Food allergies in cats

Cat eating feed

Although cats are generally in good health and do not usually have problems digesting the food we give them, the truth is that we can find more than one and more than two who need to change their diet to be able to eat normally.

An allergy is an overreaction of the immune system when it identifies something, in this case a component of food, as something to "attack." If you think your furry has, then we will explain all about food allergies in cats.

The cat, a carnivorous animal

Cat eating meat

The cat is a carnivorous animal, like the lion, the tiger, and the rest of the felines. Our little furry, like his cousins, it is a nocturnal predator that hunts its prey at night. What kind of prey?

Basically small mammals, like rodents, rabbits, maybe a hare, and small birds. This means that the cat the meat of these animals is eaten to survive. It is what is known as a strict carnivorous animal.

Until before the Second World War, and even afterwards, the feline fed on the leftovers. And it was fine. However, with the feed boom, those who cared for a feline found a food that they were told had all the necessary nutrients for the animal, and that it only had to be opened and served. To what extent is that true?

What do you have to eat?

Cat eating

Well, you can put shoes, bones, rice, and vegetables in a shredder, and surely when you analyze it you would see that, yes, it has proteins, minerals, etc., but this would not be eaten by anyone. Eye, I'm not saying all feed is bad.

Currently we can find a series of brands that care a lot about cats and make their croquettes with natural food. In their sacks you will not see wheat, corn, or any type of cereal, nor dyes. The price is higher, but it is that the meat bought in the butcher shop is.

Anyway, there is nothing like natural food. The cat is a carnivore. Let's give it meat. Let's buy rabbits, chickens and organ meats at the supermarket or the village butcher shop and you will surely enjoy it, unless you have already gotten used to the feed, of course (from experience I can tell you that it is very difficult to make a cat change its mind).

But yes. If we give him a low quality feed, we risk that he has a food allergy. According to a study by Affinity Pet Care, approximately 6% of chronic dermatological problems in cats are due to food allergy. An allergy caused by a diet that does not respect the animal's body by having as a source of protein a food (usually cereals) that it cannot digest.

How do I know if my cat is allergic?

When a cat has a food allergy, we will see that it shows the following symptoms:

  • Dermatological problems: alopecia, peeling, crusting, redness.
  • Digestive disorders: vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, increased frequency of bowel movements.
  • Changes in mood: apathy, general malaise.

Prevention and treatment of food allergies

Cat eating feed

The best way to prevent and treat food allergies is providing the animal, from the first day it arrives home, a quality diet. Either BARF or I think, that does not have cereals or other allergens such as milk, soy, beef or egg.

Also, if we choose to give it I think we have to see if it has turkey or duck, which are highly digestible sources of animal protein, which means that the body can make better use of nutrients, preventing allergies from occurring.

When we want to give you prizes in the form of candy, also we have to look at the list of ingredients, which will be ordered from largest to smallest quantity. If they have a high percentage of meat (minimum 70%), we can be sure that it is a suitable food for cats.

We hope this article is useful for you 🙂.


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