My cat is chewing paws and pulling fur. How to test for allergies?

Question

My cat keep knowing at her feet, she has done ever since we adopted her. She has pulled her fur out in the past and she is doing it again and leaving big scabby bold patches. How can I check to see if it's our house tgat she is allergic to or anything else please.

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed.  There are medications such as Apoquel or prednisone which may help with the itch.   There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies.   Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market).   If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests.   Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

My cat is chewing paws and pulling fur. How to test for allergies?

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