Mary Allen
Cats not only trigger allergies but are also affected by them themselves. Food and environmental allergies are the most common in this country. The main symptom is itching.
Parson scratches himself – and has been doing so for half the night. The young cat sits on the bed and scratches the fur behind his head with his hind foot and licks the fur over and over again with his tongue. The apartment has been littered with pieces of fur for days. A visit to the vet is on the agenda today. The fear is that Parson is suffering from an allergy, the causes of which are unknown and which will take time, money, and nerves to treat. Not every cat with itching suffers from an allergy. But every allergy causes itching.
“Itching is the main symptom of an allergy in cats,” confirms Silvia Rüfenacht, a dermatologist at the Aarau West Animal Clinic. Other possible symptoms include bald patches, reddening of the skin, and scabs. Blame for the debacle is an actual overreaction of the immune system to a certain external stimulus. These allergy-causing components are called allergens.
Flea saliva allergy is the most frequently detected in Europe, Rüfenacht continues. In everyday life, however, she sees food allergies and environmental allergies (atopic dermatitis) more frequently. For her as a dermatology specialist, it is even the most common reason why a cat is introduced to her. But when viewed as a whole, allergies are common in cats – and the trend is rising. There are many explanations as to why allergies are becoming more common in cats (as in humans, by the way), says Rüfenacht. For example, the animals lived closer to us: “We notice it better that way or it bothers us more if the cat licks or scratches itself too often.”
Various Causes of Allergies
In humans and dogs, it has also been shown that our way of life – being more indoors, living more in urban areas, air pollution – represents an additional risk of developing an allergy. Last but not least, veterinarians would have better opportunities to diagnose an allergy in the first place.
The allergens of the environmental allergy – various house dust and storage mites, pollen from plants, and environmental fungi – can be detected with blood tests (the blood is tested for special antibodies) and intradermal tests (various allergens are injected into the skin of the cat).
Once the diagnosis of an environmental allergy has been made and the responsible allergens have been found, they should be avoided and the patient’s suffering alleviated or even eliminated. However, this is not easy. If flower pollen is responsible, the symptoms appear “only” from spring to autumn. Dust mites, on the other hand, can complicate a cat’s life all year round. Removing carpets and other dust collectors and cleaning floors with an allergy-safe vacuum can help. Affected animals can also be desensitized, i.e. slowly accustomed to the substance in question with regular, highly diluted injections. If you do not know the responsible allergen, the only remaining form of therapy is to reduce the symptoms and the itching with medication that regulates the immune system.
Feed allergies, which also occur frequently, cannot be detected with the tests mentioned in the context of environmental allergies. According to Rüfenacht, there are various laboratories that offer blood tests for feed allergies. But this is not good enough for you to trust the results. The skin disease, independent of the season, with intense itching, can occur spontaneously and does not necessarily have to be related to a change in feed.
Compared to cats with other allergies, the affected animals have skin changes in the head and neck area and gastrointestinal problems more often. According to Rüfenacht, a diagnosis can only be made by trying an elimination diet. This diet eliminates what could cause problems. It consists of proteins and carbohydrates not contained in the previous feed and must be strictly adhered to for eight to ten weeks. Even a small snack from the neighbors ruins the diet. The therapy is correspondingly difficult to carry out in cats that are allowed to go outside.