| Allergies, food sensitivities and food intolerances can cause both itching(ATOPY) and GI problems in both dogs and cats. Additionally, dogs and cats can be allergic to mold, dust, insects, grass, weeds and hundreds of other environmental substances. All pet allergies have a common denominator: an animal who has lost the ability to cope with his or her environment. They all add up. Changing one protein in the diet does not fix it. In fact, there is nary a dog or cat who is exhibiting symptoms who is allergic to just one, or a few, food items. There are pet parents who think their dog must have only environmental allergies, because their dog only itches in the spring and fall. In fact, the pollens in the spring or the leaves [mold] in the fall are what pushed the system above the threshold line. Food allergies, in this case, simply don’t add up enough to start the scratch cycle. Add the spring pollens and they trigger the itching. The best way to understand allergies is to understand how the immune system works. So, let me compare the immune system to a computer. Much like how a computer processes and recalls data, an immune system will identify and remember various enemies. That’s why if we get measles once, we won’t ever get this illness again—the immune system sees the measles germs trying to get a foot in the door, recognizes them as an enemy, and slams the door in their face. The immune system remembers the measles from the previous infection and handles the problem immediately. In the case of allergies, the immune system incorrectly processes and registers “good guys” as enemies. Foods, pollens, and grasses, among others, are identified by the body as threats (allergens). These threats warrant responses, and the subsequent responses cause inflammation and other allergic symptoms. The immune system becomes a virus-corrupted computer. Consider the young child who has a severe reaction to peanuts. His friend can eat a peanut butter sandwich without any ill effects. That’s because the computer of his friend’s immune systems hasn’t logged the peanut in as an enemy. The problem isn’t the peanut itself. Rather, it’s the way that the immune system recognizes the peanut. Today’s pets are experiencing more allergies because there are simply more ways to confuse their immune systems. Nature never designed our pets’ systems to be exposed to so many vaccinations, chemicals and pesticides on a routine basis. A confused immune system results in an increased number of items that are logged in as enemies. All of these incorrectly logged-in enemies—allergens—can individually cause an allergic reaction in our pet’s body, and each individual item adds to the allergic burden. Most allergic dogs and cats are allergic to numerous things. But, simply eating the problematic foods may not be enough in itself to get their immune systems aggravated to the point where itching or diarrhea occurs. However, when even more allergens, such as additional food triggers or environmental allergens (e.g., seasonal pollens and molds) are added to the mix, the total number of allergens present will reach high enough concentrations to bring on those allergic symptoms, such as chronic itching. The foods play a big part in the overall allergic reaction, while the pollens, dust, dust mites and other environmental triggers are the straws that break the camel’s back. Allergies, food sensitivities and food intolerances are cumulative. An example is a cat who is very sensitive to fish and less sensitive to beef. The sum of the whole occurs when a tiny bit of fish used for flavoring the food along with the beef causes an allergic response, resulting in chronic diarrhea. Because when enough allergens are present, they will exceed the body’s threshold. |
This Fat Cat is sitting on some Pet Allergy Secrets
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