Can cat food cause quick allergic reactions, overgrooming, and scabs?

Question

Hello, my cat overgrooms to where she causes hair loss and scabs. I know this is most likely due to allergies, she's on flea meds, dry and wet food. I just noticed her licking where the scabs are within 5 minutes of eating. Can the dry food she just ate be the culprit or is that too obvious/soon for a reaction? What should be my first step in finding out what she is allergic to without spending a lot on different kinds of food? Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 2 years and 5 months old | 8.5 lbs

Jeffrey Milner · Accepted Answer

Unfortunately there are really only two ways to determine if Maisey has a food allergy. The most direct route would be with allergy testing. This can be done by your veterinarian, but may require a special order. The other method is with a food trial. This means you would have to feed a new diet over the course of six to eight weeks, not feeding anything other than the new primary protein during this time period. The six to eight weeks is required in order to make a positive or negative determination. Reactions to food can be seen very quickly after eating, so yes, you can not rule the food out as a possible cause of the problems. Typically, in conjunction with a food trial, something to help with the itchiness should be given for the first couple weeks. I usually recommend a drug called Apoquel, as it has a very high success rate.

Can cat food cause quick allergic reactions, overgrooming, and scabs?

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