TOKYO — Nearly half of pet owners in a recent survey said they didn’t know cats, dogs and other pets also have pollen allergies — a “national disease” that affects many people living in Japan. .
TYL Co., a company based in Tokyo’s Minato Ward that operates veterinary clinics, conducted an online survey in March and tallied responses from 428 respondents.
Asked if they knew that pets can become allergic to pollen, 46.3% answered “No”. As for whether their animals showed symptoms of hay fever this year, 59.8% said that they did not and 15.0% answered that they were not sure, but a representative of TYL points out that there are still many cases where owners are not aware of their pets. allergic reactions of animals.
A total of 25.2% reported that their pets showed symptoms of pollen allergies. Broken down by type of symptom with multiple answers allowed, 74.1% said they “sneezed”, 63.0% said their pet had a “runny nose”, 36.1% mentioned ” eye problems”, 25.0% said “skin problems” and 13.0% said their pet was “coughing” – all symptoms commonly experienced by humans with allergies pollen
When asked what measures they would take if their animals showed symptoms of hay fever, 60.3% of all respondents answered that they would take the animals to the vets. Animal hospitals can test animals for allergies and usually offer symptomatic treatment, such as prescription pills and eye drops.
TYL executive and veterinarian Hiroshi Fujino recommends keeping pets away from allergens as a countermeasure for hay fever for pets. He said: “Do not leave allergens (such as pollen) attached to their bodies after a walk. Drying them will be effective.”
(Original Japanese by Yuko Shimada, Lifestyle, Science and Environment News Department)
