Locust Bean Gum Allergy?

[cejhome]

Hello,

I recently tried Tiki Cat Sardines for a treat for our cat Buddy. He has at least one food allergy that we know of (chicken), and lots of pollen allergies.

He started scratching his ears again. I stopped giving him the Sardine treat (a little bit every other day or so - maybe a tablespoon) and it has subsided.

He is fine with tuna (back to Soulistic Lamb (it has tuna in it, but mostly Lamb) - he has had this for a one a week treat for a year with no issues. I stopped it a little while back to try the sardine.

The only thing I can find different in the ingredients in the Tiki Cat Sardines vs the Soulisitc lamb and tuna or any of the other foods Buddy gets is that the Tiki Cat Sardines has locust bean gum, and of course Sardines. Several of his regular foods have fish oil/salmon oil, and he has no issues.

Any thoughts - anyone that has a cat that is allergic to locust bean gum, or can it be possible he is allergic to the sardines but can handle salmon and tuna just fine?

 

[daftcat75]

An allergic reaction is to a protein. The immune system keys in on protein sequences, not fat or carbohydrates. That said, he can have a dietary intolerance that is not mediated by the immune system. That however would look more like butt or gut issues. So it's more likely that he is quite possibly allergic to the sardines. This should be an easy one to test. See if you can find sardines packed in water in the grocery store. If he can have those okay, then it's not the sardines, but something else.

Now before I posted, I thought I would do a quick search on locust bean gum.

I stand corrected.

Locust bean gum is a safe food additive with few side effects.

However, some people may be allergic to it. This allergy can take the form of asthma and breathing issues, which can be serious (15Trusted Source).

If you are allergic to locust bean gum, you should avoid it and all carob-containing foods.

Locust Bean Gum: Uses, Benefits, and Safety

If some people can be allergic to it, then there's a protein component that, theoretically, some cats could also be allergic to.

As I said, this should be an easy one to sleuth out. If he's okay with sardines on their own, you can reasonably assume it's the locust bean gum. If he is itching with the sardines alone, then it's a sardine allergy (as weird as that may sound in light of his other fishy foods.)

 

[cejhome]

Thank you so much! I am thinking of when Buddy's ears are all healed up (fur loss from scratching, no irritation), that I will try store bought Sardines in water. We had a cat years ago that couldn't have any grain - that was in the old days when vets didn't seem to know anything about this stuff. We were lucky to have a holistic vet in the area at that time that had us try grain free, and as soon as we eliminated it, our kitty at that time started getting better. I didn't realize the difference between protein = allergy vs. other stuff = intolerance. Duh!

 

[daftcat75]

I've been reading this paper--and it's been a long time since I studied this stuff so it's a bit meaty reading. It sounds like they're challenging former views that carbs play no role in allergies. In fact, they are finding that some kinds of carbs can be cross-reactive with proteins and create these carb-protein complexes called glycoproteins. These glycoproteins can trigger allergic reactions.

So it's quite possible that it may very well be the locust bean gum reacting with something else, possibly even the small amount of protein in locust bean gum to create an allergic reaction. I like to say my biochem degree is still in the envelope it came in (because I went on to work elsewhere right out of college.) But it looks like this old dog can still learn a new trick.

So yeah, in general, it's proteins that cause allergies and everything else is intolerance. But sometimes the carbs attach to the protein and their complex can trigger a reaction.

I also just clicked on that reference I quoted above. I think your kitty is quite likely to be safe from:

Allergic sinusitis and severe asthma caused by occupational exposure to locust bean gum: Case report

...unless your cat is a cheesemaker at a creamery over the last sixteen years?

 

[cejhome]

Thank you for the information! He could have been a cheesemaker kitty if he is a time-lord cat. He's only 3-ish. Poor boy I hate he is so sensitive to stuff. I am pretty sure its another food related allergy - he started scratching the backs of his ears like he did with the chicken. We have had other kitties with food allergies in the past, so we know the symptoms.

 

[Astragal14]

Sardines are high in histamines and could be causing the scratching you described, so it may not really be a reaction to the sardines but rather a reaction to the increased histamine levels that are caused by the sardines. Many fish are high in histamines but not all, and of course my girl who has allergies loves all the fish that are highest in histamines! You could try mixing sardines with low histamine foods to see if there is a certain amount she can tolerate before the itching begins - we do this at home and our cat is okay with a small amount of sardines.

It could also be a sensitivity to locust bean gum. I had a foster cat that would cough more and more as I fed her more and more Weruva (which has many recipes high in gums, especially locust bean gum). Giving her a diet with no locust bean gum and low in overall gums eliminated the coughing. I don't know exactly what the issue was, it could have been one of many things.... coughing caused by hairballs because the gums affected her digestion, actual sensitivity to locust bean gum specifically, or a different issue entirely. I also read that locust bean gum is frequently linked to allergies in humans that are similar to peanut allergies; cats are certainly different from humans, but it did make me wonder if there is just something about locust bean gum that can lead to a lot of problems.

 

[cejhome]

Thank you so much! He seems to be okay with Tuna and Salmon. He gets either in very limited quantities. He continues to improve - very rarely scratches the backs of his ears now. He is allergic to Chicken and has numerous pollen allergies. We live right next to a Nature Conservancy area, so lots and lots of pollen. He didn't have issues with the pollen until we adopted him, but he may have lived in an apartment downtown for all we know in his previous place (I refuse to say home). He pinged many different pollens on his skin test. I've actually noticed this past Spring when things like Birch were high - he'd scratch more. He is on allergy serum treatments (oral). We are hoping this will improve things for him.

 

[Astragal14]

I'm glad he's improving! Have you tried giving him fish oil? My girl who loves fish also has a ton of allergies (trees, grasses, molds, etc) and fish oil has been a huge help in controlling the inflammation response to allergens. We've also given the serum treatments but stopped because we felt other methods helped just as much without giving her medications (other methods mostly being fish oil and high quality air purifiers).

 

[cejhome]

Hello, and thank you! What kind of fish oil would you recommend, and dosage? I can give that a try. We have good air purifiers and I wipe Buddy down with a damp washcloth daily. He has been doing better lately - its been 100 degrees outside or close to it every day for a while and he has no desire to go out on our screen porch. However, I just can't keep him from going out there when the weather is nice - he loves it so much. We are learning what pollens trigger him more than others (like Birch), so I can plan on keeping an eye out on what pollens are present next year and keep him in during that time. I have to keep an eye out for myself - I am allergic to Cedar pollen, and we have tons of it here. Different Cedars release their pollen at different times, so there are waves of it multiple times throughout the Spring.

 

[Astragal14]

The best fish oil is the one your cat will actually take! We've tried so many Our cats used to like Nordic Naturals but the formula must have changed, they won't eat it any more. My girl with allergies is super picky but she likes NOW Pets fish oil capsules (squeezed into wet food), it has 180 mg EPA and 120 mg DHA. I would prefer that she take the same human fish oil capsules as our other cat, but the human fish oil does have a very strong fishy taste and aroma. I give 1/2 Nature Made human fish oil capsule to our other cat for a combined 500 mg of EPA & DHA.

https://www.chewy.com/now-pets-omega-3-support-dog-cat/dp/167183