Do you know that cats can have allergies too?
I didn’t until recently. I knew cats could get asthma but it never crossed my mind that they could struggle with similar issues that humans face, and be allergic to things.
Until our cat came home with an inexplicably swollen face one day and started sneezing, a lot.
Another trip to the vet. It’s kind of his thing, you’ll know that if you read our blog or keep up with us on social media.
After a thorough examination the vet determined that he hadn’t injured himself (for once) and that it was likely an allergic reaction to something.
Either something he’d eaten or environmental.
We know he spends a lot of time in a patch of wild garden locally, and often comes home covered in pollen and garden detritus so we think he’s developed what you basically would call hay fever, or seasonal allergies.
And it’s treated the same way humans are. With antihistamine. In fact, he takes human antihistamine medication. A very low dose, once a day, every day, in the spring and autumn, when it seems he’s affected most badly, also like humans.
He doesn’t like it much, he’s not a fan of medication but it does bring him relief and eases his discomfort so we persevere.
He’s mostly an outside cat so he won’t cope with being cooped up indoors, so whilst he chooses to explore nature and roll in the grass, climb trees and get exposed to pollen that turns him into a snuffling, puffy sneeze ball, a regular pill every day helps to keep him feeling ok.
Who knew? Cats can have allergies too?
Please consult with your vet before medicating your pets. We follow our trusted vet’s expert advice and work with them to keep our pets healthy and happy.
Need to cut your cat’s claws? We know a bit about that too. Read here for our tips and tricks.
Wow, I never realised that! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Me neither and I have had cats for a long time
Aww poor little sweetheart! I’m glad it was diagnosed quickly so he can get on regular antihistamines. It’s frustrating enough when us humans have allergies to something unknown and sometimes it’s impossible to pinpoint what it is, let alone our pets who can’t talk to us and tell us what they thing might be wrong. Nor can you do experiments to stay away from certain things; like yours, my cat is a fan out the outdoors so there’s no way he’d be cooped up indoors for a week while we see if that settles things.
Not many, including myself, really think of cat allergies, so this is a fantastic post. xx
Thank you, he doesn’t like it but it’s helping him a lot!