The question does arise on occasion, whether the raw meat cat food can prevent, alleviate, or even cause allergies.
General knowledge about allergies tells us, that an allergy is a disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur to normally harmless environmental substances known as allergens. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid. An allergy is a form of hypersensitivity. It is characterized by excessive activation of certain white blood cells by a type of antibody known as IgE, resulting in an extreme inflammatory response.
Common allergies in cats are food allergies, flea allergies, contact allergies, and inhalant allergies. All symptoms of feline allergies tend to manifest themselves either through skin reactions, the respiratory system, or the digestive system.
Inhalant Allergies:
Many allergies are induced by dust, mold, pollen or other airborne particles. In these cases, symptoms arise in areas in contact with air, such as eyes, nose and lungs. Inhaled allergens can lead to asthmatic symptoms, caused by narrowing of the airways, and increased production of mucus in the lungs, shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing. Food allergies rarely cause respiratory (asthmatic) reactions, or rhinitis.
Non-allergic causes of coughing in cats:
• heartworm disease
• roundworm migration
• lungworms
• cardiomyopathy
• nasopharyngeal polyps
• chronic bronchitis
• bordetella infection
• fungal infection
• hair ball, hair, or other foreign object irritating the throat
Contact Allergies:
Substances that come into contact with the skin are also common causes of allergic reactions, known as contact dermatitis or eczema. Skin allergies frequently cause rashes, or swelling and inflammation within the skin.
Flea Allergies:
Studies have shown that there are over 15 different antigens in the saliva of the flea, each one capable of causing an allergic response in a sensitive cat. Despite recent advances in flea control, flea bite allergies and flea bite dermatitis still continue to be common problems. Cats rarely become desensitized to flea bites once they develop an allergy, while cats that are not allergic to flea bites rarely develop lesions from the bites, but may bite or scratch at the flea when it bites them. There does not appear to be a breed or sex predilection for this allergy. Flea bite allergy is characterized by being a seasonal allergy that is worse during peak flea times in the summer and fall. Even in temperate areas or in cases with home infestations, the symptoms of flea bite allergies appear to worsen in the summer and fall. Cats that have flea allergies will bite at the base of their tail and scratch frequently. Even a few fleas can cause hours and days of intense itching. Many cats have a characteristic loss or thinning of hair above the base of the tail. Severely affected cats may itch over their entire bodies, have generalized hair loss, and red inflamed skin.
Cats with flea allergy dermatitis can have a wide spectrum of symptoms including crusty, small, red, raised skin lesions, symmetrical hair loss, well-defined, raised sores with concave surfaces occurring commonly on the abdomen or inside thigh, or narrow, elongated, reddish-yellow sores usually found on the back of the hind leg.
Food Allergies:
Symptoms of food allergy include abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting, diarrhea, itchy skin, and swelling of the skin during hives.
Risk factors for developing an allergy do exist, but it is not believed that it is breed or sex linked in cats. Environmental factors are likely to play a role and include infectious diseases during early life, environmental pollution, allergen levels, and diet. In the case of food allergies, it is not believed that cats are born with a food allergy, but that it develops during life. Food allergies have been observed in cats as young as 5 months old, or can occur as late in life as 12 years or older.
Food Allergies vs. Food Intolerance:
Food allergies have been observed in cats, but true food allergies are rare, and symptoms of a food intolerance can be very similar, leading the cat owner to believe that his or her cat has allergies. A cat with a food intolerance is unable to digest and process the food correctly, and may have symptoms like gas, bloating, diorrhea, or vomiting. However, the typical symptoms of itching and skin problems are not present. A food intolerance can lead to an allergy, however, when undigested particles of food enter the blood stream and cause a reaction known as leaky gut syndrome.
Feline Acne:
Feline acne is a condition in which comedones (blackheads) develop on the chin of a cat.
The exact cause of feline acne is not known, but several factors appear to be associated with its development including stress, a suppressed immune system, and overactive sebaceous glands at the hair follicles on the chin, which become clogged and infected as a result. Multiple comedones form on the chin and lips of the cat, and the chin may appear “dirty.” The comedones can develop into small abscesses, which break open and form crusts. In severe cases, draining tracts, hair loss, and swelling may develop on the chin. It may be itchy and cause the cat to scratch, which can lead to even more trauma to the area. Secondary bacterial infections can develop. The condition may appear only once in the life of a cat, it may come and go, or may remain for the life of the cat. Feline acne occurs equally in male and female cats, and in cats of all ages and breeds.
A list of food agents cats can develop an allergy to has been compiled, but a cat’s immune system can overreact to any protein or agent in the diet. Personally, I have difficulties subscribing to the idea that cats become allergic to food they have eaten for many years, or a food stuff they are most exposed to. Cats exist on a very monotonous diet by nature. Having evolved to hunt mice as a mainstay, how is it that wild-living small felines do not develop an allergy to mice? It is possible that we have simply not observed the occurrence of it? Somehow I do not believe that allergies are a common occurrence in any wild population, but believe that allergies in our domestic cats are rooted in a mistake we are making in our husbandry of these beings.
A veterinarian can assist in diagnosing an allergy in your cat, based on symptoms, blood tests, skin tests, and elimination diet.
- The raw meat cat food may assist in preventing allergies from developing by supporting the cat’s immune system, overall health, and well being.
- It is possible that existing allergies can be alleviated by feeding a raw meat cat food, depending on what agent or agents a cat was reacting to in the food previously being offered, which may simply no longer be present when feeding the diet.
- A raw meat diet can certainly cause allergies in cats predisposed to developing allergies. The fault lies not with the food, in this case, but an abnormal reaction of the immune system, with an underlying cause.
The immune system is a complex mechanism. In addition, we are all exposed to an environment and lifestyle which is becoming more and more disease causing, because we are removing ourselves more and more from the natural world. The entire process of a cat being sensitized to a particular agent in food and the complicated antibody response that occurs in the intestinal tract in cats with food allergies are not very well understood. Despite our lack of understanding of the actual disease process, there are many things that we do know including the symptoms, how to diagnose food allergies, and also how to treat them.
