Food allergies are commonly experienced by animals, including dogs kittens. These young cats are also able to go through food allergies as their body system is still adapting.
Food allergies or intolerance are caused by a reaction to a particular ingredient, which is commonly a protein. Get to know these complete signs your cat has food allergies too!
Besides food itself, there are some causes of food allergies in kittens, such as the damage in the body. It includes inflammation, surgery and some medications that can damage the digestive system. As a result, it may lead to food allergies. Besides, some cat breeds also more likely to develop the chance of food allergies, such as Siamese cats.
Food allergies may develop at any time during a cat’s life, so that kittens are also likely to get food allergies. Handling food allergies in kittens should be done immediately as they are still in young age, so once you notice any signs or symptoms of food allergies in kittens, immediately contact your vet.
There are some kinds of food that trigger food allergies in cats, such as beef, fish, chicken, and dairy products. Preservatives, dyes, and flavour enhancers are also the common causes of food allergies in kittens.
Consulting with vet about the safe and best food for your kittens is suggested. There are some symptoms of food allergies in kittens. Here they are:
- Skin problems, skin problems include itching and redness. There might be some bald areas and actual abrasions of the skin. Those are mainly caused by excessive scratching by themselves. The itching typically affects the face, ears, belly, groins and the legs or paws. To treat some skin problems, you can feed your kittens these best vitamins to improve your cat’s skin.
- Recurrent ear infections.
- Fur ball problems, your kittens may swallow their fur while scratching or over-grooming themselves.
- Gastrointestinal problems – vomiting, diarrhea, or difficult bowel movement – also read about causes of cats vomiting the undigested food.
- Respiratory problems, though these are rare, but they may possibly happen.
- Fur loss or dull, brittle fur – it happens due to excessive scratching.
- Anorexia, avoid the food, your cat may have loss of appetite because he feels sick.
- Head and neck skin issues.
- Fluid-filled lumps on the skin.
- Discharge from the eyes or nose.
- Sneezing.
- Wheezing.
- Coughing.
- Paw chewing – due to itchiness and excessive scratching.
- Snoring due to inflamed throat.
- Swollen paws.
- Poor growth.
Persistent scratching can be a response of different conditions. Besides a sign of food allergies in kittens, persistent scratching can also be a sign of flea dermatitis, a reaction to flea saliva. Never treat the allergy by yourself, instead, call your vet and consult to get the best assurance.
After knowing the symptoms and causes of food allergies in cats, the next question will be how to treat it or prevent it. There are some treatments your vet will conduct, such as designing a specialized diet, giving antibiotics and antihistamines (only if the cat is suffering).
Another treatment is the use of probiotics. Probiotics will aid the food digestion and restore good bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.
Food allergies can be treated but cannot be cured. Instead, your vet will manage to design food trials for your kittens. The food trials may last within a week or you may also continue the food trial for long term maintenance.
That’s why it is important to discuss with your vet once your cat experiences food allergies. Do not ever try to treat the allergies by yourself. You can also consider giving these yummy recipe of homemade cat food. Homemade food is the best!