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Hairless Cats?
I love cats and really want a kitten but have noticed whenever I am at my
sisters, if she has been vigilant with the vacuum, my nose starts to itch. What's the deal with hairless cats? Are they good pets? TIA Sammy |
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"Sammy" wrote in message . com... I love cats and really want a kitten but have noticed whenever I am at my sisters, if she has been vigilant with the vacuum, my nose starts to itch. What's the deal with hairless cats? Are they good pets? TIA Sammy Sammy: the hairless breeds are just cats without hair. They all make lovely pets. However, it is my understanding that cats' saliva is a major allergen for some, also. I am allergic to cats and I live with two, and always have my face in theirs, too. I sleep with one of them. I take Claritin and have recently begun using an Advair inhaler as I was diagnosed with Asthma last week. Using these two medicines I am symptom free. (I was diagnosed when my first cat was age 15 or so, and would never have considered getting rid of her. She died at 20, and two months later I had adopted another. In the interim another stray found us.) My allergy to cats is the strongest I have, according to the pin prick test they do on the back. The doctor described it as between moderate and severe. I would never be without cats due to the joy they bring. Also, if Claritin does not work for you there is Zyrtec and many other medications. That said, I hope you will consider adopting one of the many kittens in your area who are waiting for homes in shelters or may be "on death row" at the pound. My shelter kitty is the most wonderful creature on earth. |
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On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 23:03:42 GMT, "Mary"
wrote: "Sammy" wrote in message .com... I love cats and really want a kitten but have noticed whenever I am at my sisters, if she has been vigilant with the vacuum, my nose starts to itch. What's the deal with hairless cats? Are they good pets? TIA Sammy Sammy: the hairless breeds are just cats without hair. They all make lovely pets. However, it is my understanding that cats' saliva is a major allergen for some, also. CNN has a story about a company in California taking deposits on genetically engineered hypoallergenic kittens to become available in 2007 ... at US$3500 each, neutered. http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/10/27/biotechnology.cats/index.html -- T.E.D. ) |
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wrote in message
. com... I love cats and really want a kitten but have noticed whenever I am at my sisters, if she has been vigilant with the vacuum, my nose starts to itch. What's the deal with hairless cats? Are they good pets? TIA Sammy Sammy you are referring to Sphynx Cat, I have a friend who owns 2 and her husband is still allergic to them, not so bad though. http://www.catworld.co.uk/articlecat...0profile& pre check the above site out. Sphynx cats are very affectionate, and needs loads of human contact. Have you tried using the allergy sprays, shampoo's etc? SooZy |
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"Sammy" wrote in message . com... I love cats and really want a kitten but have noticed whenever I am at my sisters, if she has been vigilant with the vacuum, my nose starts to itch. What's the deal with hairless cats? Are they good pets? TIA Sammy It's not the hair that most folks are allergic to. It's the dander, which are the skin flakes along with the dried saliva. A hairless cat is still going to trigger an allergenic reaction in someone who is allergic. However, you should see an allergist and ask about allergy shots and medications. Allergies CAN be controlled. My husband is allergic to cats and dogs. WE have 9 cats and he manages very well. But, adding even a teensy dog puts him over the edge and he can't deal with it. 9-10 cats is his body's limit for cats. He had allergy shots as a youth and is on medication today. Please DO NOT GET A CAT until you know your allergies are under control. Cats are constantly dumped at shelters with this excuse. Yes, it's valid in the case of the 4 year old child whose airway swelled up and threatened to stop her breathing after the cat licked her neck. But, in your case, it would be cruelty. You already know you're allergic. Don't push the envelope unless you're activly managing your allergy. And test that management by visiting your friend or a local shelter. Don't test it on an innocent cat that you'd have to dump. |
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Sammy wrote in message .com...
