Content
- Is my cat allergic to your food?
- What is and the benefits of hypoallergenic nutrition
- What is the elimination diet
- Hypoallergenic cat food options on the market
- Homemade hypoallergenic cat food
You are certainly wondering what a hypoallergenic cat food or under what circumstances your cat may need this type of food. Like humans, other mammals can also suffer from allergies of all kinds, from those related to elements found in the environment, such as dust and pollen, to those triggered by the consumption of certain foods.
On this occasion, the Animal Expert wants you to know all the details about this type of cat diet, because we know that proper nutrition is the most important thing to keep your feline happy and healthy, contributing to its full development. Good reading.
Is my cat allergic to your food?
Like humans, some animals can develop allergic reactions to certain foods, and the cat is one of them. When this happens, the cat is said to suffer from food allergy, because after ingesting the food responsible for the problem, the animal's body generates antibodies to protect itself from the pathogen, which results in typical symptoms of allergy.
A food allergy can manifest from the age of two, even with your cat's usual diet. Some of the symptoms of food allergy in cats are:
- is itching a lot
- have diarrhea
- vomiting
- hair loss
- Begins to develop dermatitis and/or skin redness
So, if the feline shows any of these signs, it is possible that it is a case of food allergy, since about 30% of the feline population can suffer from this condition. When this happens, and to make sure that the problem is due to food and not some other agent, it is necessary to implement a diet with hypoallergenic cat food.
What is and the benefits of hypoallergenic nutrition
It gets its name for being a diet that reduces the cat's chances of suffering an allergic reaction, thanks to the elimination of foods known to be histamines, or specific foods that have been proven to trigger this type of problem in cats.
Therefore, it is a good feed option for cats that have any type of intolerance or allergy to any ingredient and there are more and more options on the market.
The idea of hypoallergenic cat food is to provide the feline with food which the possibility of causing allergy is very low, and for that it is necessary to submit it to a elimination diet, through which it will be possible to detect which foods are causing the allergic reaction.
It is common that food normally used for the manufacture of processed feed, such as wheat, soy, corn, milk and even some type of animal protein, such as beef, can cause allergies in cats, so these are the first to be removed.
What is the elimination diet
This is the only way to diagnose a possible food allergy, from which it will be possible to determine if the problem is in the cat's diet, in which case a hypoallergenic food should be chosen, or if it will be necessary to continue searching for the cause of the malaise.
The elimination diet consists of suspend the food being consumed until that time, to feed the feline with different parts that allow you to determine which ingredient is causing the allergy. To do this, you must follow the following tips:
- Testing each ingredient must last a week to rule out any reaction, although if it's the allergen you're looking for, symptoms will likely manifest in just a few hours.
- In making this trial and error, vitamin supplements and outdoor visits to the cat should be avoided to be sure of the root cause of the problem.
- To confirm that the symptoms are caused by the diet, it is recommended to return to the usual diet after following the elimination diet for seven days. If the same allergic symptoms manifest themselves, it is confirmed that the problem is with the food. consumption must be stopped immediately and return to the elimination diet.
The improvement should be noticeable between the first and third week (A period of eight weeks is recommended to completely detoxify the cat's body). If during this time no progress is seen, it is not a case of food allergy and you should take the cat to the veterinarian.
Once you have determined which ingredient or ingredients your cat is allergic to, you can choose between two options: look for a feed that does not contain them, or prepare your own menu at home and, for that, create a homemade hypoallergenic diet for cats.
Hypoallergenic cat food options on the market
Many cat food brands offer hypoallergenic options made with hydrolyzed protein, which reduces the risk of an allergic reaction.
It's a matter of researching what options are available and making sure the food in question doesn't contain the ingredient you've discovered your cat is allergic to. However, a certain representative percentage of cats do not do well with hypoallergenic food, so you will have to resort to the second option.
Homemade hypoallergenic cat food
Feeding your feline homemade food may seem complicated, but it's really just a matter of knowing which food groups are needed. of course you will have to completely eliminate the ingredients you've found to cause allergies in your feline.
We recommend that you use chicken, fish, turkey or lamb to prepare the homemade hypoallergenic diet for your cat. Most of the food should be protein, as cats are carnivorous animals. To that you will add rice in small portions, as well as some vegetables, salmon oil and taurine. If you still don't know the best fruits for cats, don't miss our article!
When cooking the mentioned foods to prepare homemade hypoallergenic cat food, it should be kept in mind that they can only be offered boiled in water. The cat's metabolism is different from ours and therefore it doesn't digest food the way we do.We will thus avoid cooking meat with oil, spices and other typical products of our kitchen. The more natural the food, the better.
You can look for different alternatives to design different diets. Remember of vary the ingredients to achieve a balanced and complete diet. Consult your veterinarian about what is best for your cat with a food allergy.
Now that you know more about hypoallergenic cat food, in the following video, we offer you a homemade salmon recipe for cats simple and quick for you to take as a guide.
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