[shaved_women]

I recently found out this summer that I am allergic to cats. I thought I might be because my mom is. I get nasty bumps in many places of exposed skin after being in close contact with cats.

It's really terrible, because I <3 cats. I was visiting a friend in Ohio and I was taking a nap and her cat Sprout nuzzled up right against my head and woke me up. It was the cutest thing ever

I talked to a friend about the allergies, and she said there's some sort of breeding of cats without the thing people are allergic to. Does anyone know more about this?

 

[Thalia]

I am allergic to cats. It's my biggest allergy. However-- I have had shots, and I keep myself constantly exposed. After a couple weeks being exposed to a new cat, I acclimate.

Also, one can shampoo a cat with special shampoo which reduces the allergens.

If your friends cat could nuzzle you and it didn't bother you too much, then what's the problem? Why not live with a little irritation.

As for the special cats-- most people here will say the same thing as I will- why support breeding more animals? Why have a cat if you are not giving a cat in need of a home a home? I think it makes more sense to do what you can to relieve your allergies and give a home to a cat from a shelter than to pay a breeder for a special cat that wouldn't have been bred if people weren't going to pay for them.

 

[nkace]

I am allergic to cats, dogs, basically anything you breathe (dust, trees, grass) & I have been on a variety of allergy medicines for like over a decade.

I would never give up having animals personally. Having long haired doesn't even phase me

I think there are dogs that have hair not fur, cats may not have the same thing except for a sphynx which has no hair.

 

[Shantih]

I've met a few cats and dogs that have been bred so people aren't allergic to them, they're lovely, but very expensive, and like everyone has said, you'd be supporting breeders.

Your allergy doesn't sound too bad, my mum has very severe allergies to animal fur and gets very ill if she's even in a house that an animal lives in, even if it isn't in the room. I'd research what you can do to minimise reactions, and also if there's any breeds who's fur would be less irritant, because there's a fair chance that if there are and you search properly, you'll be able to find a rescue that's right for you.

 

[Eclipse]

With all the choices, I'd just not get a cat.

Why make yourself miserable?.

 

[Jessica Alana]

http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/s...llergenic+cats

 

[elibrown]

Well you'd be hard pressed to find a hypoallergenic cat in need of adoption (I'm going to go ahead and assume you don't want to purchase from a breeder). However, if you were able to sleep at someone's house who owned a cat, are your allergies really that bad? Also you said you only recently "found out" you were allergic to cats...this also suggests to me perhaps your allergy might be something you can easily ignore.

 

[shaved_women]

Well, it's still a ways off before I can even think of getting a cat....I've got a year left in college and the dorm policy is no pets. Plus, I don't know if my roommates and I can afford a cat on minimum wage jobs when I move to Michigan after I graduate. So it's a while away to even think of it......

I have no problems being in close contact with cats for short periods of time.....no watery eyes, no sneezing, just these unsightly bumps. My mom says that her tenants have 3 cats and they use that shampoo on them, and she didn't feel allergic to them when visiting them. Plus, I would imagine with continued exposure and research on to different breeds, it wouldn't be a problem.

 

[GhostUser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaved_women

I recently found out this summer that I am allergic to cats. I thought I might be because my mom is. I get nasty bumps in many places of exposed skin after being in close contact with cats.

It's really terrible, because I <3 cats. I was visiting a friend in Ohio and I was taking a nap and her cat Sprout nuzzled up right against my head and woke me up. It was the cutest thing ever

I talked to a friend about the allergies, and she said there's some sort of breeding of cats without the thing people are allergic to. Does anyone know more about this?

I thought the allergies were caused by cat dander (skin) more than hair but I could be wrong or maybe it's both?

When I was a groomer we had people that had dogs/cats that they were allergic to they would have them bathed regularly to keep the dander down. There is also dry shampoo if kitty hates baths (which most cats I bathed loathed it..lol)

Also are you sure it's not fleas? LOL... one year we had a nasty flea infestation after some rains and my daughter was covered in bright red bumpy itchy flea bites!

Peace,

Jen

 

[shaved_women]

I don't know.....it is possible it's fleas....my mom doesn't get bumps from cats.....next time i'm around a cat for extended periods of time, even though it's not tactful, i'm going to ask if the cat has fleas.

