Chickens Might Hold the Antidote to Cat Allergies

Key TakeawaysSocial media users suggested that farm-fresh eggs may help reduce cat allergy symptoms.Chickens that are raised near cats can produce antibodies to cat allergens, which are passed onto their eggs.Cats that are fed these eggs may have reduced levels of Fel d 1, the protein in cat saliva that causes allergic reactions in humans.

Key Takeaways

Social media users suggested that farm-fresh eggs may help reduce cat allergy symptoms.Chickens that are raised near cats can produce antibodies to cat allergens, which are passed onto their eggs.Cats that are fed these eggs may have reduced levels of Fel d 1, the protein in cat saliva that causes allergic reactions in humans.

Social media might have a solution for cat lovers who can’t stop sneezing or wheezing around felines: farm-fresh eggs. Specifically, eggs from a farm where chickens and cats live together.

Chickens raised near cats develop an antibody to Fel d 1, the protein in cat saliva that is responsible for up to 90% of the reactivity in people who areallergic to cats.

Fel d 1 is a sticky protein that gets on the cat’s fur after they bathe and can then get stuck on furniture or clothing. It’s also very light and can easily travel through the air. Studies have found this protein in homes without cats, buildings, and public transportation.

“If you think about where you might find cat allergen, it’s all over the place,” saidH. James Wedner, MD, FACP, an allergy and immunology specialist at Washington University in St. Louis.

For the chickens that develop the Fel d 1 antibody, called IgY, they pass it onto the egg, and it’s concentrated in the yolk.If you feed these yolks to your cat, it could make your cat less allergenic.

Nestlé Purina Research funded a study in 2019, in which 105 cats fed the IgY antibody diet were found to have less of the active Fel d 1 allergen in their hair after 12 weeks.

“The people that were in the chambers where the cats had been fed this egg product were much less symptomatic,” Wedner said.

While the eggs with IgY antibodies might reduce the level of Fel d 1, it’s important to remember that the eggs were fed to the cats rather than humans. Even if you eat these eggs, you wouldn’t get the same results because humans don’t produce the Fel d 1 protein, according toKara Wada, MD, an allergist/immunologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

“It’s the cats that make the protein, and we want less of it from them,” Wada told Verywell.

How Else Can You Cope With a Cat Allergy?

There might come a day when you can adopt a cat that’s hypoallergenic. Scientists are now working to use the CRISPR gene editing technology to remove Fel d 1 from cats to make them hypoallergenic.

As a result of the 2019 research, Purina developed an anti-allergen cat food called LiveClear, although the company had a vested interest in the product, Wada said.

If you want to reduce your allergic reaction to cats, Wada said you could try to keep your cats out of your bedroom, use air purifiers, take allergy medications, or get an allergy vaccine.

“When we think about treating any condition that is dealing with too much inflammation, allergy is a prime example of that. We often get a lot more success when we approach things from a multi-pronged approach,” Wada said.

What This Means For YouChickens raised near cats can develop antibodies against the protein Fel d 1, which is found in cat saliva and is responsible for 90% of the reactivity in people who are allergic to cats. The chickens can pass these antibodies onto their egg yolks. If a cat is fed these eggs, it could potentially be less allergenic. However, research on this theory is limited and involves very small sample sizes.

What This Means For You

Chickens raised near cats can develop antibodies against the protein Fel d 1, which is found in cat saliva and is responsible for 90% of the reactivity in people who are allergic to cats. The chickens can pass these antibodies onto their egg yolks. If a cat is fed these eggs, it could potentially be less allergenic. However, research on this theory is limited and involves very small sample sizes.

5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sparkes AH.Human allergy to cats: a review of the impact on cat ownership and relinquishment.J Feline Med Surg. 2022;24(1):43-52. doi:10.1177/1098612X211013016Satyaraj E, Wedner HJ, Bousquet J.Keep the cat, change the care pathway: A transformational approach to managing Fel d 1, the major cat allergen.Allergy. 2019;74(S107):5-17. doi:10.1111/all.14013Satyaraj E, Gardner C, Filipi I, Cramer K, Sherrill S.Reduction of active Fel d1 from cats using an antiFel d1 egg IgY antibody.Immun Inflamm Dis. 2019;7(2):68-73. doi:10.1002/iid3.244Wedner JH, Mantia T, Satyaraj E, Gardner C, Al-Hammadi N, Sherrill S.Feeding cats egg product with polyclonal-anti-Fel d1 antibodies decreases environmental Fel d1 and allergic response: a proof of concept study.J Allergy Infect Dis.2021;2(1):1-8. doi:10.46439/allergy.2.015Brackett NF, Davis BW, Adli M, Pomés A, Chapman MD.Evolutionary biology and gene editing of cat allergen, Fel d 1.CRISPR J. 2022;5(2):213-223. doi:10.1089/crispr.2021.0101

