You’ve Got Itchy Skin in the Bag

You’ve Got Itchy Skin in the Bag

Could your dog or cat have a food allergy? If you have a pet that struggles with itchy skin, look over the following information and see if it fits your situation.

Food allergy in people is classically associated with some kind of dramatic, life-threatening reaction. Fans of CSI and other police detective shows will have seen that many sensational crimes are committed using shrimp and peanut oil. For dogs and cats, however, the symptoms are far more bland: it’s nearly always a lengthy, boring history of itchy skin. In the canine patient, this condition often affects the ear canals, ear flaps, and the skin around the anus, but it can also manifest in itchy, slightly swollen feet. Food-allergic cats will behave differently; they are usually itchiest on the face. Note that affected areas of the body can vary widely, making this difficult to recognize on examination. Some pets with food allergy also suffer from gastrointestinal upset, like vomiting or diarrhea, even just an increase in gas or digestive noises. Don’t overlook this detail when talking to the doctor.

It’s a little unusual for a pet to be itchy all year round. These patients should be checked for parasites and for infections of the skin. If nothing treatable is found, we begin to suspect that a food allergy is in play. If you’ve noticed some of the skin patterns described above and feel that your pet’s itching never completely goes away, a conversation about food allergy is in order.

Your veterinarian will probably ask if the diet has recently been changed, but please note that it is absolutely possible to develop an allergy without a change in food. How? Well, no one knows what sets the immune system off in the first place, to begin regarding chicken meat as its mortal enemy. We cannot predict, then, when that is going to occur. Most food-allergic pets had eaten the offending material for a long time without incident. Second, there is no law to prevent food manufacturers from changing the content of their product without asking anyone’s permission. That’s how we got New Coke and 5-ounce tuna cans. Third, it’s been brought to light that many pet foods contain ingredients not even listed on the label. One of these could be the allergen that sparks your pet’s reactive skin. The situation becomes even more complicated when you’ve been feeding your pet a variety of different foods and treats, even though this is normal pet owner behavior. The immune system doesn’t recognize brands, formulations, or flavors. It recognizes molecules of ingredients that are common to many different recipes. Pet food ingredient lists are lengthy and complicated, but even so, they cannot list every type of molecule. The identification of your pet’s food allergy is not going to happen through examination of the labels, so put down your magnifying glass. There’s only one test—the food trial—that can clarify the situation if we suspect food allergy. Check with us next month for how it’s done.

Dr. M. S. Regan