From: dmillard@encore.com (Debbie Millard)
Subject: Cats with Allergies
Organization: Encore Computer Corporation, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 15:10:13 GMT

Here are some highlights from the article in
CATS Magazine, April 1992, pertaining to cats with allergies.

- Just like people, cats can suffer from a wide range of allergies.
- A cat with one allergy often has others.
- 15% of all cats in the U.S. suffer from one or more allergies
- Cats' allergies fall into several categories, each with a parallel
  complaint among human allergy sufferers.  Inhalant allergies are caused
  by airborne articles, such as pollen, that irritate the nasal passages
  and lungs.  Contact alllergies manifest themselves when the cat has
  prolonged contact with a substance that it just cannot tolerate.  Cats
  have allergies to foods as well -- not so much to the chemical
  preservatives but to the grains, meats and dairy products used.  Some
  cats react badly to certain drugs, such as antibiotics or anesthesia.
- Flea allergy is the most common of all allergies.  As cats age, their
  sensitivity to flea bites increases.
- Between 5 & 10 percent of allergy cases are caused by food. Like contact
  allergies, food allergies will show up as dermatitis and severe itching
  but in some cases will also cause vomiting and diarrhea.  Also, the cat
  may have excessively oily skin, ear inflammation, or hair loss (which can
  also be a sign of hormone imbalance).

* A food allergy doesn't show up overnight.  It can take from a week to 10
* years of exposure to show itself; more than 80 percent of cats with food
* allergies have been eating the allergen-containing food for more than two
* years.

  Studies are being done to determine possible connections between food
  allergies and FUS, with some success in eliminating foods and cutting
  down on FUS symptoms.  Results are still experimental.

  Food allergies are treated with a bland, hypoallergenic diet -- rice with
  boiled chicken or lamb, and distilled water is commonly used.  Two weeks
  is the longest it usually takes for the bland diet to work.

- Plants, especially oily-leafed ones, such as rubber plants, that might be
  brushed against.

  Other contact allergens include: carpet fresheners, wool, house dust,
  newsprint, cleansers and topical medications.  Even the carpet itself.

  Signs of contact allergens:  dermatitis, pigmentary changes or skin
  eruptions.  Most noticable on the chin, ears, inner thighs, abdomen,
  underside of the tail, armpits and around the anus.

  Skin patch tests are used to determine cause of contact allergies.

- Medications that commonly cause skin eruptions: penicillin, tetracycline,
  neomycin and panleukopenia vaccine.

  Each drug causes different symptoms, but the symptoms differ from cat to
  cat.  There is no way to predict how a cat will react.

  Antihistamines or steroids may be used to eliminate symptoms (after
  ceasing administration of the drug)

- Kitty litter - a quote from a vet, "Every time they bring out a new
  litter I get a whole parade of cats coming in with reactions to it."

- Besides litterbox filler, cats share many inhalant allergies with people.

  In winter, especially in the Northern states, when the furnace is turned
  on for the first time, the sudden head & air flow dislodges dust & mod
  that has been growing in the furnace ducts over the summer and can
  trigger a cats inhalant allergy.  Other inhalent allergens are cigarette
  smoke, perfumes, household sprays and air fresheners, and yes, pollen.

  Inhalent allergies can also result in skin loss, scabbing pustules, or
  ulcerated areas on the skin.  This in addition to the asthmatic symptoms.

  Treatment is similar to humans...antihistamines, such as
  chlortrimetron..  More severe cases are treated with systemic steroids,
  which can have drawbacks.

  For cats with debilitating inhalant allergies, a possible treatment is
  desensitization, during which a cat is exposed to more & more of the
  allergen, so that it builds a resistance to it.

- Watch for signs, consult your vet.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats