People love their pets almost as much as they love themselves sometimes. In fact, many owners have even named their dogs as the primary beneficiary in their will. Estimates suggest approximately one million dogs hold this status in the United States. The vast majority of pet owners (94%) say their pet makes them smile more than once per day.
When it comes to pets, proper care, checkups, and treatment is necessary for keeping their health in good condition. One of the most common ailments in pets is allergies. Dogs are great, but for this piece let’s take the time to look at cat skin allergies.
Cat skin allergies can result in dry skin on cats that ultimately leads to itchy cats. Not only can this be extremely uncomfortable for cats to experience, but it can also lead to more serious complications if left untreated, not to mention the skin and hair that can accumulate around you house as a result. Here are three of the most common causes of cat skin allergies.
- Flea Allergies: Fleas are one of the main causes of allergies in both cats and skin irritation on dogs. Due to their tiny nature it can be difficult to readily identify these little pests when they first appear. Fortunately, there are a variety of pet shampoos and treatment options that can be used to get rid of fleas fairly easily.
- Environmental Cat Skin Allergies: Environmental allergies includes things like dust, pollen, sunlight, and various other substances. Naturally, this type of allergy can be hard to detect if your cat is suffering from the symptoms of another allergy, such as fleas, at the same time.
- Food Allergies: Food allergies are not as common as the previous two cat skin allergies, but they do occur. The most common food allergy in cats stems from when a cat has a hypersensitivity to protein. Keep in mind, food allergies in cats results in skin conditions, whereas less serious food intolerance will result in problems to the gastrointestinal system. The process of determining if your cat has a food allergy is through trial and error elimination techniques.
Approximately $60.28 billion was spent on pets in the U.S. last year alone. While much of this goes to every day necessities, sometimes special products and treatments are needed to alleviate these cat skin allergies.