Glutened By My Cat? Really?

[gatita]

For months I was careful to buy my kitty gluten-free food. But lately I've been broke and the wheat-gluten-full food was on sale and...well...

 

1. Cat eats gluteny food.

 

2. Cat immediately licks self all over because he likes to be clean after a meal.

 

3. Cat sneaks into bed with me in the middle of the night.

 

4. I wake up with swollen lips and itchy all over. Get the runs the next day.

 

But seriously, is it really truly likely my cat glutened me?? I do wash my hands when I wake up, and I don't believe I lick my cat in my sleep (although he does lick me sometimes) -- so how did it happen? Or did I just get CC'd somewhere and I'm blaming my poor lil guy for nothing?

 

 

Note: I have a true wheat allergy along with gluten intolerance. Not allergic to cats.

[Gemini]

Swollen lips and itchiness are hallmarks for an allergic reaction so I think this is much more likely than a Celiac reaction, although I am sure there will be someone who will argue the point. 

 Even if your cat licked you after eating gluten in their food, you would have to somehow get that licked area into your mouth and I am not even going to start to offer scenarios on that one.     Ditto for patting the cat. Who would put their hands in their mouth after patting an animal....no matter how much we love them?

 

Sorry you had this happen but go back to buying the gluten free stuff or wear gloves when handling the cat food.  Doesn't take much for a reaction with a true allergy as you only have to touch it and not ingest it.

[bartfull]

Yep. The itchy and swollen is more than likely an allergic reaction to the gluten on the cat. And the runs, well, my cat often gets in my face at night - literally. If your cat brushed up against your lips and you licked your lips, it could happen. Or you might have touched the cat, then rubbed your mouth or even covered your mouth when you yawned. OR, your cat might do what mine does when she thinks it's time for me to get up - she pats my face (sometimes my nose, sometimes my cheek, and sometimes my lips) with her paw. (Gross, I know! Those are the same paws that carry her into the litterbox!  )

[gatita]

Yeah, I def do have the allergic reaction going on. I always thought the offending item had to be ingested to get that reaction (like when I was a kid and was allergic to strawberries), but perhaps not.

 

Since I do have the D, too, I figure some gluten got in my guts somehow.

 

And yes, he does like to "pat" my face with his paw to wake me up! (I should make him wash HIS hands). He also like to lick the tip of my nose when I'm asleep. Scary thing to wake up to!

 

I always wash my hands after I feed him or pet him, but maybe like you said I yawned or something and didn't realize it during the night. Baffling!!!

[bartfull]

Another thing: cats like to rub their sweet little faces on things. When I'm petting mine, she does this and I can even sometimes feel a little wetness from her lips. If your cat rubbed her face against yours in the night, you probably got directly glutened.

 

Wonderful little creatures, aren't they? They trip us when we are walking, they cough up hairballs on our rugs (or furniture), they have us constantly changing the litterbox, they wake us up before we're ready, they scratch us when they are in our laps and get startled when the neighbor starts their lawnmower, and they gluten us in our sleep.  

 

Mine will be 14 years old in another week or so. For FOURTEEN YEARS I've been putting up with everything in the above paragraph!

 

And if anything ever happened to her I'd be so lost and sad. Indoor cats can live well into their twenties. I hope mine breaks the cat longevity record.

[gatita]

Another thing: cats like to rub their sweet little faces on things. When I'm petting mine, she does this and I can even sometimes feel a little wetness from her lips. If your cat rubbed her face against yours in the night, you probably got directly glutened.

 

Wonderful little creatures, aren't they? They trip us when we are walking, they cough up hairballs on our rugs (or furniture), they have us constantly changing the litterbox, they wake us up before we're ready, they scratch us when they are in our laps and get startled when the neighbor starts their lawnmower, and they gluten us in our sleep.  

 

Mine will be 14 years old in another week or so. For FOURTEEN YEARS I've been putting up with everything in the above paragraph!

 

And if anything ever happened to her I'd be so lost and sad. Indoor cats can live well into their twenties. I hope mine breaks the cat longevity record.

 

LOL!!! Not to mention mine peed on my bedroom carpet last night!!! First time I ever banished him from the room and he complained all night.

[bartfull]

Yeah, mine is getting old so sometimes she misses the box. I have a large trash bag covered with newspapers under it now to catch "the overflow".

[AlwaysLearning]

Well, I'd have to wonder why the cat peed on the bedroom carpet. Perhaps he/she doesn't care for gluten either?

You guys are making me miss having a cute and fuzzy, high maintenance purring machine around.

[ravenwoodglass]

LOL!!! Not to mention mine peed on my bedroom carpet last night!!! First time I ever banished him from the room and he complained all night.

If he doesn't normally have 'accidents' it may be his body is reacting to your switching to a gluten food. Gluten seemed to give me IC symptoms so maybe it can do the same sort of thing to a kitty. Kitties can also have accidents if they have something like bladder stones or an infection. Hopefully it was a one time thing but get him checked out if it continues.

You also might want to talk to your doctor about getting an Epi pen. It sounds like you are getting pretty severe allergy reactions and they can suddenly become much worse.

[gatita]

Well, I'd have to wonder why the cat peed on the bedroom carpet. Perhaps he/she doesn't care for gluten either?

You guys are making me miss having a cute and fuzzy, high maintenance purring machine around.

 

You know, I'm thinking he doesn't like gluten either, like you and Raven suggested... his eyes are all runny today.

 

I've had his kidneys checked out pretty good, he has lots of health issues but the vet agrees he pees on my carpet whenever he's mad at me. Gotta love that.

 

Well, I went out and bought only food with no wheat in it for him today. Learned my lesson good!