Purina LiveClear to reduce sinusitis in cat owners

This is a quick note on a product which has been around for a while now, Purina LiveClear, a dry cat food which coats the cat allergen which causes an allergic reaction in people. This is a protein called Fel D1. And in coating this protein it prevents it having the same effect and irritating people who are sensitive to it. 

And one of the effects of cat dander on people who are allergic to cats is that their sinuses become inflamed. This is sinusitis. There are other symptoms such as sneezing and watery eyes et cetera. It depends upon the severity of the reaction in the allergic person.

But the point I want to make here is this: there may be a lot of people who are not formally diagnosed as being allergic to cats but their sinuses might be inflamed by the Fel D1 allergen without the person realising it.

Sinusitis is a very common condition as it affects around 10%-30% of people in the United States and Europe with chronic sinusitis affecting about 12.5% of people according to Wikipedia.

Purina LiveClear review

But as I said, there are different grades of severity of sinusitis and some people might suffer from minor sinusitis and it may be caused by cat dander

And what I'm proposing here is that in order to check if a cat owner is suffering from mild sinusitis they should purchase some Purina LiveClear and test it. Test whether their sinusitis decreases in severity while they feed their cat with this product.

My research indicates that the product is reasonably successful in its objective. That's based on reviews you can read online.

My feeling is that there are perhaps many thousands of people living with cats who don't know that they are in a minor way allergic to them. That's because their symptoms are so low level that they don't recognise the problem but their sinuses may be affected and this test will at least tick that box to make sure that they are not suffering unnecessarily..

---------

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Fancy Feast cat food brand opens a New York City restaurant (for humans!)

NEWS AND COMMENT: Cat food brand Fancy Feast have opened a restaurant in New York City for humans! It is called Gatto Bianco which means white cat. It's an Italian restaurant with a medley of recipes and I've got to presume that the food looks like cat food! Wrong? But it is for humans. I don't really get it. The restaurant is located between Far West Village and the Meatpacking District in New York City. 

Gatto Bianco by Fancy Feast. Photo: Purina.

The chef is taking inspiration from Fancy Feast Medleys recipes while paying homage to traditional Italian cuisine according to Nestlé Purina the umbrella company which owns Fancy Feast.

The dishes have been developed by Fancy Feast's in-house chef, Amanda Hassner together with Italian chef a New York restauranteur Cesare Casella.

Hassner said:

"Food has the power to connect us to others in meaningful ways and take us to places we have never been. The same is true for our cats. The dishes at Gatto Bianco are prepared in ways that help cat owners understand how their cats experience food – from flavor, to texture, to form – in a way that only Fancy Feast can."

My personal viewpoint is that this is a ridiculous concept. I can't see the point of it. Is it meant to educate people on what it's like to be a cat eating cat food? If that is the objective it doesn't work. And is the food going to look like cat food? If so, it is not going to look great to a human. It just seems to be a muddled concept to me and pointless but perhaps I am being far too negative.

Is it going to look like this with a side salad?

Fel d 1

Timmy - unneutered males are more prone to causing an allergic reaction.
 Photo: MikeB

Fel d 1 stands for Felis domesticus allergen 1. It is also referred to sometimes as "cat dander". Domestic cats are one of the most important sources of allergic disease in the western world with about 10% of people allergic to cats.

The allergen is in the cat's saliva (and therefore on the fur) and secreted from perianal and lachrymal glands.

The allergic reaction can be mild (e.g. itching) or life threatening (severe asthma). Cat allergens are very common and difficult to avoid. An allergen is a substance (a non-parasitic antigen) that produces an immune response. The immune response is the production of Immunoglobulin E (IgE) an antibody. Its role is unclear but the response is inappropriate and causes allergic reaction such as sneezing and asthma.

Life Style Pets Inc (Allerca cats) claim to have modified the gene responsible for the production of the allergen in the domestic cats they breed (or are bred by affiliated cat breeders) thereby eliminating the allergic reaction. They don't explain themselves however.

Some cat breeds are said to be "hypoallergenic" meaning they don't cause the same degree of allergic reaction. Claims have been made for several breeds. Generally these are unsubstantiated. Savannah cats can also be hypoallergenic. But to be honest no cat, not even the hairless cats are hypoallergenic to any substantial degree. 

For the first time I have become allergic to a cat (only slightly though). He is a stray who comes in for food and rest. When I touch him, within about a minute I itch on the hand, head, legs for example. The itching need not be where I made contact with him. In fact I only have to look at him to start itching. This is because his dander is in the room.

I wash immediately after stroking him. I even kiss him sometimes, because my tenderness towards him outweighs the inconvenience of the allergic reaction. He is unneutered and unneutered males are the most likely to have a strong dose of Fel D 1 in their saliva.

Photo of Timmy the stray cat referred to in this post. He's crashed out on my chair having eaten three or four sachets of prime cat food.

Update: Purina have made LiveClear (see above) a dry cat food that has been found to be successful in reducing their potency of the allergen. Look it up if you are allergic to cats.

From Fel d 1 to Home Page