Food Allergies in Cats:
If You Know What's Wrong, You Can Do Something!

Symptoms

As with food allergies in people, there is a line drawn by many experts between intolerances and food allergies in cats. The classical allergy symptoms in cats will be mostly skin-related:

• excessive, non-seasonal scratching that doesn't go away (or goes away only partially) with steroid or antihistamine treatment
• hair loss, especially around the face and neck
• excessive licking
• red, itchy ears

Your vet will need to be sure your cat doesn't have another condition with some of the same symptoms as food allergies in cats, before s/he gives a final diagnosis. Some conditions that also cause skin problems are atopy, flea-bite allergy, hypersensitivity to intestinal parasites, scabies, yeast or bacterial infections, or seborrhea.

Intolerances are reactions to food that aren't related to the immune system in the same way that classical allergies are. Food allergies that may be called intolerances usually show up as vomiting or diarrhea. My sister's cat, Dickens, showed an intolerance for chicken through bloody stools, poor thing.

As is the case in their human companions, the foods most commonly causing food allergies in cats are the ones most common in their diet:

• dairy or milk
• fish
• beef (may be labeled "meat by-products" or "meat and bone meal" on your cat's food)
• chicken (look for "poultry and poultry by-products")
• eggs
• corn

To diagnose intolerances and food allergies in cats, vets use food trials (this is just an elimination diet ). Your cat may be put on a diet of a novel protein--that is, a protein she's never had before, like venison or rabbit. A novel carbohydrate, such as millet or potato, may be used as well. Your cat's diet would consist of these foods and nothing else for the 8 to 12-week duration of the trial--no treats, none of the old food. Another option is to use a hypoallergenic commercial food recommended by your vet during the trial.

If, during the food trial, your cat seems to recover, you'd then do a "food challenge": you'd re-introduce the suspect food. If the symptoms recur, that food is probably the culprit.

You can introduce new, single foods every two weeks. Be careful to watch for reactions. If, after eating a newly-introduced (or re-introduced) food for two weeks, your cat seems to be fine, you can introduce another food. This technique isn't advisable for commercial foods, since they contain so many ingredients. If Fluffy reacts, it's hard to know which ingredient caused the problem.

It can be daunting to find a commercial cat food with none of the ingredients your cat can't have. More options are becoming available for food allergies in cats, however, with low-allergy or hypoallergenic blends, hydrolyzed protein formulas, and homemade diets. If you want to cook for your feline friend, check out Dr. Jean Hofve's page for helpful recommendations.

Other Treatment

In addition to a change in diet, some vets prescrible steroid shots for food allergies in cats. These may help somewhat, but they work by supressing the immune system, and are very hard on kitties long-term (just as they are on people!).

The FDA reports that immunotherapy shots, used successfully for years in people, are 75%-80% effective in treating food allergies in cats. Expect your cat to need shots about every week for awhile.

Dr Jean Hofve, a holistic veteranarian in Colorado, recommends supplementing your cat's diet with slippery elm, antioxidants, and Omega-3's (among other things) to assist the healing process and support overall health.

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