Allergy symptoms in dog and cats

Let’s talk allergy symptoms

Common allergy symptoms

The most common symptom of allergy is itchy skin, which can lead to:

Scratching, biting and chewing of the skin
Excessive paw licking
Excessive face rubbing
Excessive grooming
Hair loss
Recurrent ear or skin infections

The usual locations of the itchiness are the belly, feet, base of the tail and face, especially around the eyes, mouth and ears. Occasionally the pet may have watery eyes, and they may sneeze or cough. Vomiting and diarrhoea can occur too, especially in cases of food allergy.

Allergy symptoms can be present throughout the year or only during a particular season, depending on which allergens trigger the reaction. For example, pollens are seasonal, while house-dust mites are present all year.

My pet shows allergy symptoms – What now?

If your pet shows any of these symptoms, please visit your vet for an allergy check-up. There are other diseases that cause similar signs. For this reason, your vet will start by excluding all other potential causes, such as fleas, scabies and infections.

If the allergy symptoms remain after excluding or treating other causes, the next step is to exclude the possibility of food allergy, then to identify environmental allergens that may be causing the allergy.

This is done using quick and simple blood test – the PAX – Pet Allergy Xplorer – Blood Test.