You may be allergic to cats, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t have one! While individual tolerances vary, many people with cat allergies are actually able to enjoy the company of cats without an adverse impact on their health. If you’re one of them, you’ll need to put a little more time into finding the right cat, and you may need to take some extra care in order to comfortably co-exist with one . . . but if you really want a cat in your life, an allergy may not need to stand in your way.
MY FIRST STEPS TOWARD ALLERGY MANAGEMENT
I only had the pleasure of enjoying my first kitten for about a week before my parents figured out a connection between my increased sneezing and red swollen eyes. And back he went to the shelter. (I was only 4 at the time, so there wasn’t much I could do about the situation!) For many years after that, I read about cats, admired other people’s cats from a safe distance, and dreamed of having my own. Then, one day, my college boyfriend rescued an abused kitten, brought it back to our apartment, and without warning, suddenly deposited it in my lap. As he well knew, there was no way I was going to let go of it. We decided I’d just have to see how quickly I’d develop symptoms and figure out what steps I could take to reduce their impact.
It didn’t take me long to realize that my allergy wasn’t that severe. Yes, I was doing a lot more sneezing, but I noticed that if I was careful not to handle the kitten for too long, and keep my hands away from my face after doing so, my eyes wouldn’t get swollen or itchy. I also began washing my hands after touching him; this was helpful as well. What may have made the most difference overall was ensuring that one room in the apartment – the bedroom — was designated a cat-free zone. The door was always kept closed, and every night, I was able to breathe dander-free air in that room and sleep in a bed that was not tastefully accessorized with cat hair. (Of course, the little guy cried to be let in the first few nights, but it didn’t take him long to realize that it wasn’t going to happen and once he realized we’d come out in the morning and give him more affection — not to mention kibble — he made his peace with it.)
Katmandu, as we named the kitten, was only with us for about three months. When we headed home for summer vacation, Katmandu went with my boyfriend to his parents’ farm, where he proved more effective at catching mice, shrews, and moles than both their resident cats. So there he stayed. Consequently, I don’t know how long these early preventive methods would have kept my allergy symptoms under control, but the seed had been sown. Having a cat was not, as I’d long thought, totally off limits for me.
MORE EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES EVOLVE
Pet-friendly apartments have become increasingly hard to find in my area, so it was nearly 10 years before I was once again able to invite a cat into my living space. This time, I had educated myself about how allergies work and what it is that most cat-allergy sufferers actually react to. I’d also decided to investigate purebred cats, having heard that some breeds are more likely to spark symptoms than others.
By this time, I was married, to another cat lover, of course. To learn more about the different breeds, my husband and I began attending cat shows in our area. Oddly enough, we’d been at our first show for over an hour before I felt the urge to sneeze. When I commented on this to the friendly breeder who was allowing me to pet her Siamese grand champion, she wasn’t surprised. “Most cats are thoroughly bathed before being shown,” she told me. A bath removes dead hair and dander, so a freshly bathed cat is unlikely to spark a major allergy attack.
On further investigation, it turned out that some breeders who work with Oriental-style cats (Siamese, Colorpoint Shorthairs, and Oriental Shorthairs) opt not to bathe their cats just before a show. The short, smooth coats of these breeds are supposed to lie flat and look as though they have been painted on. Bathing may cause such a coat to stand up and look fluffy — not a good thing. Hmm, wasn’t it interesting that I sneezed more often when I was in contact with these breeds?
Longhaired cats, on the other hand, are thoroughly bathed before each show, with some breeds taking as long as three hours to get properly prepped. Those I saw and was given the privilege to handle seemed to have no effect on me. I was also comfortable with many of the non-Oriental shorthaired breeds. This led me to hypothesize that regular bathing might enable a cat to share my condo without endangering my health. And I was right. Since that decision, made back in 1988, I’ve proved my theory hundreds of times over, and been able to help many other allergy sufferers acquire and enjoy feline companionship.
