#2: Allergies

This is number two in my four-part series on the health problems caused by feeding cats a typical dry food diet. You may want to read the introduction (Name That Food!) first.

Excess shedding, itching, rashes, and other skin irritations are all symptoms of allergies. Just like humans, felines can grow into allergies over time, so they may begin showing allergy symptoms even though you have not changed their food. Both cats and dogs are commonly allergic to: corn, wheat, soy, and occasionally chicken and beef... and most dry cat foods seem to contain corn.

If you suspect that your cat may have allergies, switch her over to an "allergy" or "limited ingredient" diet that does not contain any of those ingredients (you will have to actually read the ingredient panel, as many so-called sensitive skin formulas still contain many of these items... particularly corn). If the symptoms improve after 3-4 weeks on the new food, then you know that they were caused by a food allergy and you can experiment with different foods to isolate the problem ingredient. I suggest experimenting because I'd hate for you to avoid chicken forever if your cat is actually only allergic to corn (which seems to be the most common allergen and the ingredient most consistently found in dry foods). *Important* Do not give your cat treats during your testing phase because if the treats contain the allergen, the symptoms will remain and you won't discover what is causing the problem.

I've had customers with cats and dogs that received monthly cortisone shots for allergies. Once they switched to a limited ingredient food, most no longer needed shots at all! Not only that, but the symptoms, which the shot only controlled (and not very well), disappeared completely!