Allergies, adopting and Russian blues

[FizzyFeet]

Hello, I'm hoping to get some advice from you knowledgeable ladies! Despite my DH having a mild allergy, we would really love to give a cat a home. A bit of internet research suggests perhaps a Russian blue might be a good choice.

Can anyone tell me:

• will a Russian blue be better for allergies, or is this all wishful thinking
• do cats like this turn up in rescue centres? Ideally I would like to adopt a rescue cat.
• would a rescue centre or breeder let us spend time with the cat to check for allergy levels?
• do you have any advice for other breeds or ways of managing the allergy situation?

TIA for any help you can give.

There are \link{http://www.russianblue.org.uk/welfare.html\Russian Blue Rescue contacts} but I have to say that pedigree rescues often, in my experience, prefer their cats to go to people who are experienced with the breed.

On the matter of allergies, I'll have to leave you to other posters who have more knowledge of that area.

You would have to have a cat for quite a while to know if it caused an allergy. In my experience it takes about 2 weeks which is the time it takes for the allergen to build up on everything. On a positive note I then become less allergic over the next few weeks as my body gets used to the cat.

If allergies are an issue, maybe a Siberian? The medical evidence is so so, but I was allergic to most cats, got fur samples from a Siberian forest cat breeder and eventually went ahead. I've had the little devil for 18m now and after a week or two of mild reactions, I've been fine - and have a lifetime of stories about her ridiculous antics. ( fell in a bubble bath, knocks ornaments off shelves, breaks into soft top cars etc, etc....)

I suspect its wishful thinking.

I have an RB. We had an allergic guest stay last year.
He looked like he had been punched in the face and his eyes ran the whole time. We had gone to town with vacuuming and de-hairing everything. Maybe it only makes a difference if it's a very mild allergy? She is not fluffy and her coat is shorter than average but she is dropping fur like the best of them. Also there are some siamese traits which means they are quite clingy so love close people contact.

You get mixed RBs a lot but ive not seen any pure breeds.

We have had Russian blues for about 25 years. I have never noticed that thay are allergy proof !!! Seem to trigger asthma allergies ect the same as my Siamese :( sorry

It's not the fur that people are allergic to, it's the antigens in the saliva. The cat washes themself, the saliva dries and floats around in the air. These are microscopic, and coat everything. Vacuuming etc makes no difference p, you would have to wash down all the walls & hard surfaces as well as vacuuming. The antigens are tiny & they get into your lungs etc.

My Russian is a lick monster.

Cushions, feet, shoes, your hair, you name it.

Explains a lot!