What to do about feed intolerances and allergies in cats?

Currently, there are not any comprehensive figures on how many dogs and cats suffer from food allergies. There is less data available in veterinary medicine than in human medicine, but the number of animals suffering from food allergies appears to have increased over the last few decades.

How can an allergy or intolerance manifest itself?

Symptoms can appear through two organ systems: the skin and the gastrointestinal tract. Either both organ systems can be affected or just one of them. The severity can also vary from mild to severe.

Skin symptoms:

Itching
Skin redness, skin rash
Skin inflammations
Hair loss
Ear infections
Redness and inflammation around the eyes
Scabs or thicker skin

Gastrointestinal symptoms:

Vomiting
Diarrhoea
Bloating
Abdominal pain
Loss of appetite
Weight loss

How do you diagnose an allergy or intolerance?

The gold standard for determining or ruling out a food allergy is what is known as the elimination diet (often also called exclusion diet). During an elimination diet, the diet is deliberately kept very simple: the classic main allergens such as chicken, turkey and beef are avoided and instead a meat source is fed that the cat has never eaten before.

What’s the difference between an allergy and intolerance?

An allergy is a reaction by the body’s own defence system, i.e. the immune system. The body overreacts to a harmless foreign substance and forms antibodies in response. With intolerance, the body’s own defence system is not involved and there is therefore no immunological reaction.

How do you treat an allergy or intolerance?

The primary method for treating food allergies focuses on eliminating the allergenic substances from the food. As soon as the food allergy diagnosis is confirmed, feed the food that was well tolerated during the elimination diet and build on this.

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