Can Dogs Become Allergic to Cats? First Ever Case Reported in Southern California

Cats and dogs have never gotten along, but to say that a dog is actually allergic to cat would get a few laughs from pet enthusiasts, but a rare case out of Southern California may change people's minds.

Seattle, WA (prHWY.com) May 30, 2012 - Cats and dogs have never gotten along, but to say that a dog is actually allergic to cat would get a few laughs from pet enthusiasts, but a rare case out of Southern California may change people's minds. Socks, a black golden retriever, is showing signs of the world's first ever dog allergy to cats.

"Socks was sitting outside playing with our new cat, Wrinkles", explained pet lover and owner, Heidi Hannah. "When he was done playing with Wrinkles, I noticed that he was extremely itchy. He kept scratching his ears and back like he had fleas, but he just had a flea bath."

Socks was taken inside where he kept showing signs of some sort of allergic reaction. Thinking it might have been a reaction to the new food or something she used in the house, Hannah took Socks for a bath at the local groomers. Immediately upon returning home, Socks began to show signs of itching again.

"It was driving me nuts", explained Hannah. "I couldn't figure out what was causing poor Socks to itch so bad."

In a last ditch attempt, Hannah took Socks to the vet where they performed a series of blood work and skin tests. The blood work came out fine, but the skin test showed intense irritation and inflammation.

"It was almost like the dog had been in contact with something that caused it to have an adverse allergic reaction", said Dr. Sotto, Hannah's regular vet. "I asked Heidi what Socks had been in contact with that was new, and the only thing she could come up with was the cat."

Dr. Sotto had Heidi bring in Wrinkles to see if the adverse reaction would happen right there in a controlled environment. The minute Wrinkles came within a few feet of Socks, Socks started to break out into tiny little rashes.

"Dogs react in the same way humans do to allergies", explained Dr. Sotto. "Poor Socks had tiny little bumps all over her skin, and they itched like crazy."

After seeing that Socks was indeed allergic to Wrinkles, Dr. Sotto searched the medical books for any indication that this had happened in the past. There was no obvious indication that a physical skin allergy could be caused by contact with a cat.

"This is the first of its kind for sure", said Dr. Sotto. "I plan on writing a whole paper on this and presenting my findings to the vet board in December."

Socks has since recovered, and has not had any contact with Wrinkles since the diagnosis.

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Tag Words: dog dandruff, dog rashes, dog itching, hot spots on dogs

Categories: Pets

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