Allergy testing in cats

Re: Allergy testing in cats

patrick murphy — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:18:26 GMT

I had a blood screen in France, which my immunologist in the UK threw out!

Re: Allergy testing in cats

Neil Wheadon — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:34:02 GMT

Christine Prost

A French lady who had taught in America.

I've pasted a part of her lecture notes below

All studies even the more recent ones have failed to demonstrate significant differences in allergen-specific IgE levels in sera from supposed atopic cats and normals and conclude that IgE serology should not be used as diagnostic of feline atopy. ( Bexley J et al,2008 ; Diesel A, D.J DeBoer

Re: Allergy testing in cats

bob lehner — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:14:54 GMT

Thanks for that - very interesting and rather as I thought.

Just as a matter of interest who was the lecturer ? A few months ago I had a long conversation with a pathologist at one of the major labs who have been in on allergy testing in dogs for a long time. He was very upbeat about blood testing cats for allergies.

Mind you, I've had similar conversations with lab people about food-allergy blood tests - every specialist i've heard on the subject has dismissed them as useless.

Makes you wonder if labs should be allowed to make unsubstantiated claims for their tests.

Re: Allergy testing in cats

Neil Wheadon — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:08:35 GMT

This was clearly dealt with at a CPD course at Langford the other week on allergic cats

1) Blood tests - USELESS. Companies claim they work anda new test comes out each year, each as bad as the last

2) Skin tests - USEFUL. I found this really interesting, to get a meaningful result you need a de-stressed cat, so it should be taken to the clinic, admitted without going through the 'stress filled' waiting room, anaesthetised and then skin tests done

Hope that helps

Neil

Re: Allergy testing in cats

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:53:42 GMT

I've never found the need to allergy test in a cat or should I change that to 'found the benefit' because, like with you Bob, the results from the couple I've done have been confusing and unreliable so I don't bother. As you say 90% of skin disease in cats is FAD which may be exacerbated by stress and related over-grooming. I generally find the cats with nasty lesions confined to their neck and face respond to an exclusion diet - I don't think that's a pet theory, I'm sure I was told that by a dermatologist. I've seen a handful in a career that may have been atopic. Those that require treatment have all responded in the longer term to alternate day (or less frequent) preds plus adjunctal treatment with EFAs, e-collars and behavioural counselling/therapy, or those on their own. Given my stance as an anti-steroid campaigner this may seem hypocritical but preds at this rate do not appear to have long-term side effects in cats so I don't see the need for expensive: unreliable tests, immunotherapy with its potential complications or cyclosporin. A couple with persistent lesions responded to surgical excision of those lesions. Cue the depomed and Ovarid brigade.