Allergies are caused by our immune system overreacting to an allergen and triggering a reaction—to a specific food or type of food, airborne or environmental substance. The reaction is an intolerance or hypersensitivity to the allergen, and it can be immediate or delayed depending on the allergen. Cats are not born with food allergies but develop them over time and at any age.

Causes of Food Allergies in Cats

Food allergies in cats have increased in recent years with commercial diets using processed meats, bone meal, meat by-products, grains and cereals as fillers, yeast and artificial preservatives. Cats do best on a diet that most closely mimics nature as they’re carnivores, but the pet food industry has built a $15 billion dollar industry around producing a commercial diet that many cats cannot eat or tolerate well.

Domestic cats have not evolved to consume a processed, cereal-based diet but it’s convenient and available—but it will make some cats highly allergic with an inflammatory response to the ingredients used.

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