low to no allergy cats?

[Anonymous]

pp here who posted the link above to the hypoallergenic cats...op, my dd also desperately wants a cat, but i am allergic. ultimtely, i decided i could not justify 7k on a cat - what if it dies? 7k down the toilet. i told my dd that when we move to a larger place, i will get her a cat that can live outdoors.

[Anonymous]

http://www.devonrexbreedclub.com/rescue2.html

"Gracie" is in the DC area - it appears she is free to a good family? Loves kids...(I've been trying to talk my husband into her, as it happens, our DD wants a kitty - but we are all allergic)!

How about a little pig?

[Anonymous]

My husband is allergic to cats but loves them. He was terribly allergic to my Siamese when we met. When she died, he insisted we get another cat. We found an older Cornish Rex at a breeder and then another. My husband does very well, even with the two cats sleeping on our bed. Now that our daugther was just diagnosed with cat allergy, we're taking extra caution by not allowing cats in bedrooms, cleaning meticulously, using an air purifier, etc. So far, so good. Her allergist doesn't recommend getting rid of our cats, as she has developed a tolerance to them already, but being careful with other unfamiliar cats. My advice would be to visit a Devon, Cornish or Sphinx cattery and see how you react. Keep in mind that no cat is truly hypoallergenic, but cats that don't shed as much or at all have less chance of leaving their dander (skin and saliva) on everything. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

The hypoallergenic cats only work for some kind of cat allergies (are you allergic to dander? saliva? etc). The misery of living with a cat when you have an allergy can be unbearable (I lasted just under 3 months). I don't recommended - weekly shots and an inhaler.

No cat - no allergies.

I hear dogs are nice

[Anonymous]

I have VERY bad allergies to cats. If I go into a home where I don't know the people have a cat, I can tell you that they do in 5 minutes.

However, I am definitely better with long hair cats. I find it takes me longer to react to...for whatever reason. My friend has a Maine Coon and I have been able to tolerate her cat for 20 minutes as opposed to 5. That said, I am still allergic.

I have heard that Siberian cats tend to be better for people with allergies, but I can't vouch for that as I have never been around one.

My cousin is pretty allergic to cats, but decided she wanted to adopt 2. So she suffered for about 2-3 weeks with allergies and now they don't bother her as much anymore. She has built an immunity to them. She will tell you she "willed the allergies away"...but it's basically like an allergy shot, as she was exposing herself to the allergen on a daily basis.

If you want to test the waters and maybe borrow a cat for a week or so, try that....but if you don't think you can tolerate it, I would definitely not buy one.

Non-shedding dogs are nice!!!

[Anonymous]

Rabbits?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are cats that have pelts rather than fur, which helps some people. There are those creepy hairless cats, as well. However, most cat allergies are a reaction either to the shed skin, or to the saliva, and not to the fur itself.

Some outfit claimed to have bred hypoallergenic cats a few years ago, but I'm not sure how true that was. And anyway, they're crazy expensive... at least a couple thousand dollars.

Cats clean themselves by licking and it is the saliva that people are allergic to so I doubt there is any such thing as a no allergy cat.

[Anonymous]

There are definitely cats that are more allergenic and less allergenic though. I had two, and one (the longer haired one) did not trigger nearly as many allergies as the shorter haired one. DH is allergic, and when we went on vacation, we bought the longer-haired one with us (long story -- he was sick and I didn't want to leave him), and DH wasn't affected at all. Of course, then that cat died, and now we are left with the other one, who makes DH miserable.

So, there's no exact science, but yes, some people can tolerate some cats, but not others. I wonder if you can try to live w/ a cat on a trial basis, to see how bad your allergies are. I doubt shelters will let you, but private organizations that foster cats and kittens may. Ask around!