Researchers trying to make cats nonallergenic

Purina says its tests show its foods are safe.

LiveClear is already available in six flavors, including Weight Management, Senior and Sensitive Stomach. Chewy.com sells a 3.5 pound bag for $ 21.58. (A similar sized bag of non-specialized cat food could cost less than $ 10.) Allergen-reducing kitten food is coming in September, Venator said.

The company’s novel approach began about a decade ago when Ebenezer Satyaraj, a nutritional immunologist, learned that his daughter was allergic to cats. He discovered that chickens produce an antibody against Fel d 1, which can be found in their eggs. The company added the antibody to cat food. The resulting diet neutralized up to about half of the Fel d 1 produced by some cats.

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This means that the treated cats will of course still make Fel d 1, which does not automatically mean that allergy sufferers will feel better around them. However, Wedner said that higher doses of an allergen generally cause more symptoms.

But Gleeson, who said Purina’s new food was “showing great promise,” told doctors “doesn’t really know how much allergen reduction it takes to reduce symptoms”.

He said doctors often recommend getting rid of the cat – most patients won’t – or washing it weekly. “I haven’t spoken to patients who actually did that,” he said. You can also get rid of carpets, vacuum frequently, and get a HEPA air purifier. And they can try allergy shots. “This is another area where the evidence isn’t very good,” said Gleeson. Then there is medication.

Wedner led a small study by Washington University, funded by Purina, that found that some people with allergies could reliably tell the difference between blankets used by cats that ate LiveClear and cats that ate other foods.