As a cat owner, one of your responsibilities is to ensure that your feline friend stays healthy. Aside from giving them a healthy diet and keeping them active, you also need to pay attention to any signs of allergies. Allergies can cause severe symptoms to your cat, namely coughing, itchy eyes, diarrhea, and vomiting.
If you suspect that your cats have allergies, exert effort to change their routine right away. The sooner you do this, the easier it’ll be for you to prevent the allergies from getting worse. This will also prevent the allergy from spreading to other cats or pets in your home.
Follow the tips below so you can easily care for your cats with allergies:
- Provide A Healthy Diet
Food allergies are common types of allergies affecting cats of all ages. Cats can be allergic to certain kinds of foods, and consuming these can eventually lead to several symptoms.
If your cat has a sensitive stomach and certain foods trigger their allergies, change their diet as soon as possible. You can read more here to know the best food for cats with sensitive stomachs. These products are made from natural ingredients and contain easily digestible carbohydrates, so your cats can easily digest them.
- Start With A Diet Trial: Once you find the perfect food for your cat, start a diet trial. Add small portions of the new food to your cat’s diet and assess if they’re showing any symptoms. If they’re not, you can continue feeding them the new food and remove the old food from their diet.
- Try Changing The Form Of Their Food: If you’ve been feeding your cats with wet food, consider giving them dry foods, or vice versa. Often, your cats’ stomach sensitivities will eventually improve when you change the type of food you feed them.
- Try A Hypoallergenic Diet: Studies show that food containing chicken, beef, and fish are the most common causes of allergies in cats. To avoid these, give your cat foods that don’t contain any of these ingredients.
- Clean Your Home
The environment your cats live in can influence their susceptibility to allergies. Even if you provide the healthiest diets for them, your cats can still suffer from severe allergies if your home is filled with dust and other allergens.
To properly take care of cats with allergies, make it a habit to regularly clean your home. This can mean vacuuming at least twice a week, wiping all countertops, and regularly washing carpets and floor rugs. Don’t forget to get rid of clutter around the house as this can attract germs and pests, which can carry allergens to your cats.
As long as you stick to a thorough and regular cleaning routine, it won’t be long before your cats’ allergy-related symptoms go away. This is also a great motivation for you to keep your house spotless!
- Wash Beddings Regularly
Your cats can also get allergies from fleas. These small insects can bite your cats and cause several allergic reactions, such as intense itching, hair loss, and skin infections. When not treated for long periods, a single flea bite can cause health complications to your cat.
Cleaning your cats’ beddings regularly is a great solution to protect them from fleas. Since your cats will likely spend a lot of time in their beddings, it’s important to maintain its cleanliness to ensure that these don’t become the breeding ground of fleas and other allergens. Keeping your cats’ bedding clean also means keeping your cats clean as they can finally roll in surfaces that are free from allergens.
Depending on the material of your cats’ beddings, you can simply toss these into the washer or hand wash them. It’s also important to inspect the ingredients of the products you use when washing your cats’ beddings. Avoid using cleaning products that contain ammonia, essential oils, and scents, as these can often trigger allergies in cats.
- Bathe Your Cats Regularly
All types of allergies can cause extreme itchiness in cats. This is the reason why untreated allergies can eventually lead to skin redness, rashes, and infections. Poor skin health can also increase your cats’ risks of developing other health conditions, such as ringworm and heartworm.
Provide relief from itchiness to your cats by bathing them regularly using the right products. Ideally, you should bathe them once every four to six weeks using a shampoo formulated for cats. If you can find bathing products made for cats with highly sensitive skin, the better.
Aside from giving them a bath, make sure to trim their toenails, as well. Germs and allergens can hide on your cats’ toenails, especially if you often take them out. By trimming your cats’ toenails, you can prevent allergens from thriving and multiplying.
Check With Your Vet Regularly
Since taking care of cats with allergies is often challenging, don’t forget to regularly visit your nearest vet for advice. They have the experience and equipment to properly check the overall health condition of your cats and recommend appropriate solutions.