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Allergies in Dogs and Cats
Allergies are common in dogs and cats, just like people. The immune systems of dogs and cats with allergies have an excessive response to an allergen, often resulting in itchiness and skin issues like recurrent ear and/or skin infections. There are 3 major causes of allergies in pets: food, the environment, and fleas. We’ll go into more detail about each of these below. Sometimes allergies to food can result in gastrointestinal upset and diseases like inflammatory bowel disease, but this is less common.
Food Allergy
The vast majority of food allergies in dogs and cats are caused by the protein source, most commonly beef or chicken. If a food allergy is suspected by your veterinarian, they will recommend a food trial, which is the only way to diagnose a food allergy. A food trial could involve a new (also known as novel) protein source using an over-the-counter or prescription diet. Example novel proteins include duck, rabbit, and venison. Alternatively, a hydrolyzed protein diet may be recommended. Hydrolyzed protein has been broken down to prevent the body from recognizing the protein at all.
If your pet is going through a food trial, they should not get anything else to eat since that could interfere with the results. After 1-2 months of a food trial, you can determine if it was a success or not. If your pet has improved, often that food will be continued long term, but sometimes experimenting to determine the actual problematic protein is done.
While getting the food allergy under control, oral medications like Apoquel (oclacitinib) or steroids can help with itchiness. Treating any secondary skin or ear infections is also important. There are also topical treatments like shampoos, sprays, and mousses to help with infection and inflammation. The ultimate goal is to manage the food allergy with diet alone.
Environmental or Seasonal Allergy - also known as Atopy or Atopic Dermatitis
Just like people, dogs and cats can have seasonal allergies. The timing of the allergy depends on where you live, but often they are worst during the transition seasons - spring and fall. Mild to moderate allergies can be managed by your family veterinarian and includes medications like antihistamines, Apoquel (oclacitinib), Atopica (cyclosporine), and steroids to control itchiness and inflammation. Another treatment is Cytopoint, which is an injectable antibody therapy that blocks the allergic itch signal. Some pets have severe allergies that need to be managed by a veterinary dermatology specialist and may be treated with immunotherapy (allergy shots).
Flea Allergy
Some cats and dogs are allergic to flea saliva, so when even just one flea bites them, they have an allergic reaction causing intense itching. This results in hair loss and secondary bacterial or fungal skin infections. Often the skin lesions are most severe just in front of the tail and along the back, since that’s the most common place for fleas to be on your pet.
Treating flea allergy involves controlling the itch and inflammation with a steroid and resolving skin infections if present. Most importantly, treatment of flea allergy requires getting rid of the fleas - there are lots of options including chewable and topical products in addition to long-acting collars. Treating the environment by vacuuming and cleaning linens is also important. Preventing future flea infestations can be achieved by using the same chewables, topicals and collars.
Allergies do not occur in a vacuum and dogs or cats can have multiple allergies at once. Sometimes allergies are simple - using flea prevention year-round or feeding a different kind of food might be the only treatment. However, it is often difficult to definitively diagnose and treat an allergy. Testing and treatment often requires a trial-and-error approach and patience from everyone involved in addition to life-long medication, even if that is only flea prevention. In the end, the goal is the comfort and health of your pet which can be achieved by following the guidance of your veterinarian.
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