Cats are the most delightful of all household pets. Sorry, dog lovers, but it’s true. They show you love and affection, they instinctively seem to know when you’re sick and offer themselves up to you like a comfort blanket, and they don’t need to be taken for a walk. They even clean up after themselves when they use the toilet. From a convenience point of view, they have dogs comfortably beaten!
For all that’s cute and cuddly about them, cats have one very unfortunate trait. They’re prodigious producers of vomit. They make that distinctive hacking sound, and then there’s an unpleasant mess on your floor and carpet to clean up. In practice, they can be a bit like online slots games, only they give out sick instead of cash. The process they seem to follow is the same as the one followed by any good online slots game – you put something into them, and then when you least expect it, something comes out in return. In both cases, it can be more than you put in. Unfortunately, only on slots website like Rose Slots will you be happy with your prize – nobody likes cleaning up after a sick cat!
We tend to write these sudden bouts of sickness off as feline quirks or put them down to furballs. In practice, though, cats can be allergic to a variety of substances and items that they encounter every day. If you can reduce their exposure to these substances, you might find that you do not have to deal with the problem as often as you have in the past – so read on, cat owners, and save yourself a lot of scrubbing!
Milk
One of the biggest stereotypes about cats is a total fabrication. The image of a purring cat lapping happily at a saucer of milk is as old as time, but it’s based on a misunderstanding. A cat will happily drink milk whenever it’s presented to them – and might even like the taste – but that doesn’t mean it’s doing them any good. Amazingly, almost all cats are completely lactose intolerant.
When cats are very young, they feed on their mother’s milk. As soon as they’re past the point of being kittens, they lose the ability to process lactose and become intolerant to it. That can lead to a whole host of digestive issues, and vomiting is one of the more pleasant ones. If you regularly feed your adult cat milk, stop doing so immediately, even if they seem to like it. There are no benefits, and no good can come of it.
Pollen
This seems almost as absurd as the milk issue, but yes, cats really can suffer from hay fever, just like their owners can. It happens for the same reason, too. An allergy to pollen causes irritation and can further lead to itching, sneezing, coughing, discharge from the eyes, and vomit. The latter tends to happen when a cat allergic to grass pollen eats grass.
A feline can be allergic to any kind of pollen, including tree pollen and weed pollen, in addition to the grass pollen mentioned above. That seems ridiculous for an animal that will go outside and literally roll around in the grass, but it’s probably above a cat’s field of comprehension to understand the concept of an allergy. They need your help to protect them – and that’s why feline antihistamines exist.
Cat Food
This really does happen, and it’s always unfortunate. Although cat food is carefully formulated to be tolerated by all cats, it’s impossible to create a formula that totally excludes anything that a cat might be allergic to – and allergic reactions in some cats may be more severe than they are in others. Trial and error are important in identifying a food allergy, but if you’ve recently changed your cat’s brand of cat food, look for differences in the ingredients.
If your cat has a particularly acute series of allergies, you’ll be able to buy them specially-adapted hypoallergenic food. At this stage, you’ll want to take your cat to a vet for a formal diagnosis, and also advice on which type or types of cat food might be best for the poor kitty.
Food Bowls
With very few exceptions, food bowls for cats come in two types – metal or plastic. If you’re presented with both options, always go for the metal option if the price doesn’t prevent you from doing so. You won’t ever encounter an issue with a metal cat bowl. With a plastic bowl, you run the risk of finding out that your cat is allergic to it.
The allergy that’s associated with plastic food bowls is particularly unpleasant. In manifests as a condition called feline chin acne, which causes solid, pus-filled bumps around the chin and mouth. A cat eating while suffering from chin acne can spread the condition into their mouth, which causes – you guessed it – vomiting. Stay safe and choose steel, and remember it clean the bowl regularly, too.
Your Perfume
There will be some smells you just can’t stand. There are also probably some perfumes and odors you don’t like either. Think of the smell of your least favorite perfume, and then imagine how much you’d hate it if your sense of smell was many times more acute and sensitive than it is. That’s what your cat experiences every time it comes into contact with a bad smell. No wonder they’re allergic to some of them.
A cat can be allergic to your perfume, your chosen room odorizer, your carpet powder, or any cleaning product you use. Once you have a cat in your home, the safest option is to stick to the brands and products you were using when they moved in with you. If they don’t show signs of allergies at the time, they won’t develop them at a later stage. If they suddenly start displaying signs of allergy inside the house, retrace your steps and work out what you’re buying now that you weren’t buying before. The answer will be in there somewhere.
Your cat wants to be healthy and happy and live with you for as long as possible. Give them the best chance of doing that. Throw away your plastic bowls, and keep the milk out of the reach of grasping paws. They’ll thank you for it in the end!
I knew milk was bad for them. I have never heard of the plastic food bowl allergy!
While I might be mistaken… I don’t believe that cats can be allergic to any kind of food bowl per se. I learned about this when one of my cats developed a mild case of chin acne.
The problem was that I had been using plastic food and water dishes; and some cheap metal dishes, but not keeping them clean enough. What caused the chin acne was the buildup of bacteria in the dishes. After switching to sturdy metal and ceramic dishes, and being careful to wash them more often, the problem went away entirely– and quickly, too.
Wow I didn’t know all of this.
How interesting! I did not know about the perfume allergy.
Thanks for the interesting and informative article. I knew about the milk but had no idea about the rest.
We had a cat who had seasonal allergies. Talk about snot heads!
That’s a lot of allergies, good to keep in mind.
Very good to know ! Thanks for the information !
I had no idea they could be allergic to everyday uses.