Scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch. Endless scratching? clumps of hair and a loss of appetite? These may be signs that your pet has an allergy. Here’s what to look out for.
Pet allergies and how they are caused
Just like in humans, allergies are an overreaction of the immune system towards certain stimuli. Instead of ignoring these triggers, the body treats them as threats, leading to inflammation and a wide range of symptoms affecting the skin, ears, or digestive system. Allergens can trigger reactions through contact, ingestion or inhalation.
Here are the several common triggers for pet allergies:
- Food-related allergies:
- Proteins ( with popular causes being: chicken, beef, dairy, eggs)
Protein sources are the more frequently associated triggers than grains.
- Additives (artificial colors, preservatives)
Artificial ingredients also could be a potential trigger
What makes food allergies tricky is that they often develop over time, even to ingredients your pet has eaten for years. This delayed reaction makes it harder for owners to identify the exact cause.
- Environmental Allergens:
Just like humans, pets can react to substances in their surroundings. These are often referred to as atopic allergies.
- Dust
- Pollen
- Mold
- Flea allergies:
This allergy is often overlooked, but fleas are one of the most widespread and common causes for allergies in pets. Your pets are allergic to the flea’s saliva specifically.
These are among the most common causes of allergic reactions in pets. There could be other allergic reactions that are less common. However, these allergies tend to cause nasty symptoms for your pets. These are symptoms to take note of.
Identifying symptoms
We have understood the causes but what are the symptoms of a pet allergy? Should one of these signs occur with your pet, consider seeking treatment.
Here is the list of the most common symptoms of an allergy:
- Persistent Itching and Scratching: common areas include the ears, belly and paws.
- Hair Loss and Poor Coat Condition: clumps of fur falling out, patches of dry skin, or unhealthy coat despite grooming.
- Ear Problems and Head Shaking: smelly ears and frequent head shaking, indicative of an ear infection caused by an allergy.
- Digestive Issues:Diarrhea or loose stools, or vomiting (more common in cats), linked to food intolerances or allergies.
- Severe Reactions (Emergency Signs): If any of these signs occur, it is recommended to take your pet immediately to the vets. The symptoms include; swelling (face, lips, eyes), hives or wheezing.
However, these signs do not always confirm an allergy, as they can also appear in other health conditions. This is often the toughest part of diagnosing pet allergies.
Why Pet Allergies Are Often Misdiagnosed
The main difficulty for a pet owner to identify whether or not their pet has an allergy is that the symptoms vary and resemble closely to symptoms to other issues a pet could have.
Symptoms overlap with:
- Skin infections: Itching affecting same regions as allergens, hair loss and foul odor
- Parasites (fleas, mites): Itching, hair loss and head shaking
- Poor nutrition: dryness, hair loss, poor coat quality
This can lead to the underlying allergy being overlooked as owners misdiagnose the root cause leading to owners treating the symptoms instead of root cause.
As such, it is important that pet owners should they suspect that their pet is suffering from a pet allergy, that they conduct a proper, professional diagnosis before coming to any conclusion.
What You Should Do If You Suspect Allergies
Once again, these symptoms overlap with those of other illnesses. To ensure that your pet is properly treated the first step is to visit a veterinarian for confirmation. Here are a few steps pet owners can take to verify their suspicions, prior to the visit with the vet:
- Elimination diet trials: Eliminating potential allergens in a diet could verify if the allergies are linked with the food of the pet.
Should the allergen be derived from the diet of the animal, consider switching to other protein sources such as salmon, duck, and insects. And prioritize foods that do not contain artificial colors or flavors.
- Allergy testing (if needed):This identifies exactly what your pet is allergic to. Helpful if the allergen is atopic, or caused by fleas/mites.
The best practice however, is to avoid self-diagnosing or switching foods too frequently. This can potentially prolong the suffering of your pet Pibbles. Because allergy symptoms can overlap with many other health issues, professional diagnosis is always the best first step. Once the cause is identified, nutrition can play an important role in supporting your pet’s overall wellbeing, especially when food sensitivities are involved.
At KEOS, we believe good nutrition should be complete, practical, and thoughtfully formulated. That is why our recipes are designed to support everyday wellness with balanced nutrition and carefully selected ingredients.
This is the core DNA making up our simply good kibbles.
