I had a cat when I was younger, best cat in the world. Unfortunately I became allergic to her in my early 20s, and gave her over to my parents to take care of. She died over a year ago from cancer at age 15.
I've really been missing the presence of a feline companion these days, and really want to get a cat, but it has to be at least somewhat hypoallergenic, or less bad than normal cats. Anyone else in my same situation have a cat that doesn't make your allergies flare up too much?
Hard mode: Would like a cat with long fur, not interested in hairless/short hair breeds. Supposedly most of the allergy comes from their saliva and not their dander, anyway.
petMD lists the Siberian Forest Cat (pictured) as one such long-haired option, anyone have experience with them?
Alright anon listen up
what causes allergic reactions to cats is not their fur. It does not matter if a cat has long or short fur. Or even a hairless cat. Doesn't matter. What causes reactions is a protein in their saliva. And not all cats have the same level, some have a fuckton, some have so little that they trigger minor or no reactions. And the gene that controls this is quite a mystery still. Even cats from the same litter can have drastically different production levels of this in their saliva. And the levels that the parents produce seem to have no effect on the offspring.
the only evidence that certain breeds of cat produce less allergens is anecdotal and not that reliable. I do remember a study that supposedly showed a breed of cat to produce less (oriental shorthair I think?), but it was also the breedclub of that cat that was behind it, so there is a conflict of interest to say the least and not the best info to go by
so, if you want a cat to not trigger your allergies, you have to just meet adult cats and see if you have a reaction. Kittens are a no-go since kittens are known to typically produce less of the allergen when they're young, then more when they grow up. So you wouldn't know if they really are okay with your allergies until they've grown up
Good luck OP
>>2294117
Exposure can reduce your symptoms. I discovered I was pretty allergic to cats when I volunteered at my local animal shelter to the point where I wanted to rip my face off. I took some over the counter allergy meds like zyrtec and continued going once a week. After about a year I forgot to take it and noticed it wasn't any where near as bad as it used to be. Now I still get some symptoms when brushing the cat I adopted but nothing a quick face wash doesn't fix.
I've heard the allergy claim before on Animal Planet but I don't know if it is really reliable or not.
>>2294125
I've never heard of this proposition/theory, or whatever. do you have a source article or anything? where did you learn this? I'm intrigued
>>2294144
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/cat-allergies#1-2
Time to start getting allergy shots.