Food Allergy

Expert-guided food trial to determine if your pet has food allergies. At home - maximum comfort for your furry friend, minimum hassle.

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Common Questions For Dogs

EverPal client with a cat in a virtual vet visit

Common Questions For Cats

Learn more about

food allergies

in dogs and cats

What is a food allergy in dogs and cats?

Understanding food allergies in dogs and cats

It's an adverse immune reaction to a specific protein or ingredient in a pet's diet. Unlike food intolerances, which involve digestive issues, food allergies often manifest as skin problems and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Can food allergies lead to other health issues?

Yes, if left untreated, food allergies can cause chronic skin infections, ear infections, gastrointestinal issues, and overall discomfort and stress for the pet.

When to see a veterinarian?

If your dog or cat shows signs of chronic itching, recurrent ear infections, gastrointestinal distress, or any other symptoms of food allergies, consult a veterinarian for proper diagnosis and management.

Are there side effects of the treatments?

Generally, dietary management has minimal side effects, but it’s important to ensure the chosen diet is nutritionally balanced. Consultation with a veterinarian is essential to avoid nutritional deficiencies.

Diagnosis

It's not entirely possible to know without seeing a vet because oftentimes food allergy pets can also have environmental allergies so they have to be treated in different avenues. Therefore, we advise consulting a vet for accurate diagnosis and treatment.

You may have seen those saliva/hair allergy tests. There is little evidence to support the validity of these tests, so it’s unlikely they are useful. The current best method to determine if a dog has a food allergy is through an elimination diet (also known as the "food trial").

Treatment Options

The key to managing food allergies is figuring out what food causes the problem and then avoiding it.

Hypoallergenic diet is the gold standard for identifying food allergies, commonly known as “elimination diet”. It involves feeding your pet a simplified diet of foods they’ve never had before. If symptoms improve, we reintroduce foods one at a time to identify the allergen, in a phase commonly referred to as the "challenge diet." Hypoallergenic diets are designed with novel protein sources (like duck or venison) or hydrolyzed proteins, which are broken down so they’re less likely to cause an allergic reaction.

How EverPal works

One-to-One Dedicated Care

Book an online vet appointment

Pick a time and get expert care from top veterinarians from home. Our veterinarian will review your pet's medical history in advance.

In-home diagnostic testing

If testing is needed, our veterinary nurse team will stop by your home to collect a sample. Currently serving San Francisco, South San Francisco, Daly City, Oakland, and Berkeley.

Follow-up care

Follow-up virtual visit with your dedicated veterinarian to discuss testing results, multiple treatment options and recommended treatment plan

Get medications shipped to you

We'll ship medications to you. Alternatively, pick them up from your local pharmacy.

Pricing that lets you focus on caring for your fur baby

$69

MONTHLY

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Food Allergy Care Program

All virtual consultations

Lifestyle and nutritional coaching

Progress tracking

Unlimited support from care team

Detailed medical records

Diagnostic tests and medications are not included in the membership. We believe in providing expert guidance without unnecessary costs. You only pay for what your furry family member truly needs. Rest assured, we’ll always give you an estimate before rendering services.