I love cats and really want a kitten but have noticed whenever I am at my sisters, if she has been vigilant with the vacuum, my nose starts to itch. What's the deal with hairless cats? Are they good pets? There are several breeds of cats (with hair!) with a naturally low count of the protein that causes most peoples' allergies. I have a friend who's pretty badly allergic, but she has no reaction to her Siberian unless he actually licks her, and she has little or no allergic reaction to Devon Rexes, either. http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dumm...bcat-PETS.html Fel D1 is a protein in the kitten's saliva that causes allergies. When she grooms herself, the protein attaches to cat dander. So, there's no such thing as a hypoallergenic kitten. But if your allergies aren't severe and you would like to have a cat, you may have some options. * Go girl: Girl kitties tend to produce a lot less of the Fel D1 protein. * Get him clipped: Neutered males make less Fel D1 than intact males. * Buy an allergy-friendly breed: Some breeds appear to produce less of the protein including the Cornish, Devon, Selkirk Rex, Sphynx, and Siberian. |
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I'm totally allergic to cats, but some cats are definitely worse than
others. Short haired cats cause way fewer problems for me than long haired ones do - maybe it's because there's less hair to collect dander? I don't think that my problem is with the saliva - cats licking my face is no problem, but petting cats and then touching my face before washing my hands is a recipe for hours of watering, itching eyes and a runny nose. Allergist told me to get rid of my cat. I told him to get lost. He told me to ban it from the bedroom. I asked how he'd respond if his wife told him that. He told me then that if I insisted on having the cat, and letting it in the bedroom, that I was going to...brace yourselves...BATHE the cat every other day. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. "It's clear that you've never owned a cat" I said. "Oh, I'm sure it's no problem," he said. "Just do it like you would with a dog. Put it on a leash and take it out onto the driveway and hose it off. I'm sure it will be fine." It was the funniest thing I'd heard all month, maybe all year... Things that help if you insist on letting the cat share the bedroom (heh heh: try sharing the pillow!): prescription antihistamines (better living through chemistry!!). If you get itchy eyes, there is a prescription antihistamine eyedrop that is safe to use daily (Patanol) and works very, very well for me (and is safe for contact lens wearers too). One thing that seems to make a HUGE difference for me is to run a HEPA air filter in the bedroom next to the bed. I don't have a huge one, the tabletop versions seem to work pretty well for me, and I sure notice a difference when I don't run it. On 28 Oct 2004 07:57:37 -0700, (Jennifer) wrote: Sammy wrote in message .com... I love cats and really want a kitten but have noticed whenever I am at my sisters, if she has been vigilant with the vacuum, my nose starts to itch. What's the deal with hairless cats? Are they good pets? There are several breeds of cats (with hair!) with a naturally low count of the protein that causes most peoples' allergies. I have a friend who's pretty badly allergic, but she has no reaction to her Siberian unless he actually licks her, and she has little or no allergic reaction to Devon Rexes, either. http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dumm...bcat-PETS.html Fel D1 is a protein in the kitten's saliva that causes allergies. When she grooms herself, the protein attaches to cat dander. So, there's no such thing as a hypoallergenic kitten. But if your allergies aren't severe and you would like to have a cat, you may have some options. * Go girl: Girl kitties tend to produce a lot less of the Fel D1 protein. * Get him clipped: Neutered males make less Fel D1 than intact males. * Buy an allergy-friendly breed: Some breeds appear to produce less of the protein including the Cornish, Devon, Selkirk Rex, Sphynx, and Siberian. |
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"Jennifer" wrote in message om... * Buy an allergy-friendly breed: Some breeds appear to produce less of the protein including the Cornish, Devon, Selkirk Rex, Sphynx, and Siberian. You're right. The reason I've got two Devon Rex cats today, is that a friend of mine had a landlord who was allergic to cats. So if she wanted to have a cat, it had to be one he could accept. She found a breeder having Devon Rex cats. Success! But what had this got to do with me and my choice of cats? Well, my wife accompanied our friend when she was picking up the cat from the breeder, she fell in love with another kitten from the litter and... The rest is some kind of history. My wife and I split up, and we now have two Devons each, and we look after each other's cats when necessary. We just love them because of their temper and their beauty and... Well, I'm absolutely sold! Hans |
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