 

[dropdeaddale]

I'm going to try to find a link, but apparently they've bred a cat that will cause no such allergies of any kind. I read it online somewhere and on the radio. I am a cat lover myself but once I put my face anywhere near a cat my face EXPLODES into a red fury. These cats cause no allergies but run up to $7,000!

 

[Thalia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elibrown

Well you'd be hard pressed to find a hypoallergenic cat in need of adoption (I'm going to go ahead and assume you don't want to purchase from a breeder). However, if you were able to sleep at someone's house who owned a cat, are your allergies really that bad? Also you said you only recently "found out" you were allergic to cats...this also suggests to me perhaps your allergy might be something you can easily ignore.

That's what I was thinking. And like I said, constant exposure for me really helps. When I went away to college and then came back, I got all stuff, mildly wheezy and watery eyes and nose. But after a week or so it went away. For me it is cat by cat. When my now former boyfriend had me over, I would constantly be blowing my nose because I was not constantly exposed to his cat. When I recently got two new cats, it took about 10 days to adjust to each. Now I am fine.

I also used to get asthma attacks requiring trips to the ER from grass pollen in the spring. I started getting shots at about age 5 and although I still take allergy meds in the spring and fall, I do not have to worry about dying from my allergies!

Believe me, if you didn't even know you were allergic to something, it can't be that bad. I am rarely around horses, but then whenever I am near them, I instantly realize that I am probably allergic. (when I got tested for allergies, I got a list of about 50 things I am allergic to, just about every animal except dogs.)

Allergy people out there know what I'm talking about when I say it's just something that becomes a part of you. I will always have a tissue box within 15 feet at all times. It's something I even warn my potential SOs about- hey, my nose itches, a lot. I have tissues all over the place, a lot.

 

[GhostUser]

Hey There

Count me in I have a bad allergy to cats also...whenever i get around them my eyes water and turn red and swell up and hurt badly...they throb actually...and my nose wont stop running...its not a pretty sight.

I am a person who is allergic to a whole bunch of things from ragweed and cosmetics to soaps and shampoos to mushrooms and some dish soaps and on and on...i am right with you i always have my allergy meds with me along with 2 packs of mini kleenex at all times and a kleenex box is always close other times.

 

[kpickell]

Here, they invented some for you to buy: http://www.allerca.com/

$3950 plus shipping, but you get free soft paws.

 

[soilman]

Breeding programs to create animals or plants with specific characteristics, involve selection of parents with the characteristics, or that they believe may have genes for the characteristic even tho the characteristic is not evident, mating them, then checking the offspring for presence or absence of the characteristic. If the F1 generation (filial 1 generation) have the characteristic, or genes for it, they are bred, to produce an F2 generation. If not, well, us plant breeders, we gnerally eat them, even tho they aren't exactly what we want. Animal breeders must get rid of them somehow. That usually means killing them while they are small.

Modern breeding involves additonal technologies beyond simply obseriving the full organism. It is simply taking cells from developing organisms, and actually determining if they have the correct chromosome (with the correct gene sequence). But it still involves killing animals that don't meet the specifications you are shooting for. There are just too many of them, and no-one knows what to do with them.

The more unusual or a characteristic is, the more animals will have to be bred, and the more failures will be produced, and have to be killed, before you can produce a line of animals that reliably produces the desired characteristic. Producing hypo-allergenic cats undoubtedly involved producing lots and lots of cats that failed to meet the desired qualifications. They did not find an occasional cat that was hypoallergenic, rather, they found an occasional cat that was just slightly less allergenic. After many many trials they gradually reduced the allergenic capacity of the animals. Most likely all their cats that were not hypoallergenic enough, were simply killed.

 

[veggielove]

I love cats. But, my husband is allergic to cats. So, we have no cats.

Sometimes nature limits us from what we want to do, but thats ok. You don't need to suffer from allergies, you don't need to buy expensive designer cats.... just don't have a cat. Especially if you are a student, you have lots of other things to focus on right now. It is nice that your heart has space for loving a little furry animal, but maybe its not the right choice for you right now.