Affordable Pet Test Review: We Tried a Pet Intolerance Test

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Affordable Pet Test

9.5

Ease of use

10.0 /10

Customer service

10.0 /10

Customer satisfaction

10.0 /10

Affordability

8.0 /10

Pros

  • Extremely simple testing process
  • Gives you a starting point for elimination diets
  • Great customer service
  • Quick turnaround

Cons

  • Questionable testing method
  • Only tests for intolerances, not allergies

Are you struggling to solve your cat’s skin and digestive issues? Try the Affordable Pet Test.

Is your cat intolerant? “Oh yeah, he’s always cracking racist jokes, making narrow-minded comments —” No, no, we’re talking about food and environmental intolerances. We can discuss your cat’s personal intolerances another time. Let me rephrase the question.

Does your cat suffer from painful itchy skin, pass more gas than the average cat, or vomit regularly? They may suffer from a food or environmental intolerance.

These intolerances can be tough to identify, and many cats end up essentially suffering in silence. One Google search of intolerance tests for pets, and you’ve dropped down the rabbit hole into a world just as confusing as your cat’s symptoms — some sources claim one test works, another says it’s a scam, and others say there’s no way to test for intolerances at all.

The traditional route is to take your cat to see a veterinarian, who will likely recommend a food elimination diet. These elimination diets require you to feed your cat an extremely simple food based around a novel protein such as duck, rabbit, venison, or any protein you haven’t previously fed your cat. Elimination diets, while effective for determining which foods your cat is sensitive to, are slow-going and tedious. And if your cat has an environmental allergy, you’re not going to find out about it by eliminating chicken and gluten from their diet.

When your cat is suffering, you want answers and results fast.

Enter the Affordable Pet Test: a non-invasive method of testing your cat’s tolerance for over 300 food and environmental items.

When I stumbled across the Affordable Pet Test at SuperZoo, I was intrigued. I was introduced to Affordable Pet Test representative, Nick, who told me a story about a happy customer whose dog had severe skin issues. The vet-prescribed conventional allergy testing hadn’t brought any results or relief, so she turned to the Affordable Pet Test. The test told her that her dog was sensitive to wool — which was all over her house in the form of wool rugs. She removed the rugs, and her dog got better.

I thought of stories I’d heard of cats suffering from undiagnosed skin and coat issues.

The cats were put on medication after medication, each one only working temporarily before it seemed to lose efficacy. As in the story of the dog and the wool rugs, maybe the Affordable Pet Test could have provided answers for these troubled cats.

Nick explained the Affordable Pet Test process. Send in a sample of your pet’s hair (10-15 strands) to their testing facility, where they’ll test it for sensitivity to over 300 different food and environmental factors. About 7-10 days after the hair reaches the facility, you’ll get an email listing which items your pet is sensitive to, plus an explanation of how to interpret the results and move forward.

I was excited to put the Affordable Pet Test to the test — so when Nick offered a complimentary intolerance test and invited us to try out the process and review our experience on the blog, I enthusiastically agreed. Neither Wessie or Forest show any traditional symptoms of an intolerance, so I was interested to see what results we would receive.

If you want to skip straight to our review of the Affordable Pet Test, click here.

If you make your purchase of the Affordable Pet Test through our links, Wildernesscat will receive a percentage of the sale. It doesn’t cost any extra but helps us to continue sharing the radical cat parenting message. Thank you for your support!

The Affordable Pet Test Story

The Affordable Pet Test began with one woman’s search for relief — and her desire to find an affordable, comprehensive allergy test for humans. After the births of her children, Lisa Blaurock struggled with weight gain, even though she didn’t eat excessively. She searched for answers in the medical system and found a doctor who suggested she take an allergy/intolerance test. She bit the bullet and put up $850 for the test, and found the answers she was searching for. After eliminating gluten and dairy in accordance with the results she received, her symptoms vanished. The heartburn, feet swelling, and stomach discomfort were gone. She was finally able to lose the weight. 

Several months passed when Lisa’s daughter came to her with complaints of a constant upset stomach and bloating.

Lisa saw the similarities between her and her daughter’s condition and decided to get her daughter tested as well. But she knew there must be a less expensive option than the test she’d gotten. She was able to find a test for $250 and discovered her daughter was also gluten and dairy intolerant.

While $250 was a great price compared to the $850 she had paid, Lisa knew it was still too much. There were still other people out there searching for answers. An affordable allergy test was necessary. Lisa found a lab willing to work with her, and Affordable Allergy Test was born. 

While Lisa was working to provide affordable testing for humans, she realized that there was another need unfilled. She knew that pets and their guardians were still playing a guessing game and struggling to find answers to red itchy skin, constant sneezing, and stomach troubles. Why not provide affordable allergy testing for pets, too?

