Advice on Hypoallergenic cats Post Reply

[Starr]

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone could share some experience of successfully getting and keeping a hypoallergenic cat?

My husband is allergic and yet we are feline inclined rather than willing to take on a dog. I love dogs too but not willing to commit. The children are desperate for a pet.

Do you know any breeds that are very guaranteed to prevent the asthma that cats normally set off? I would love to adopt a cat that needs a home but this will likely not be possible.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[hworsley]

Hi there,

We have a Siberian cat as I have cat allergies and since having her I haven't experienced any symptoms!  Siberians apparently have less of the feld1 in their saliva, which is what we are usually allergic to.  They are beautiful cats!

I bought her from a breeder based in Essex. http://anzhelikasiberians.uk

I went for an allergy sitting test first before I bought our cat in order to double check.  This was really useful and reassuring!  

Having our kitten has transformed ours and our childrens lives especially in the long lockdown this year!    I hope you get to find one that works for you and your husband.

Best of luck

[Starr]

Oh they look gorgeous. Thank you so much for your advice. My fear has been getting a cat that we think is fine and it not being and being put in that awful position of giving it up, so good to know you can have a sitting.

Many thanks for your input and i will make contact x

[mymyherewegoagain]

Hello

We’ve just recently acquired a pedigree Bengal based on the information that they’re supposed to be hypoallergenic. My husband is mildly allergic to cats. If the kitten keeps away from him he’s fine but she’s developed a great fondness for him and loves to sit close to his chin. Not hypoallergenic. Very beautiful, interactive and incredibly playful but I’m not convinced is hypoallergenic.

Good luck.

[wasateacher]

How recently has your husband been tested?  I ask because I knew someone who told me she was allergic to cats - her family had got rid of the family cat when she was a child because she reacted badly to it.  However, as an adult, she would come round to my house with no ill effects and then went on to successfully get one - it was a shorthair.  There are various websites which have articles on the issue.
 

[Starr]

He hasn't had a test yet grrrrrr I've been asking for some years.
But when we visit his parents house and they have cats he always gets asthma ( on the plus side for me it means we don't stay longer than 2 days ). My husband has had an inhaler since childhood and the cat allergy seems to have crept up in the past 10 years.
My younger brother is allergic to cats. I will never forget the frightening day when I was 16 when he reacted so badly he needed an ambulance and was taken to St Mary's after a sleepover at his friends.
We really should confirm. But will it cover all the breeds?

[dudette]

I really don't think you should even be considering getting a cat if your husband's allergies gives him asthma. Hypoallergenic doesn't mean it's allergen free - it just means it's less allergenic than normal. My daughter is allergic to dogs and I get so tired of people telling me you can get "hypoallergenic" ones. Yes I know - and she's just as badly allergic to those as she is to normal ones. I adore dogs, more than anyone else I know, but getting one is just out of the question. You obviously know how serious asthma can be from what happened to your brother - people do die to it every year. It would be totally unfair on the poor kitty if after having got one you realise your husband's allergies are too bad to cope. Unless you really don't like your husband very much (!) I think you should just give up on this. 

[Starr]

My husband had childhood asthma and rarely after the age of 12 needed his inhaler. He also grew up with cats - his family had rescue cats- and was fine. It's only been in recent years that whenever we visit longer than 2 days he becomes asthmatic. But other things set him off too, pollen and many types of apples and pears. This is all fairly recent so I genuinely don't know and neither does he so want to investigate.
So wanted advice from people who have cat allergies and have successfully managed to find a breed that works.
I would definitely not take it lightly which is why I'm asking! So just want to know experiences of having a hypoallergenic cat
I'm open to dogs but husband finds them intolerable. The children are desperate for either but we have held off having a pet for years.

[dudette]

Well as I said in my earlier comment hypoallergenic just means less allergenic. It doesn’t mean allergen free. Cat allergens come from a protein in their saliva. Dogs are a lot harder work than cats as they need walking and can’t be left on their own all day like cats can so you shouldn’t get one unless you’re on board with that. It breaks my heart that we can’t have a pet (my son is allergic to cats) but it’s just the way it is. I’ve recently developed various fruit allergies which I didn’t have when I was younger and last year got what I can only assume was hay fever for the first time, so allergies do develop in middle age.

[Jonny Dyson Property Consultants]

Hi Starr,

We have had Bengal cats for the last twenty years and they are allegedly hypoallergenic, however as Dudette says above, hypoallergenic just means that they are less allergic than other cats - there is no such thing as a cat that is completely hypoallergenic. On the whole this has meant that people who are severely allergic to cats can be in our house for an hour or two, whilst those who are mildly allergic can live with them (we've had two live-in au pairs who had mild cat allergies who have been fine).

My instinct would be to have the allergy tests done and see what comes back, but if he's allergic then he's allergic, no matter how hypoallergenic a particular cat is!!  The test will however be able to say whether he's allergic to cat hair, the household dust that they carry in their fur, or the Feld1 proteins.  That being said, I think that one of the cat foods - (Purina?) are now saying that they have developed a cat food that includes a protein that attaches to the Feld1 and therefore stops the allergy - might be worth looking into if you decide to go ahead.

Jonny

[Starr]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with your Bengals and first poster with Siberians

Yes, we shall go for a Cat Allergy test and I want my husband to also have investigations into why his asthma has worsened (not just around cats) in recent years. He had said the paediatrician had advised no dairy as a child but he does have plenty of dairy now. Since I've cut dairy out some years ago - not completely - I do have yoghurt and some cheese occasionally - my general health really improved so I do wonder how certain foods trigger the body's inflammatory responses. but I no expert on these things.

Dudette, thanks for your thoughts on this too. My brother is now only mildly allergic to cats so there is hope that your child's allergy will subside too, fingers crossed. My son has outgrown many of the nuts he was allergic to.

I was never going to get a dog precisely for those reasons - it's a commitment I can't take on now. Would love a cat but we will only take one on of we are sure it is possible.

[mymyherewegoagain]

Hello Starr

Did you get a cat?  I am just looking at your last post about a dog being a commitment.  I have a Bengal - please don't for a moment think that a Bengal is less of a commitment than a dog.  Our Bengal at least needs to be entertained, she yowls, climbs the curtains and  goes to the toilet in random places if she isn't played with during the day.  I love her to bits and wouldn't change her for the world, just wish I could take her for a walk twice a day to get her wiggles out!

[Starr]

No movement on the pet front from us at all yet. We need to have my husband go for the allergy test and with lockdown and rocketing covid rates plus the 2021 11 plus horror show, we haven't managed to at all. But good to know about Bengal's being hard work! ( They are so stunning though) thank you. Someone suggested a Russian Blue as well. Will come back and post if we ever get to test.