seen in cats with food allergies?
The most common allergic response seen outwardly in a cat is extreme itching. In particular, for cats with food allergies, the number one way we generally have high concern that there is a food allergy is that the extreme itching is focused on the head and around the ears. It's not generally everywhere else, just around the head.
Is there a natural way to get rid of cat allergies?
Unfortunately, there's not really an easy way or a natural way to get rid of cat allergies. If it's a food allergy, removing the offending protein source from the cat's diet is how you're going to solve that problem. However, in most cases, it's very difficult to identify the offending protein that's causing the problem, so it's easier to just feed a hydrolyzed diet. You're managing the cat's problem, which is a dietary problem, through a dietary solution. But I don't know that I would necessarily consider that a natural remedy for food allergy.
What about fleas and other common allergens?
With regards to the other most common allergens we see, which would be fleas and to an extent mites, there is not a natural method to get rid of those problems. If your cat has a flea allergy, the prevention would be to keep your cat on a good quality monthly flea control that's recommended by your veterinarian. Aside from that, there's no way to prevent your cat from having allergies; either the cat has allergies or they don't. Oftentimes, we don't identify the allergy until after the cat has been in that family's setting for some period of time and noticing that they're having clinical signs associated with an allergy.
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