5 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sparkes AH.Human allergy to cats: a review of the impact on cat ownership and relinquishment.J Feline Med Surg. 2022;24(1):43-52. doi:10.1177/1098612X211013016Satyaraj E, Wedner HJ, Bousquet J.Keep the cat, change the care pathway: A transformational approach to managing Fel d 1, the major cat allergen.Allergy. 2019;74(S107):5-17. doi:10.1111/all.14013Satyaraj E, Gardner C, Filipi I, Cramer K, Sherrill S.Reduction of active Fel d1 from cats using an antiFel d1 egg IgY antibody.Immun Inflamm Dis. 2019;7(2):68-73. doi:10.1002/iid3.244Wedner JH, Mantia T, Satyaraj E, Gardner C, Al-Hammadi N, Sherrill S.Feeding cats egg product with polyclonal-anti-Fel d1 antibodies decreases environmental Fel d1 and allergic response: a proof of concept study.J Allergy Infect Dis.2021;2(1):1-8. doi:10.46439/allergy.2.015Brackett NF, Davis BW, Adli M, Pomés A, Chapman MD.Evolutionary biology and gene editing of cat allergen, Fel d 1.CRISPR J. 2022;5(2):213-223. doi:10.1089/crispr.2021.0101

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Sparkes AH.Human allergy to cats: a review of the impact on cat ownership and relinquishment.J Feline Med Surg. 2022;24(1):43-52. doi:10.1177/1098612X211013016Satyaraj E, Wedner HJ, Bousquet J.Keep the cat, change the care pathway: A transformational approach to managing Fel d 1, the major cat allergen.Allergy. 2019;74(S107):5-17. doi:10.1111/all.14013Satyaraj E, Gardner C, Filipi I, Cramer K, Sherrill S.Reduction of active Fel d1 from cats using an antiFel d1 egg IgY antibody.Immun Inflamm Dis. 2019;7(2):68-73. doi:10.1002/iid3.244Wedner JH, Mantia T, Satyaraj E, Gardner C, Al-Hammadi N, Sherrill S.Feeding cats egg product with polyclonal-anti-Fel d1 antibodies decreases environmental Fel d1 and allergic response: a proof of concept study.J Allergy Infect Dis.2021;2(1):1-8. doi:10.46439/allergy.2.015Brackett NF, Davis BW, Adli M, Pomés A, Chapman MD.Evolutionary biology and gene editing of cat allergen, Fel d 1.CRISPR J. 2022;5(2):213-223. doi:10.1089/crispr.2021.0101

Sparkes AH.Human allergy to cats: a review of the impact on cat ownership and relinquishment.J Feline Med Surg. 2022;24(1):43-52. doi:10.1177/1098612X211013016

Satyaraj E, Wedner HJ, Bousquet J.Keep the cat, change the care pathway: A transformational approach to managing Fel d 1, the major cat allergen.Allergy. 2019;74(S107):5-17. doi:10.1111/all.14013

Satyaraj E, Gardner C, Filipi I, Cramer K, Sherrill S.Reduction of active Fel d1 from cats using an antiFel d1 egg IgY antibody.Immun Inflamm Dis. 2019;7(2):68-73. doi:10.1002/iid3.244

Wedner JH, Mantia T, Satyaraj E, Gardner C, Al-Hammadi N, Sherrill S.Feeding cats egg product with polyclonal-anti-Fel d1 antibodies decreases environmental Fel d1 and allergic response: a proof of concept study.J Allergy Infect Dis.2021;2(1):1-8. doi:10.46439/allergy.2.015

Brackett NF, Davis BW, Adli M, Pomés A, Chapman MD.Evolutionary biology and gene editing of cat allergen, Fel d 1.CRISPR J. 2022;5(2):213-223. doi:10.1089/crispr.2021.0101

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