Discover the Best Cat Food Brands that Naturally Reduce Allergens: A Comprehensive Guide
If you’re like most cat owners, you’re always on the lookout for ways to reduce allergens in your home. And if you’ve been thinking about switching to a cat food that’s designed to reduce allergens, then you’re in luck! There are a few different cat foods that have been shown to reduce allergens, so you can choose the one that’s right for your cat.
Best 10 Cat Food Reduces Allergens
Why Does Cat Food Contain Allergens?
A cat food allergy is a lot like an environmental allergy and is often caused by the same types of things: dust, mold, and pollen. Although cats are unlikely to have a food allergy due to something they have eaten in the past, they can develop an allergy to an ingredient in their food.
According to Dr. Andrea Coates, a veterinarian for Banfield Pet Hospital in Seattle, Washington, a cat food allergy can cause a variety of different symptoms, including skin rashes, excessive itching, hair loss, diarrhea, vomiting, and neurological changes.
Related Post: Uh Oh, My Dog Ate Cat Food! Here’s What to Do (And How to Prevent It)Children and Pets are More Likely to Develop Allergies
You can all but eliminate allergens from cats by using Purina Pro Plan LiveClear, a diet that contains an “ingredient system” that reduces allergens that have already attached to a cat’s hair and skin, researchers said.
The study, funded by Nestle Purina PetCare, was presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, in November.
“This is good news for cats because they can’t take allergy medications like humans can,” ACAAI fellow and lead study author Dr. Hamilton said in a statement. “Also, the benefits of this diet are long lasting, so as long as you feed this food, your cats will have reduced allergens.”
The ingredient system works by binding to a type of protein called Fel d 1, which is one of the main proteins found in cat saliva and sebaceous glands that cats secrete through their skin. It’s also found in their fur. If a cat is licking, grooming and shedding, the allergens they produce get on their hair and skin, and can easily transfer to carpets, fabrics and other materials, Hamilton said.
Related Post: Discover the Best Dr. Elsey’s Dry Cat Food: A Comprehensive Guide to Your Feline’s Optimal HealthResearchers created the diet by feeding cats Purina Pro Plan LiveClear and then measuring allergen levels in their hair and dander. Hamilton said that after three weeks, the cats used in the study had a significant reduction in the amount of Fel d 1 allergen in their hair and dander, as well as a 50 percent decrease in the total amount of allergens.
Hamilton said that another interesting finding in the study, which will be published in the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, was that it also helped reduce allergens in cats that did not eat the LiveClear product, but lived with a cat that did.
What Are the Most Common Allergens in Cat Food?
Many cats have to cope with allergies, a similar condition to hay fever in humans. It can be caused by the environment, diet, or even parasites. If your cat is allergic to something, it can develop a variety of symptoms.
A cat with an allergy to food might have symptoms including:
• Frequent vomiting and/or diarrhea
• Constipation
• Vomiting hairballs
• Gurgly tummy
• Not eating
• Hair falling out
• Itching or scratching
• Red or inflamed skin or ears
If your cat has an allergy to its food, it’s important that you try and identify the exact ingredient that’s causing the allergy. If you can’t identify the ingredient, your veterinarian might recommend an elimination diet, where your cat is fed a specifically formulated diet that doesn’t contain the suspected allergen. This diet should be continued for eight to twelve weeks to see if your cat’s symptoms go away.
The most common cat food allergens are:
• Milk, which cats cannot digest properly
• Wheat – most cats are not allergic to wheat, but can develop an allergy if fed constantly
• Eggs
• Certain proteins, like beef, chicken, and fish
• Fats
• Artificial colorings
• Preservatives
If your cat is diagnosed with a food allergy, there are a few things you can do to help them stay healthy:
• Avoid feeding your cat the allergen in question
• Keep your cat’s diet as simple as possible, with a limited number of ingredients
• Switch your cat’s food to a hydrolyzed protein-based diet.
If you suspect your cat has an allergy to its food, you should get them checked by a veterinarian. This will help you determine what the exact allergen is, and how to treat it.
What Are the Best Cat Foods for Allergies?
Natural food sources are greatly preferred, but if your cat has a very sensitive allergy, finding foods that are free of allergens is important. Some cats are allergic to fish and shrimp, which limits foods to chicken, turkey, and beef.
Foods that contain extra vitamins and minerals are best for cats with a sensitive stomach or skin. These nutrients help to support the skin and coat, which can help to reduce allergic reactions.
Probiotics are also important to a cat with allergies because they can help to reduce stomach problems and other sensitivities that might be related to digestion. Instead of feeding your cat foods that contain probiotics, you can choose to give them a probiotic supplement to help reduce their reaction to food.
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How to Choose the Right Cat Food for Your Cat?
As you may have gathered, cat allergens are not so much contained in the cat as they are spread around the house. So, it makes sense to actively reduce allergens as much as possible. Cat food can play a big part in this.
However, there are some ways to keep cat allergens under control, and choosing the right cat food is one of them.
One important way to control the allergens in the house is to keep your cat indoors. It can be tempting to let them roam free and not worry about a lot of the mess and cleanup that comes with letting your cat outdoors. But this also means that any allergens they pick up are going to be in your house, and therefore, on you.
If your cat is an outdoor cat, them keeping them inside is a great way to maintain your health.
While the cat themselves are not the source of the allergens, it is important to keep their diet in check. This can help reduce the amount of allergens that are spread around the house.
Cat allergens are not actually caused by the cat themselves. Instead, it is the dander that gets spread around.
Dander is basically the small particles of hair and dead skin that cats naturally shed from their skin.
This is where cat food comes into play. Some cat foods contain more protein than others. Protein is great for cats, it helps them grow big and strong, and it is the basis for a good diet.
However, higher protein diets need to be metabolized by the body. In doing this, the cat can produce more waste, and more dander.
This dander gets spread around your house and can worsen your allergy symptoms. The dander becomes a part of the air, and can get breathed in by anyone. The dander can attach to hair and clothing, and be transported throughout the house.
While cat allergies are not something you can completely avoid, there are steps you can take to reduce the allergens.
Dander is very hard to avoid, but you can limit it by keeping your cat healthy, and giving them a diet that does not need to be metabolized. This reduces the amount of dander that gets spread around the house, which can help keep your allergy symptoms at bay.
