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Category: Canine,Feline
Food hypersensitivity
Food allergy, food intolerance
AffectedAnimals:
Dogs, cats, and humans. Any age, sex, or breed of dog or cat can develop food allergies.
Overview:
Ingredients in some pet foods may cause an allergic reaction in hypersensitive cats and dogs. Reactions are characterized by itching and gastrointestinal disorders, and are usually responses to a protein or carbohydrate source in the diet. Food allergies are the third most common cause of itching, and account for about 10 to 15 percent of all allergic skin diseases in canines.
Unlike animals with seasonal inhalant allergies, animals with food allergies tend to itch year round, and do not experience much relief from anti-itching medications. Therefore, it is essential to identify and remove the type of food that is stimulating the allergic response.
Some animals will have other allergies concurrently, such as fleabite hypersensitivity and inhalant allergies, which have severe symptoms when they are not controlled.
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