By taking advantage of natural allergen-antibody interactions, Purina researchers discovered how to safely neutralize Fel d1, a major cat allergen, in hair and dander. This was done by incorporating an egg product containing anti-Fel d1 antibodies into a cat’s diet.
Their research, published in Immunity, Inflammation and Disease and featured at the Purina Institute website < link >, demonstrates a proactive way to significantly reduce the active levels of Fel d1 at its source in cats’ saliva.
These allergens have created a huge barrier to cat ownership and may limit the loving interactions between cat lovers and cats. Our discovery has the potential to transform how people manage cat allergens.” – Dr. Ebenezer Satyaraj, Director of Molecular Nutrition at Purina
Source: Pet Food Industry, June 19, 2019. Link. Reducing the allergen load in the environment has been shown to be beneficial to allergen-sensitive people. The study showed there was a 47% average reduction of active Fel d1 on cats’ hair after three weeks of feeding the diet.
Decreasing active Fel d1 on a cat’s hair can reduce cat allergens shed into the environment on hair and dander.
INSIGHTS: About 20 percent of adults have some level of cat allergy. This research and method are promising and worth watching.