New Hope for Allergic Cat Lovers?
By: Tori Favazza
Will your parents not allow you to get a cat because of their allergies? No worries. Food has got you covered. A special type of food could be given to cats to reduce a protein found in the felines that cause allergic reactions. This type of protein is called Fel d1. Feeding a specific antibody to cats could alter the protein in them, making the protein unrecognizable in the human immune system. Researchers from the well-known pet food company Nestle Purina conducted a study seeing if people’s allergic reactions would lessen when given the chance to be around hair from cats that have eaten the special food in relation to regular food. 11 people participated, and studies show that when people were exposed to the hair from cats that were fed the special diet, they had a reduction in a stuffy nose and they had less itchiness in the eyes.
Do you have allergic reactions when around cats?
Would you give this special food to your cat?
Do you think there are any consequences regarding giving cats this special food?
Source: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/feeding-cats-special-food-may-help-people-allergies
I think that there could possibly be problems regarding giving cats the anti-allergen food. specifically the chance that the cat's immune system may recognize it as a foreign body and destroy the anti-allergen, preventing it from working in the first place. Or, the cat could be allergic to the components in the food.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this will negatively impact cats in the way of genetics even. If this specific food alters a protein within cats, this protein could contribute to other proteins of the cat that scientists know nothing about. Altering almost anything results in change, and I wonder what that change would be in the way of cats. -Tori Favazza
ReplyDeleteThis could be a new wave of pets because now everyone can have a cat, but I wonder if they have something for dogs too- Connor Ortmann
ReplyDeleteI do have an allergic reaction to cats. I have pretty severe allergies, so as an allergy person I believe that if this new food doesn't harm the cat then people should start using it more because it can help deter those with allergies -Andrew
ReplyDeleteNo I don't have allergic reactions to cats
ReplyDelete-Sawyer
This is a really cool topic first of all. Genetics are really cool to learn about. And this could open up opportunities for people to have cats that love them but are to allergic.
ReplyDelete- Ansuhka
This seems like a great step to find a cure for people who are allergic to cats. I think there needs to be some more extensive research done before this product can go on the market. This could potentially be harmful to the cats that we do not know about yet. It can cause cancer, terminal diseases, or even infections that could also lead to death. -Haleigh Madi
ReplyDeletei feel like since this has never been a discovery before, we dont know everything we need to know about it. since there are no long term studies on the cats who ate the food, we dont really know if there is an effect on the cats. and also how long do the cats need to eat this food for until it starts fighting off the allergens? theres just not enough information on this topic for me to ever be completely comfortable feeding this special food to a cat. -molly
ReplyDeleteI'm not allergic to cats and I probably would give this food to my cat. Long-term effects are not yet studied. What makes people allergic to cats may be something that helps them in a way that we won't know until we try this. - Grace Briggs
ReplyDeleteWhat if the cat doesn't like the food? -Shannon Easley
ReplyDeleteI don't like cat's but for the people that do like cat's this is a good thing.-Taj McKinney
ReplyDeleteThe question here is not effectiveness but ethics.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an interesting topic because it shows that we could reduce allergies, but I also wonder if the food has any negative effects on cats. - Riki Tanaka
ReplyDeletei think this is a waste who absolutely needs this in their life? -brooke phelan
ReplyDeleteI for sure think this would negatively impact cats and there health -kaylyn
ReplyDeleteThis seems very useful in the world today as many people love cats but cant have them because of allergies or family members want a cat but cant have one because of the persons allergy. Would this make these cats much more expensive?
ReplyDeletebrandon smith
DeleteThis could be a very effective method for finding a cure to cat allergies. I feel like there would need to be more concrete research before I get fulling on board with it. -Kamilah Gamble
ReplyDelete