She expanded the business to include the Affordable Pet Test. Her ultimate goal is to provide tests to shelters and rescue groups, so homeless pets with intolerances will receive the care they need. Adopters will be able to give their new pets the appropriate care they need immediately, and not deal with expensive medications and unknowns.

What is the Affordable Pet Test, and how does it work?

The Affordable Pet Test is a non-IgE allergy test — or intolerance test.

It’s important to understand that the Affordable Pet Test is not an alternative to a traditional blood test for allergies. A blood test, also known as serum testing, tests for IgE mediated allergies. In order to understand what the term intolerance test means, let’s take a closer look at IgE mediated vs. non-IgE mediated allergies.

What is an IgE mediated allergy?

IgE stands for Immunoglobulin E, which are allergen-specific antibodies produced by your immune system to target offending triggers. IgE antibodies are normally found in small amounts in the bloodstream, and if working normally, will produce histamine to target parasites or other harmful intruders. In an allergic body, these IgE will target compounds that are usually considered harmless with an overabundance of histamine. IgE mediated allergies usually manifest immediately in hives, skin redness, vomiting, and in severe cases, anaphylaxis.

A blood test is required in order to identify these antibodies in a patient.

What is a non-IgE mediated allergy?

Non-IgE mediated allergies are harder to diagnose and identify than IgE allergies. Non-IgE allergies may or may not be mediated by the immune system. If it’s not mediated by the immune system, the negative reaction isn’t considered an allergy at all — but an intolerance instead. This doesn’t mean non-IgE allergies should be ignored. Non-IgE allergies can cause vomiting, abdominal discomfort, and diarrhea. Instead of showing up within a matter of minutes like IgE mediated allergies, these symptoms can show up hours or even days after contact with the trigger and aren’t life-threatening.

The Affordable Pet Test utilizes bioresonance technology to identify intolerances.

Bioresonance technology was introduced in the 1970s and has since been used in a range of applications. Most commonly, it’s used in therapy as an empiric alternative to traditional Western medicine, on par with homeopathy and acupuncture.

Bioresonance works with electromagnetic frequencies in order to effect change within a patient’s body, and in the case of an intolerance test, the frequencies are used to test DNA’s reaction to different food and environmental factors. The DNA stored in your pet’s hair is enough to carry out this testing. The hair sample will be processed through a bioresonance machine and is then compared to the test items — after which the machine will generate the results and sort the intolerances based on intensity. 

DNA

Is bioresonance testing a legitimate method of intolerance testing?

Bioresonance testing is a highly disputed method of intolerance testing — if you look up hair allergy tests, you’re going to find debates on its legitimacy and accuracy. Some say that the whole concept of bioresonance is quackery, others assure skeptics that there simply hasn’t been enough research done on the technology yet. Believe me, it’s tough to find an explanation of what bioresonance really is. Sure, bioresonance is utilized as an energy medicine, it has been around for a while, and it harnesses the electromagnetic forces which exist within all organisms — but what does that mean?

Here’s what we know.

Bioresonance technology has been in common use in Europe for over 40 years, and is gaining traction in China, but hasn’t seen much popularity in the United States yet. In countries where it’s well-established, bioresonance technology is commonly used as an alternative method of diagnosing and treating disease. It’s based on the idea that every living organism emits its own electromagnetic frequency. A body’s health is in turn affected by the balance of these frequencies. Bioresonance machines are reportedly able to detect the electromagnetic frequencies in a patient’s body, and can also re-create them and direct them towards a subject. This technology can be used for therapy purposes, or as we see with the Affordable Pet Test, as a method of testing the body for sensitivities.

Interested in seeing what a bioresonance machine looks like? Check out this article.

Unfortunately, there simply aren’t many scientific papers that regard bioresonance as an accurate indicator of medical conditions or as a therapeutic treatment.

While some studies have been conducted on bioresonance therapy, the results were inconsistent, and further research is required.

This doesn’t mean we should write off bioresonance altogether. There may not be a wealth of studies or documentation of results on bioresonance technology, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence in its favor. The Affordable Pet Test has received quite a bit of positive feedback from pet guardians who saw a positive change in their pets after modifying their diet/environment based on the test results. The overwhelmingly positive reviews have me convinced that it’s worth a shot if your cat is suffering from unknown sensitivities.

Check out these case studies to see the positive results customers have experienced with their dogs.

Affordable Pet Test: Intolerance Test For Pets Review

Our experience.

Disclosure: “Wildernesscat received this product for free in exchange for an honest review. Although the product was gratis, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.”

What happens when you purchase the Affordable Pet Test? 

Nick gave me a sample allergy test, neatly packaged in a nifty official-looking green foil envelope. Inside the envelope is a paper with test instructions on one side and a test form on the other side. There is a small baggie to hold your pet’s hair sample, and an envelope addressed to their testing facility. All I needed to provide was a stamp.

