Hypoallergenic cat breeds

[hungryheidi]

Hi all

I've always been a cat lover, and until 8 years ago always had cats. I'm now thinking of getting another cat to join our family (me, DH and 3 kids ages 2, 6 and 7). However, DH is allergic to them. He is keen to have a cat as well but we obviously can't have one if it's going to make him unwell!

I would normally go for a rescued crossbreed, but was wondering if a low allergen cat breed would be better? Has anyone had any experience with this?? It would need to be a breed that is generally happy around children as well.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!

I honestly don't think there is any such thing. I personally cope better with longhaired cats than shorthairs and have a Maine Coon but my allergies are pretty mild. My brother in law had a horrible reaction to my cat though. I've read people claim online that the breed are hypoallergenic but I have yet to meet one that I don't react to at all. I've also seen claims that Sphynx cats are low allergen but I personally find they provoke my allergies really badly. I've lived with cats before for many many years so knew I could live with the allergies. I wouldn't have got a cat unless I was certain the allergies were manageable. Could you borrow a cat for a bit (maybe babysit one whilst their family are on holiday) to see how bad the allergies are?

Thanks for your reply. I know his allergy is pretty bad from when we visit people with cats. His symptoms generally improve when he's around a certain cat for a long time, but I'm reluctant to risk getting a cat and then having to rehome it because his allergy is too bad.

I was just reading about Siberian cats, and they appear to be generally better for allergy sufferers and good with kids. I was thinking of contacting a breeder so we could spend a bit of time with this breed of cat to see how DH copes?

Mine are British shorthairs, and meant to be less allergy inducing and my DP copes with them better than other breads plus they are a lovely temperament of cat :) but I'm biased of course.

I have recently started using a anti-allergy thing on them, as DP asthma has been a bit bad recently to see if this helps and it has helped a bit, it's called pet cleanse the one I got was from amazon for cats and small pets by bio-life about £12

Breeds not breads :)

Lol

My Siberian's are supposed to be hypoallergenic.

And they're fluffy...

I have a Siberian. Most cats make me explode but not her. Our breeders are in Cambridgeshire. We let people meet our CatBaby to see how their allergies react.

And she's very good with our HumanBaby

I had also heard Siberians are both hypoallergenic and very lovely. It's second hand info though as I'm not allergic.

Perhaps you and DH to spend some time with a rescue cat that's tugged on your heartstrings, and see if cat provokes his allergies. But saying that, there will be other cats' dander in the air...

The other route is to visit breeders, and spend time with them to see if it sets off DH's allergy. No cat is hypoallergenic, and a decent breeder will make that clear to you, and let DH spend time with their cats.

I have a "hypoallergenic" cat, a Devon Rex. His breed love company, whether it be dogs, other cats or noisy small humans. Most important that the breeder allows you to spend time with them first. I chose a Devon Rex because of their companionable nature. They're literally bomb proof - madly playful, but will deal with anything in a chilled out fashion. I have an incredibly neurotic moggy, who he's won over.

I believe Siamese/Orientals, Balinese, Norwegians, and Siberians can be less likely to set off allergies. All depends on the person though.

Any waaay.. here's a gratuitous photograph of my little pixie/alien cat.

I have a Siberian. No idea if she's hypoallergenic as we aren't allergic but I have read that they are. just wanted to say she's lovely and we adore her. She's been amazing with my one year old DD too and is so fluffy and gorgeous :)

We have a gorgeous, gorgeous in my unbiased opinion 18 month old Siberian. We got him precisely because DH has a moderate cat allergy. He can cope with short visits to other cat owners but it would certainly have made life very uncomfortable with an ordinary moggy. He has had minimal bother with Bogbastard, despite them being as Joffrey says, insanely floofy. Most breeders will let you go and cuddle one before you commit to taking a kitten - we did.

In terms of suitability for kids Ive only had one Siberian but if he is typical I couldn't recommend them more highly. He is so laid back I sometimes think he's actually a cushion disguised as a cat, and stands the adoration of a 6 and 9 year old with great equanimity. A cross word is a very rare thing from him. Even better, he's really people focused and loves them back. DS was off school with a nasty cold today and BB was clearly delighted to have one of his small humans at home. He spent most of the day sitting on the sofa as close to DS as he could get.

Oh and mine was a rescue cat too. She'd been abandoned on the street :(

Interestingly i have a friend who is allergic to cats.

She is not allergic to our cat in our house- wood floors, painted walls. Carpets only upstairs- she's never been up there.

We recently moved to temporary housing and it's a smaller house, carpeted downstairs, wallpaper etc. She sneezes and shows all the allergy symptoms in this house. Same cat- one of the breeds on garden's list, a cross though.

Of course it could be unrelated and theres something else in the house, but it did make me wonder if being able to sweep and wash down the floors and walls regularly keeps the cat hairs and bodily products to a minimum, where they stick to carpet.

It's not unusual for cat owners to become desensitised to their own cats, but it's a risk getting a cat and hoping he becomes "immune"...

Dh is allergic to our Bengal, so are both dn. I keep anti histamines in for all of them because they're all terrible for fussing the cat then touching their eyes.

I'm allergic to one of our two sister cats! I would worry about the idea of non allergy inducing fur. It's often not the fur that people are allergic to.

As someone that discovered I have an allergy to cats 6 years after getting my cats, I wouldnt get a cat. My life is hell and my health is suffering.

Thanks for all the comments so far, I'm reading them all with interest and will show them to my DH later. We are in no big rush to get a cat (though I'm super excited!) so am taking my time to research it as best I can so we hopefully won't end up with allergy problems!

The Siberian still looks like a strong contender, but they are very expensive! We'd still consider it if we are as confident as we can be that it is the right cat for us though. A question for those with Siberians. They are quite fluffy, do they need much grooming and do they shed a lot of fur? Also, many articles describe them as 'dog-like'. Are they independent enough to be left at home with someone popping in twice a day to feed them when we go on holiday, or do they need someone to house sit? Also, does anyone know if insurance is a lot more than it would be for a cross breed?

It looks like the next step would be to find a reputable breeder and arrange to go and meet some Siberian cats to see how DH gets on. I've never had pedigree cats before (I'm a moggy lover!), so can anyone advise me on what kind of things to look out for/ask? How do I know if the breeder has a good reputation?

We all seem ok with our cat which we're pretty sure is a Bengal ( he was a stray)

Another compromise is to adopt a couple of semi-feral cats and have them live outside? Rescues are crawling with them as most can't be found pet homes.

I would have considered a semi feral cat before I had kids, but I really want a cat who can be part of the family so the kids have a pet as a companion. I want them to grow up learning how great pets can be for people, and vice versa. They have never had a pet, so don't really 'get it'.

I have 1 moggy and a pedigree, both allowed outdoors. There's literally just a couple of quid difference in their insurances.

Aren't you meant to keep Siberians indoors? All the breeders websites I've looked at say that they mustn't be allowed outside, but as someone with lots of allergies, it's really important that I sit the house properly, so keeping ground floor winders closed is a big no no.