CAT BATHING: IT’S NOT A “MARTIAL ART”
Don’t believe what you read on the internet about cat bathing as a martial art or a great way to get yourself seriously hurt. This may well be true if you don’t know the right way to do it, or if the cat has never previously had a bath. But if you are dealing with a purebred cat from a reputable breeder, it will most likely be familiar with – and fairly tolerant of – the bathing process. Furthermore, the breeder will usually be happy to guide you in the proper bathing method for the particular breed you choose.
Once a cat is bathed, it takes several weeks for the allergens to build up in its coat again. So if you can manage a cat bath every 4-6 weeks, there’s an excellent chance that you’ll be able to keep your allergy symptoms under control. You’ll also gradually build up a tolerance to your cat, and over time, you may be able to extend the interval between baths to the point where you only need two or three a year.
Another reason why allergic people should consider a purebred is that they can benefit from the breeder’s experience with other allergy sufferers. It is important to realize that kittens produce less allergen than adults, so you’ll want to see how you tolerate one or more adults before falling in love with a kitten. If you explain the situation up front, you may be invited to visit the breeder’s home to see how you react to the presence of several cats at once.
You may also want to consider adopting a purebred adult, which is usually far less expensive than buying a kitten. Most breeders have several cats that are no longer being shown or bred; they remain committed to continue caring for these cats, but tend to keep an eye out for possible “retirement” homes for them. Usually, such a placement is on a trial basis and the cat can be returned if the home isn’t a good fit – something that is very difficult to do if you are taking a cat from a shelter! Consequently, this approach can be an excellent solution for an allergic cat lover.
WHAT ABOUT THOSE LESS-ALLERGENIC BREEDS?
There are, indeed, some breeds that have been established as easier for many allergic people to live with. However, genetically engineered cats aside, there is no such thing as a truly hypoallergenic breed. Furthermore, allergies are individual issues and people may react strongly to one breed and not others, so I believe it’s unrealistic to have any expectations along these lines. It’s a lot smarter to use the strategies I mentioned earlier.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t investigate these “less-allergenic” breeds, only that you should understand that there’s no magic-bullet answer that fits everyone. The length of the cat’s hair or the amount of shedding that it does appears not to make much of a difference; most allergic people react not to the hair, but to proteins found in cats’ sebaceous glands and saliva. While the usual culprit is a protein called Fel D1, people have also been known to react to other proteins, which further explains the wide variation in individual sensitivities.
The “rex” gene in cats produces three different breeds with curly or wavy coats: the shorthaired Cornish Rex and Devon Rex, and the Selkirk Rex, which is available in both longhaired and shorthaired varieties. A “rexed” coat is softer and generally less dense than a straight coat, and these cats aren’t heavy shedders. This may help explain why they are popular with many allergy sufferers, but as I said earlier, they don’t work for everyone. Sadly, it’s been estimated that 25% of the rexed cats that come into purebred rescue organizations were surrendered by allergic owners.
You might think that the Sphynx, which has no hair except on the bridge of its nose, would be a good choice for allergy sufferers, but for many (myself included) the absence of a coat increases the level of exposure to sebum and saliva, and could actually prompt a more severe reaction. Although the coat of the majestic Siberian enables it to withstand the worst of the Russian winter, it is also generally considered a good choice for allergy sufferers. Like all cats, a Siberian grooms itself with its tongue, depositing saliva on its coat, but due to a recessive gene unique to the breed, its saliva has a lower concentration of Fel D1 than that of other cats. Again, though, since some people are sensitive to other proteins, there are no guarantees a Siberian will work for you.
As a long-time breeder of Russian Blues, I am often asked if this breed is hypoallergenic. While I am not aware of any scientific evidence for this belief, I do know that Russians tend to shed heavily twice a year, rather than lightly all year round, so it is possible that extra vacuuming during the shedding seasons can make it easier to manage the level of allergens in the house.
With all these breeds, my advice is to proceed with caution and assess your sensitivity through hands-on experience before you make any commitment. But remember, through bathing and other management strategies, there’s a good chance that you’ll find a way to live with whatever breed you fall in love with.
