Pet Allergies: A Sensitive Subject

Sneezing and watery eyes are no longer something an owner has to put up with to enjoy time with their pet.

Allergies are a two-way street when it comes to pets and people. Pets can get them from their environment, and some owners can experience allergy symptoms from being around their pets.

Even this seemingly minor issue can significantly affect the human-animal bond. “When people have sensitivity to cat allergens, they may not be able to spend as much time with their cat,” said Emily Cross, DVM, director of Veterinary Communications for Nestlé Purina PetCare. “They may have to separate the cat in another room. I’ve had friends with that exact situation … Not only was it heartbreaking for them, but the cat was very unhappy to be separated.”

Recommendations from human allergists aren’t always optimal for the pet and pet owner relationship either. Treatments can include allergy medication for the human and baths for the cat. “Well, that will definitely have an impact on the human-animal bond, because most cats do not like to have baths,” said Dr. Cross.

Unfortunately, this issue is the second most common reason for cats to be relinquished, behind urinary issues.

The root cause

People who experience allergy symptoms from their cats may think it’s because of the cat’s hair. It’s actually due to a specific protein in the saliva called Fel d 1. Every cat produces the protein, regardless of breed or sex. In a cat’s grooming process, the Fel d 1 in the saliva is put onto the hair coat and skin and then sloughs off into the environment. “That is what people who have sensitivity to cat allergens are sensitive to,” said Dr. Cross.

A Purina immunologist came up with the idea to use an antibody in its LiveClear diets that can bind to Fel d 1 protein in the saliva. When the protein is bound to the antibody, it is inactivated or neutralized. Purina’s LiveClear diet is shown to safely and effectively reduce the major allergen in cat hair and dander, Dr. Cross said. “We have had seen some really nice results, showing that in three weeks, the amount of active Fel d 1, or this allergen, was decreased by an average of 47% – that’s a pretty profound effect for people that just want to live a little closer with their cat and have the human-animal bond supported.”

Dr. Cross said the diet is not intended to replace treatments prescribed or recommended from a human allergist. “It’s just something that can be added in to try to help decrease the overall allergen load that’s in the house, while all of those other things their medical health professionals are recommending should be done and followed,” she said. “This is just a piece of the puzzle. It’s not the only single intervention that would likely be recommended.”

Resolving cases

For the pet’s health and well-being, nutrition plays a key role in allergy management.

“As a general practitioner, when I have an animal that comes in with itchy skin, it’s a big issue for that pet,” Dr. Cross said. “Animals can have allergies too. They can be allergic to things in their food or in the environment. We’ve all had insect bites and things that have made us want to scratch and scratch, so we can all imagine that a pet being in a constant state of itching is not a pleasant situation. Sometimes the pet isn’t able to sleep in bed with the owner anymore because of the scratching, so it is disruptive to the human-animal bond in some situations as well. So, we have to do everything we can to resolve these cases, and nutrition needs to play a key role.”

Once veterinarians have eliminated some of the more obvious and common issues like flea allergy, then they can quickly move into investigating for adverse food reactions, Dr. Cross said. The only reliable option at this point in time is a dietary elimination trial, she noted. This involves using a hypoallergenic veterinary therapeutic diet that serves almost like a diagnostic test at home. Owners will feed the diet to their pet for 8 to 12 weeks and report back to their veterinarian as to how the pet is responding or not responding.

“If they respond and we challenge them with their previous food and the signs come back, then we have a diagnosis of adverse food reaction. If they don’t respond, then we can still move into nutritional management of other skin diseases that cause itching,” Dr. Cross said. “We call it atopic dermatitis, or environmental allergies, and nutrition plays an important role there as well.”

Photo credit: istockphoto.com/elenaleonova, istockphoto.com/Marut Khobtakhob