Achoo! Scritch, scratch, lick. Achoo! When allergies act up with our pets, we’re not sure who’s more bothered and frustrated—the pets who are suffering or their owners who want to help. This is all the more reason to find a solution STAT!
Dogs and cats can be allergic to a variety of things in their environment, both inside and outside, and even their food. Seasonal outdoor allergies can flare up from trees and grass pollen, especially in the spring and fall. Molds, yeasts, dust mites, and even fleas can make things worse.
What are the symptoms of seasonal allergies? Excessive licking (especially on the paws), chewing, scratching, head shaking, and sneezing are all symptoms. If your pet only seems to be affected at certain times of the year, seasonal allergies can certainly be to blame. With a food allergy, your pet may also exhibit symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea.
Allergies are less common in cats, but their symptoms include skin irritations like lesions and hair loss. Their itchiness, as in dogs, can exacerbate and cause coughing, sneezing, and even wheezing.
Left untreated, the symptoms lead to health complications such as hair loss, redness of the skin, thickening and blackening of the skin, scabbing, watery eyes, and more.
Over-the-counter remedies exist but we recommend talking to your veterinarian. Your veterinarian will do a physical exam and ask about your pet’s symptom history while ruling out other possible causes. If your pet has a flea allergy, the vet will recommend flea prevention medicine while prescription anti-itch medications can help to keep secondary skin infections at bay. If your vet determines that allergy season is the issue, consider starting the anti-itch medication one month prior to the season beginning and continuing it for one month after the season ends.
There are also a myriad of options for “topical” therapy that will relieve symptoms. Pet stores have entire aisles dedicated to shampoos, conditioners, wipes, sprays, and anti-bacterial and anti-fungal ointments. Many pet owners look to anti-itch supplements in the form of soft chews, drops, or chewable pills, to help their pets through allergies.
If a food allergy seems to be the culprit, you may consider a “hypoallergenic” diet for a period of time and reintroduce food(s) while watching for symptoms to reappear. The most common food allergens are dairy, beef, chicken, eggs, and wheat gluten.
It’s easy to think “it’ll be better tomorrow” and tune out the persistent chewing and itching, but the quicker that pet owners address the symptoms, the happier everyone will be – including our pets!