Cats for allergy sufferers

[MyCatIsABiggerBastardThanYours]

My poor old moggy died a while ago and this was the year that I was going to get two kittens (siblings) , having settled in our house and life being right for us to look after and welcome cats.

But, and here's the rub, my DS appears to be allergic to cats. I believe it is long haired cats but still, he definitely reacts (sneezing, eyes running, itchy throat). he didn't have this with our old cat but he was born into the cat already being there so I believe he built up a tolerance .

Obviously DS comes first, but in a last ditch attempt to fill the cat shaped hole in my life I wondered if there were particular breeds of cat that were known to be better for allergy sufferers and thought the collective brain of mumsnet might be able to help.

Ladies, can you help me in my quest?

My Dd is mildly allergic to cats, we had 3 when she was born and we didn't even realise she was allergic until my friends cat had kittens and we went to visit. We only had 1 cost at the time and were considering having 2 of these kittens but I was worried about DD's reaction to the 6 cats at this house.
We agreed that we would visit a few more times and her reaction wasn't so severe so we took 2 kittens on the proviso we couid return them.
Now she is absolutely fine and only sneezes a bit if the cats sleeps on the bed. Which they aren't allowed to.
I don't think that there is any breed that is particularly better for allergy sufferers but logic suggests the less hair the less allergens for something with little or no hair I would think.
However, if your son has a bad reaction to cats then I really wouldn't risk it as it's not worth it and you don't want to be in a position of having to rhome the cat.

My DP is allergic to cats and we've got two siberians - they're actually very fluffy but they've got less of one of the two proteins that people are allergic to as that's what causes the allergy, not the fur.

Siberians are known for being good for allergy sufferers so it's easy to find a breeder that does allergy sittings - you'll need to do this in case your DS reacts to the other protein which they still have! Our allergy sitting cost £25 which was knocked off the price of the cats.

We have just had an allergy sitting for a siberian and after twenty years of catless existence are hoping to get a kitten in August

They cost pedigree prices though which is a shock to the system if your default is owning rescue cats as mine is. Our kitten is likely to be my 40th birthday present! However apparently they are just a few generations removed from the original Russian wildcat so they are not overbred and very intelligent/characterful I understand.

Siberian Cat Club has lots of info.

It's a pretty small sample, but I have a friend with a cat allergy and so does my DD...they both react to my moggy, but not to my Siamese.

A Bengal cat would be perfect. They have pelt, rather than fur and don't shed. My friends had one, and I wasn't anywhere near allergic to it which was a first for me. They're descended from Tigers, and look a bit like them with their stripes

Devon Rexes and Cornish Rexes are less likely to cause allergic reactions. I got my little curly fool last summer, and there hasn't been a dull moment since. Let's just say, they like to be the centre of attention.

Thankyou all, that is great. I didn't know about allergy sittings, what a good idea. Some great breeds there so I shall look into them.

Maybe we won't be a catless house after all.

I don't know about whether Bengals are better for allergy sufferers...but, um , they're absolutely definitely not descended from tigers...

Wouldn't it be amazing if they were though?
They were cross between a domestic cat and some sort of wildcat I believe but sadly not Tigers ( or Lions)

Lol, I call my little tabby moggy tiny tiger sometimes, I'd so get a tiger cat if I could.

Yes it's some sort of wildcat, I want to say Asian leopard cat? They're definitely only a bit bigger than domestic cats anyway.