What is Fish Allergy?
Fish is a food that is frequently utilized as a healthy source of protein for felines, although in some cases it can cause dangerous levels of contaminants like mercury to build up in your cat’s system. Some cats may also develop an allergy to fish or shellfish, causing unsightly and uncomfortable skin conditions. In order to reliably determine the proper allergen that is affecting your pet, an elimination diet may be required. This can be time-consuming but is frequently necessary in order to deduce which ingredient is causing the reaction.
Fish and seafood are common ingredients in food and treats that are formulated with cats in mind. For cats who develop an allergy to this food, it can cause an uncomfortable skin condition.
Symptoms of Fish Allergy in Cats
A food intolerance often accompanies and sometimes precedes a full-blown allergy to the food. The intolerance generally presents as gastrointestinal distress and gurgling sounds from the digestive system. Symptoms of food allergies generally start on the head and neck on felines and can include signs such as:
- Acute moist dermatitis
- Crusty papules
- Hair loss
- Itchy skin
- Lesions on skin
Types
Food Allergy
An allergy is a response by the body’s immune system to defend itself against something that it perceives as a threat. An allergic reaction from food doesn’t happen the first time an individual is exposed to the ingredient but rather after repeated ingestions. Any food is capable of finding an allergic reaction, but certain ingredients, such as beef, dairy, fish, and eggs tend to cause allergies in felines more often than others.
Food Intolerance
While a food allergy is the immune system responding to a perceived threat, an intolerance to a food has no immune involvement. An intolerance to a food type is more likely to cause a gastrointestinal response than allergies do. Further symptoms, such as gurgling sounds from the digestive system or a change in the consistency or color of the stools are also customary with a food intolerance.
Causes of Fish Allergy in Cats
Allergies, including food allergies, are due to an abnormally intense defensive response to a protein that the immune system views as an invasive substance. It is estimated that around 60-70% of our immune system cells actually reside in the digestive system, and the same applies to our felines. The process of digestion is designed to break down our foods into amino acids, the smallest parts they can be broken down into. These amino acids are then absorbed by a type of immune cell called an enterocyte, specialized white blood cells, and then transported into the bloodstream. When proteins are only partially broken down, the enterocytes see the fragments of food as intruders rather than nutrients, and they attack. Over time the reaction of these cells becomes more and more aggressive, and the symptoms intensify.
Although allergies can develop to any food, some foods are more likely to generate a reaction than others. Frequent offenders for felines can include:
- Beef
- Corn
- Dairy products
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lamb
- Seafood
- Soy
- Wheat gluten
Diagnosis of Fish Allergy in Cats
The symptoms related to allergies in felines closely mimic other disorders such as mites or bacterial infections, and will typically prompt the veterinarian to collect skin scrapings as samples to be examined under a microscope, a process known as cutaneous cytology. When the skin cells don’t reveal any other micro-organisms or problems, then an allergy may be suspected. Although both serum and intradermal testing are available for cats with allergies, they are not as reliable for detecting allergies that are related to food. The veterinary gold standard for diagnosis of food allergies is the elimination diet. This diet is implemented by changing the cat’s daily diet to either a limited ingredient or hypoallergenic commercial cat food, or in some cases, to a diet of unseasoned human food. In choosing the proper diet for your allergic cat, novel ingredients are generally required.
Novel ingredients can include any proteins and carbohydrates that are not currently used in the cat’s current diet and preferably ones that have never been introduced. It is of particular importance to check for additional ingredients in commercial diets if you suspect a fish or seafood allergy as fish meal and fish oil are often added to food to increase the amount of omega-3 vitamins. Once signs of the allergy have been eliminated, new ingredients can be reintroduced into the diet one at a time, to uncover which one is triggering the reaction.
Treatment of Fish Allergy in Cats
Revealing the specific allergen that is bothering your pet may require several weeks on the elimination diet, and during this time your cat may continue to experience residual symptoms of the allergy. Corticosteroids are frequently recommended as a way to reduce swelling and antihistamines are often effective at calming itching sensations. Use of either treatment may mask the symptoms of the allergy, however, and this can make it more challenging to single out which ingredient in your cat’s diet is triggering the reactions. Because of this, many veterinary professionals prefer to administer the elimination diet before adding these types of medications to the regimen.
Secondary skin infections are a common occurrence for cats that are experiencing the symptoms of allergies, and antibiotics are usually prescribed to combat and sometimes prevent this particular complication. Once the particular allergen has been defined, this ingredient should be completely eliminated from the cat’s diet and other supplements, including probiotics and non-fish based Omega-3 oils, are frequently recommended for all sorts of allergies as a support to the immune system. This will assist your companion’s body in handling any accidental exposure to allergens and in preventing the cultivation of new allergies.
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Recovery of Fish Allergy in Cats
Food allergies are not curable, but symptoms tend to cease fairly rapidly when the allergen is eliminated from the animal’s diet. Any repeat exposure to the allergen can trigger a relapse, so caution should be taken in which treats and flavorings you offer your cat, particularly as fish oil and fish meal are frequently added to products that are not labeled as fish based. Unfortunately, if your feline has experienced an allergic response to one ingredient, then they are more likely to develop allergies to other ingredients as well. The approach to combat this situation varies within the veterinary profession, with some doctors advocating that your cat remain on a single source of food, while others maintain that a steady rotation of three of four foods with proteins is optimal.
Fish Allergy Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
dsh
Ginger
7 Years
2 found this helpful
2 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Lesion
Itchiness
We suspect our female cat who is white with orange spots is allergic to fish and are having a hard time finding wet food she can and/or will eat; Do you have any suggestions? Along with itchiness she has or had redness and lesions on skin.
