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FOCUSED NUTRITION

Helpful information about the unique nutritional needs of dogs and cats with certain lifestyles or health challenges.

Cat Allergen Management

Managing Cat Allergens

Allergies to cats affect as many as 1 in 5 adults worldwide, and human allergists typically recommend avoiding cats to reduce allergen exposure.1 However, most cat owners consider their pets as part of the family, and often resist removing the cat from the home. A novel nutritional approach can help neutralize the major cat allergen (Fel d 1) in cats’ saliva, before Fel d 1 spreads to the environment. As part of a comprehensive cat allergen management program, this new approach provides an opportunity to reframe conversations with pet owners: it can help reduce exposure to the allergen – not to the cat. 

man holding a cat and touching his face to the cat
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Contrary to popular belief, it is not the cat’s hair that causes a reaction in sensitized individuals. Allergens produced primarily in cats’ salivary and sebaceous glands are responsible for triggering a reaction. This means that even hairless cats, like the Cornish Rex and Sphinx, produce this allergen.2

Key Messages

  • 95% of people who have sensitivities to cat allergens are responding to Fel d 1, the major cat allergen.2 
    • Fel d 1 is produced primarily in the salivary and sebaceous glands, spread throughout the cat’s hair during grooming, and then shed into the environment with hair and dander (dead skin cells). 
  • Cat allergens have consequences for both the allergen-sensitive owner and the cat.
    • Limiting interactions between owners and their cats in efforts to avoid or reduce allergen exposure can cause anxiety and stress for the cat.3,4
    • Allergies are one of the top reasons for relinquishment of cats to shelters.5-8
  • A nutritional approach can safely help reduce active Fel d 1 on the cat, before the allergen gets into the environment.9-11 
    • Published studies show that when cats eat kibble coated with an egg product containing antibodies to Fel d 1, this ingredient can bind to the allergen in the cat’s saliva and neutralize the allergen. This neutralized Fel d 1 is distributed through grooming and shed into the environment, but is not recognized as an allergen by a sensitized individual’s immune system.
      • 47% reduction, on average, of active  Fel d 1 on cat’s hair beginning with the third week of feeding the diet.
      • 97% of cats showed decreased levels of active  Fel d 1 on the hair and dander.
    • This approach maintains normal allergen production by the cat, without affecting the cat’s overall physiology.  
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"Most people who are ‘allergic to cats’ are actually sensitized to a specific protein, called Fel d 1, found in cats’ saliva and on their hair coat. To avoid these allergens, human allergists recommend removing cats from the home. But a nutritional approach can help reduce active Fel d 1 on your cat so you can reduce allergen exposure and still keep your cat."

Related Tools and Content:

A Novel Approach to Managing Allergies to Cats - Mechanism of Action

How a novel nutritional approach can help manage cat allergens, allowing allergic cat owners to spend more quality time with their cats.​

View Video 1 min to 5 min

Keep the cat, change the care pathway: A transformational approach to managing Fel d 1, the major cat allergen

Learn about a novel nutritional approach to reducing levels of the major cat allergen at its source, helping to improve cat allergy symptoms in sensitive individuals without removing the cat from the home.​

View Abstract 1 min to 5 min

A Transformational Approach to Managing Cat Allergens

Learn about a breakthrough discovery and a transformational nutritional approach to managing the major cat allergen – helping to keep allergic cat owners and their cats together! ​

View Video 1 min to 5 min

References

  1. Bousquet, P. J.,  Chinn, S.,  Janson, C.,  Kogevinas, M.,  Burney, P.,  &  Jarvis, D. (2007). Geographical variation in the prevalence of positive skin tests to environmental aeroallergens in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey I.  Allergy, 62, 301–309.  doi:  10.1111/j.1398-9995.2006.01293.x   
  2. Bonnet, B.,  Messaoudi, K.,  Jacomet, F.,  Michaud, E.,  Fauquert,  J. L., Caillaud, D.,  &  Evrard, B. (2018). An update on molecular cat allergens: Fel  d 1 and what else? 
    Chapter 1: Fel  d 1, the major cat allergen. Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology, 14, 14.  doi: 10.1186/s13223-018-0239-8   
  3. Adamelli, S.,  Marinelli, L.,  Normando, S.,  &  Bono, G. (2005).  Owner and cat features influence the quality of life of the cat. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 94, 89–98.  doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2005.02.003 
  4. Mills, D.,  Karagiannis, C.,  &  Zulch, H. (2014). Stress—its effects on health and behavior: A guide for practitioners. The Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 44(3), 525–541.  doi: 10.1016/j.cvsm.2014.01.005 
  5. Coe, J. B.,  Young, I.,  Lambert, K.,  Dysart, L.,  Borden, L. N.,  &  Rajic, A. (2014). A scoping review of published research on the relinquishment of companion animals. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 17, 253-273.  
  6. Cosme-Blanco, W.,  Arce-Ayala, Y.,  Malinow, I.,  &  Nazario, S. (2018). Primary and secondary environmental control measures for allergic diseases. In M. Mahmoudi. (Ed.), Allergy and asthma (pp. 1–36). Switzerland: Springer Nature.  doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-58726-4_36-1  
  7. Svanes, C.,   Zock, J.-P.,  Antó, J.,  Dharmage, S.,  Norbäck, D.,   Wjst, M.,  Heinrich, J.,  Jarvis, D.,  de Marco, R.,  Plana, E.,  Raherison, C.,  &  Sunyer, J. (2006).  The Early Life Working Group of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Do asthma and allergy influence subsequent pet keeping? An analysis of childhood and adulthood. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 118(3), 691–698.  doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2006.06.017   
  8. Zito, S.,  Morton, J.,   Vankan, D.,  Paterson, M.,  Bennett, P. C.,  Rand, J.,   &  Phillips, C. J. C. (2016). Reasons people surrender unowned and owned cats to Australian animal shelters and barriers to assuming ownership of unowned cats. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 19, 303–319.  doi: 10.1080/10888705.206.1141682  
  9. Matulka, R. A.,  Thompson, L.,  &  Corley, D. (2020). Multi-level safety studies of anti  Fel  d  1   IgY  ingredient in cat food. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6, 477.  
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00477  
  10. Satyaraj, E.,  Li, Q.,  Sun, P.,  &  Sherrill, S. (2019). Anti-Fel d 1 immunoglobulin Y antibody-containing egg ingredient lowers allergen levels in cat saliva. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 21(10), 875–881.  doi: 10.1177/1098612X19861218  
  11. Satyaraj, E.,  Gardner, C.,  Filipi, I.,  Cramer, K.,  &  Sherrill, S. (2019). Reduction of active Fel  d 1 from cats using an anti Fel  d 1  egg  IgY  antibody. Immunity, Inflammation and Disease, 7(2), 68–73.  doi: 10.1002/iid3.244