Clinical signs: A cat has a chronic cough, but no skin lesions. Could it be an allergic disease?

Yes, unlike dogs, respiratory signs (feline allergic bronchitis, asthma and rhinitis) in cats can be seen in allergic disease.
Skin lesions are very common and manifested with different reaction patterns: miliary dermatitis, self-induced alopecia, excoriations and ulcers, lesions of the eosinophilic granuloma complex.

Flea allergy: The cat is flea positive, does it mean it has fleas?

A positive result means that the animal is allergic to the flea saliva, but does not confirm a current infestation.

In flea allergic animals, the bite of a single flea is sufficient to initiate an exaggerated immune system response and the entire cascade of inflammatory reactions associated with allergy. Whether or not an infestation is present, effective flea control has to be prescribed for the animal and all those who live with it. The flea control has to be used preventively long term. It is better and easier to prevent than to treat an infestation, where the environment plays an important role.

Elimination diet in outdoor cats: How can it be carried out?

It is not possible to carry it out in free-living cats, since it is impossible to control what they may ingest outdoors. The cat should be confined indoors and monitored during the diet trial. If it is not possible, it makes no sense to do the diet trial, and the animal should be medically treated as in the case of an environmental allergy.

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