May 8, 2018
2 Recommendations
There are many non-fish cat foods out there, but you need to make sure any oils are derived from plants and not from fish as this may cause a reaction; you should visit a pet shop in your area as there may be offerings from local or small pet food companies which I find usually is the case with specific dietary issues like this. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
May 8, 2018
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Turkish Van
Bubbles
6 Years
1 found this helpful
1 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Vomitting
Overweight
My cat Bubbles is overweight. We are feeding him dry cat food. As per vet’s advice, we gradually changed to boiled fish(mackerel). But he vomits every time we feed him fish. Please suggest remedy
April 11, 2018
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
1 Recommendations
Without seeing Bubbles or knowing why he was transitioned onto a mackerel diet, it would be irresponsible of me to suggest an alternative. It would be best to call your veterinarian, let them know that the fish diet isn't agreeing with him, and ask for alternatives, as they are aware of his specific health conditions.
April 12, 2018
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domestic short hair
Dude
3 Years
2 found this helpful
2 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Licking Belly Arms Legs And Back
Licking Belly Arms Legs Bald
How do i tell? Ive been feeding him salmon food his whole life and this just started a year ago. Ive switched brands but never proteins. Hes on blue buffalo wilderness salmon. Ive been reading and thinking about switching to blue buffalo basics since its a single protein source and trying either duck or turkey. Any advice?
March 23, 2018
2 Recommendations
Allergies can be difficult to pin point, especially when they are food origin; if you have noticed symptoms of allergies after changing the food, you should change back to the previous brand for a few weeks to see if there is any improvement. The shortcut way would be to have allergy testing done by your Veterinarian since the source of the allergy may not be protein. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
March 23, 2018
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DOMESTIC
Buddy
9 Years
1 found this helpful
1 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Constant Scratchng
Buddy was scratching a lot. Took him to the vet. Vet noticed dry skin, looked like dandruff. Vet gave me fish oil capsules to put on his food. He hates it. I have to put in a syringe and give it that way. His litter is unscented.he is still scratching and shakes his head. Vet checked ears and they are fine
March 16, 2018
1 Recommendations
There are many causes for a cat to be scratching themselves which may include allergies, infections, parasites, neurological disorders, chemical irritations among other causes; try feeding a limited ingredient diet for a few weeks to see if there is any improvement and think about any changes in the home (new detergents etc…) which occurred before the scratching started. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
March 16, 2018
Thank you. I bought him different food. No grain or soy. Natural food. Nitro brand. Adding a little with his current food until he's just getting nitro.
March 18, 2018
Buddy's Owner
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Sphynx
Newman
9 Months
2 found this helpful
2 found this helpful
I’m babysitting a cat who just started becoming sick. He eats a raw diet and just switched him from beef to turkey( end of the container) he also swiped some of my dry cat food. He started vommitting yesterday but still cried for food. He got sick again later than night after eating. Around midnight I gave him a teaspoon of food and anti vommitting medication. Around 5 am he woke me up vommitting again. What should I do? His mother recently had him to the vet and thinks it could be a chicken/fish allergy.
March 15, 2018
2 Recommendations
Try withholding food for 12 hours to see if a break in eating helps, give small quantities of his normal food; however if there is an allergy or intolerance you’ll need to wait for the effects of the allergen to wear off. Other causes of vomiting may include foreign objects, infections, parasites among other causes; keep an eye on Newman for the time being and if there is no improvement after a day you should visit a Veterinarian to be on the safe side. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
March 15, 2018
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mix Maine Coon
Goldie
5 Years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Irritated Rectum Body Itch
I have a 1/2 Mane coon, she was abandoned, found by a friend and adopted by me. She is 14 lbs but short for her breed. (Her daughter which I also adopted is short hair and looks like a lioness walking through my house, she is 20" long from head to the base of her tail and 12&1/2 inches tall at 2 years old) Goldie the mom suffers an allergy that only shows signs at her rectum, and she itches all over but has no hair loss or any other signs. Goldie is long hair, I groom her daily. I thought she was allergic to chicken so I switched to a fish diet and discovered she is allergic to fish, many of the chicken diets have some form of fish in it, oil, meal etc...Since I have 6 cats, it is hard for me to only give one cat a different food supplement. Is it alright to put them all on Royal Canin Urinary &Hydrolyzed Protein diet? or will that cause problems for them...She is the only one with an issue of allergies
Siberian Forest
Lily Rose
3 Years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Swollen
Swollen Paws And Lips
My 3 year old Lily Rose has puffy paws on 3 of her 4 feet, swollen lips and an issue with using the litter box that we switched to pine pellets because the clay litter was getting stuck in her swollen feet. I have tried elimination diets and the only improvement was when I stopped using corn/wheat/soy/artificial colors-additives. She just started having these problems 6 months ago and it seemed connected to the clay litter at the time. Steroids did not help, she is not getting infections because I clean her poor paws everyday. But she absolutely refuses to use the pine litter and will urinate and defecate on the floor in front of me meowing the whole time (it does not sound like she is in pain, just not happy about it.) I stopped any variety of wet food with beef, but she will only eat turkey or tuna willingly. The dry is Purine Pro Plan grain-free chicken and egg formula or 4-Health Indoor with chicken, rice, salmon and barley. Is it possible that this is environmental and not a food allergy? If it is a fish or chicken allergy I am lost for what to feed her, she refuses everything I have tried to make things better and not responded to medication. She was a rescue in a bad situation (rescued 2 years ago) and has improved socially astronomically, but I fear she might also have a lingering issue of stress. I just do not know what to do anymore and her vet is just as perplexed.