If you’re looking for immediate answers and want to have your cat tested right away, you’re in luck. When you purchase the Affordable Pet Test, you can choose the E-Kit or the Shipped-Kit. If you select the E-Kit, you’ve saved $7.00 on shipping charges and can get started immediately. Simply download the test form, grab a baggie and mailing envelope, and get some hair off your cat.

Affordable Pet Test
The Affordable Pet Test comes with everything you need to get started.

Preparing the sample: how to get your cat’s hair for testing.

The Affordable Pet Test uses hair samples in their tests. Hair retains important information about your cat’s body and is incredibly easy and comfortable to harvest from your cat. Most of us already have an abundance of cat hair hanging around on our clothes, sofas, and in our food, but you’ll want to take a fresh sample for the test to avoid contamination. You only need 10-15 strands of hair for the test, and it can either be cut or brushed out. It’s best if the roots are attached to the hair, so I recommend brushing rather than cutting. Nick warned me to be careful not to use a comb that the cats share. It would be confusing if we got results for both Forest and Wessie!

Getting Forest's hair sample for Affordable Pet Test
You only need 10-15 strands of your cat’s hair for the test.

Take the hair sample and put it into a small ziplock bag. Label the bag with your cat’s name and last name. Seal the bag.

Hair sample for Affordable Pet Test
Forest’s hair sample.

Fill out the form and mail it in.

The Affordable Pet Test form is super easy to fill out. All they want are a few details about the pet who’s being tested and your contact information. If you don’t have an email address, Affordable Pet Testing will send your results in the mail.

Affordable Pet Test sample
All ready to be packed into the envelope.

Place the hair sample and form into an envelope, stick on a stamp, and drop the envelope off with the post.

Affordable Pet Test Envelope

Now it’s time to wait for your results to come in. Results usually come back in 7-10 days.

Understanding your cat’s test results.

Forest’s test results showed up in my email inbox after just four days. There are three separate attachments: a file explaining how to interpret your pet’s results, the food intolerance report, and then the environmental intolerance report. These are the actual test results we received back from Forest’s sample.

Affordable Pet Test Results
Forest’s test results. The two on the left are food intolerances, the righthand side shows environmental allergens.

The results are divided into three different levels based on how serious a trigger is.

Your cat’s test results are automatically sorted into three levels.

These three levels are color-coded just like a traffic light. Red means stop. Your pet’s body is rejecting these items and they should be eliminated from their diet/environment immediately. Level 3 items may cause symptoms like swelling, rashes, and diarrhea. Yellow means slow down. The items on level 2 are things your pet is sensitive to and may cause mild discomfort such as heartburn and bloating. Green means proceed, but be aware. The items which are listed at level 1 just don’t interact that well with your pet’s body. An effect from level 1 items may be barely noticeable — think sneezing or a runny nose.

Sometimes items show up on more than one level in the results.

This means that the item has a strong effect on your cat’s system and should take priority when you start eliminating items from your cat’s diet or environment.

The Affordable Pet Test results are the perfect starting point to begin an elimination diet.

Eliminate all level 3 and 2 items from your cat’s environment and diet for at least two months. Be aware that there are factors which can throw off the test results, so don’t take the results as an end-all. For example, if your cat eats the same protein every day (rotating your cat’s food is a good idea!), or is frequently exposed to a certain environmental factor, it’s possible that the item will show up in the results as something your cat is intolerant to. You may try reintroducing foods or environmental items one by one after two months of elimination.

Did the Affordable Pet Test results help us?

As far as we know, Forest is in good health. She’s strange, unpredictable, and sleeps like a caterpillar sometimes, but she’s a healthy little cat. She has a smooth, shiny coat. She occasionally hacks up a hairball or passes loose stool. Are these the symptoms of an intolerance?

The only item which appeared in Forest’s results which she’s exposed to regularly is tuna. We haven’t noticed a direct link between meals including tuna and any imbalance, but we’ll try cutting it out of her diet for a while to see if there’s any change.

Remember, the Affordable Pet Test isn’t meant to search for issues in perfectly healthy pets.

It’s a tool to help worried pet guardians find a starting point to treat their pet’s intolerance symptoms. The Affordable Pet Test takes the guesswork out of elimination diets and can help your cat find relief sooner.

Where can I buy the Affordable Pet Test: Intolerance Test for Pets?

If you make your purchase of the Affordable Pet Test through our links, Wildernesscat will receive a percentage of the sale. It doesn’t cost any extra but helps us to continue sharing the radical cat parenting message. Thank you for your support!

The Affordable Pet Test’s Pet Food & Environmental Intolerance Test is available for $148 on the Affordable Allergy Testing website, and on Amazon.com

Would you like 10% off of your purchase of the Affordable Pet Test? Use coupon code WILDERNESSCAT at the checkout.