My cat might have a food allergy. How soon do symptoms appear?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 11 lbs
How long does it take a cat to show symptoms of a food allergy?
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on March 30th, 2018
Food allergies can be frustrating to deal with. A cat may show signs such as vomiting or diarrhea within hours of eating a food they are allergic to or it can take weeks to see a problem, Skin issues such as hair loss and scabbing sometimes will not occur until 2-4 weeks after a cat eats a food they are allergic to. Food allergies are typically seen in pets older than 1 year, but can be seen as young as 8-12 weeks in rare cases. If you are concerned Sweetie may have a food allergy, I would recommend discussing this with your veterinarian as they will be able to guide you in a food trial to confirm a food allergy.
3Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on May 22nd, 2017
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.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
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