Food Allergies

Focus Species: Dogs & Cats

Common Symptoms

Dogs

Itchy limbs (anything from the elbow joints down to the foot pads)
Constant chewing and/or licking of lower limbs, wrists, toes, feet and pads.
‘Scooting’ bottom along the ground (commonly confused as a sign of worms)
Constant ear infections

Cats

Constant rubbing and/or scratching of face and neck area
Facial sores or bald spots as a result of scratching and rubbing
Constant pawing at face

Common Causes & Triggers

These symptoms can occur when your pet is allergic to an ingredient in their food. Common foods that can trigger an allergic reaction in our pets are:

Dogs: Soy, dairy, eggs, beef, chicken, wheat and processed corn

Cats: Soy, dairy, wheat, lamb, beef, fish and preservatives (cats are especially sensitive to preservatives in food.)

How we diagnose & treat food allergies at Windan’Sea Vet

We begin by placing the patient on a tightly controlled diet based on novel (new) protein for a minimum of 3 months (it’s important this diet lasts for 3 months to ensure their system is completely cleared and we have a ‘blank slate’ to work with). If the symptoms subside on this new diet, this confirms they are allergic to something they were eating before.

From there, we start at elimination diet - by introducing different carbohydrates & proteins back into your pet’s diet, we can monitor which cause their symptoms to return.

What can you do to help your pet today?

The best course of action is to book in to see your vet straight away - as you can see, identifying & treating a food allergy can be a long process.

It’s crucial that you address this issue in co-operation with your vet - whilst it might be tempting to try an elimination diet yourself, it needs to be tightly controlled & monitored to get an accurate result as fast as possible. Not only that, food allergies often cause secondary infections such as parasites, fleas, yeast infections and bacterial infections. Your vet is best suited to treating these secondary conditions whilst also working towards a diagnosis for your pet.

Did you know:

Food allergies are the 3rd most common allergy found in cats
15% of cats with a food allergy also experience digestive issues such as diarrhea or vomiting