Cat for someone allergic to cats?

aggypanthus

Its madness to let your wife suffer! Myself and lots of family members have cat and animal allergies, its no fun.
I suggest a rabbit kept outside . The entire environment is affected by the cat living indoors, its not just when the cat is close to you, the dander is everywhere. We breathe it in. its horrendous not being able to breathe.

meritaten

sorry - I cant recommend a cat if your wife is allergic both to fur and saliva. you do realise that your wife could go into anaphylactic shock and die? dramatic? yes, but it happens. why take the risk? I say this as a cat lover and a mother of an asthmatic who is allergic to dogs but not cats. he got licked by a dog and ended up in intensive care. he was lucky to be alive. I cant understand why you would take that risk?

RazWaz

I'm allergic and asthmatic. I've found I'm tolerating my three shorthair kittens a lot better than I have been long-hairs (no swelling/itching eyes). I do still react mildly, but I knew that before I got them and was prepared to put up with it.

I've had a string of chest infections since I got them (4 in the last 3 months), my doctor thinks it's unrelated but I'm not sure you should be taking that chance. It's not enough for me to want to give them back, but that's because they basically cured my depression. Not sure I'd feel the same in other circumstances, but what's done is done and these kittens have a home for life with me.

Maybe hamsters or rabbits, or a small breed of dog would be better for your family.

Bluebell1000

My husband is allergic to cats. We sadly had our cat put to sleep yesterday after 4 happy years with us. How did we manage his allergy? We used Petal Cleanse. It seems to work for most people - though not all. And not all cats would tolerate it either. We had to pretty much soak Bessie in it once a week for the first few months. After that hubby became tolerant enough that we didn't need to.

When we got her it was on a fostering basis from Cats Protection - if it didn't work they would have rehomed her. We have found that neutered females are much less allergenic than others - un-nuetered males seemed to set off hubby's asthma most.

Alternatively if you wish to spend stacks of money these cats are specially bred to be allergen free... http://www.allerca.com/

GwylimT

alarmed wrote: »

Can I quietly ask while wife and kids are out of the room what furry type pets(if any) would make good pets for allergen sufferers for the childrens sake?

Thanks again
x

Poodles, they don't shed their hair and they don't produce dander.

stir_crazy

GwylimT wrote: »

Poodles, they don't shed their hair and they don't produce dander.

Or any of the "-oodle" cross breeds as I believe they have been bred to produce pets with the qualities of specific breeds but with the poodle fur for the reason above.

Person_one

stir_crazy wrote: »

Or any of the "-oodle" cross breeds as I believe they have been bred to produce pets with the qualities of specific breeds but with the poodle fur for the reason above.

Most of the poodle crosses are heavy shedders with completely unmanageable coats! They do seem to have lovely temperaments for the most part, but its complete pot luck as to how allergenic they are.

There are loads of dog breeds that are suitable for allergy sufferers, there's no need to take unnecessary risks.

As for that 'Allerca' site...:eek:

stir_crazy

Person_one wrote: »

Most of the poodle crosses are heavy shedders with completely unmanageable coats! They do seem to have lovely temperaments for the most part, but its complete pot luck as to how allergenic they are.

There are loads of dog breeds that are suitable for allergy sufferers, there's no need to take unnecessary risks.

As for that 'Allerca' site...:eek:

I had heard that a few were born with regular coats but in the main, the fur was hypoallergenic? As an aside, my SIL had a labradoodle and he had poodle fur.

Person_one

stir_crazy wrote: »

I had heard that a few were born with regular coats but in the main, the fur was hypoallergenic? As an aside, my SIL had a labradoodle and he had poodle fur.

Where did you hear that? Most of them don't breed 'true' yet, so its a complete gamble. They can be anywhere between the two coats, and most I've seen are seriously shaggy!

Why take the chance when there are plenty of genuinely non-shedding breeds available? There's plenty to choose from, not just poodles, although I've never understood why so many people seem to hate poodles anyway, they're lovely dogs.

Not to mention the fact that (most, not all) breeders of crosses won't be the most ethical.

catkins

stir_crazy wrote: »

Or any of the "-oodle" cross breeds as I believe they have been bred to produce pets with the qualities of specific breeds but with the poodle fur for the reason above.

NO please do not go for a labradoodle or any other doodle. They often do shed fur like crazy although you often do not know this until they get their adult coat. People get them and they are ok as puppies, then once their adult coat starts coming through and they start moulting people get rid of them.

Someone I know who has a lot to do with dog rescue said labradoodles are fast becoming one of the most common dogs in rescue