Cat allergy

[stilllovingmysleep]

Hi all, we are wanting to get our first kitten and planning for that. Both my parents have (mild) allergy to car fur though, plus my DC used to have (mild) asthma as baby/toddler (over it now).
To be on the safe side, wanted to research cats that are ok for allergies? If there are any? Ideas? Any other thing I should know about cat allergies? Haven't had the test myself and haven't had any reaction to neighbours' cat who I've been feeding and stroking etc

No such thing as a hypoallergenic cat OP.
Some people react to fur and some to other things like the saliva of cats.
I am actually allergic to one of my two almost identical sister cats.

Norwegian forests are suppised to be good. But both ds and dh are allergic to cats and got "used" to our rescue cat

Good to hear people have cats even though they have allergies and still ok x

Siberian forest cats are supposed to be good for people with allergies

I would really worry about getting a cat and then having to rehome it due to allergies.
Maybe spend some time with specific breeds and see what happens. The trouble is that no one can guarantee a person who is allergic won't react to a particular cat or that allergies won't get worse.

if you are unsure don't do it.
it's miserable.
the drugs against allergies are not without side effects.

maybe visit a cat shelter for 'concentrated' exposure. if any one of you starts sniffing/eye rubbing/coughing cats are not the pets for you.

Same here. DD allergic to cats but is immuned to ours unless she is tired or generally under the weather. I do take precautions like not letting our cat into her room etc.

There are cats that induce less reactions but none are completely hypoallergenic. Be aware that some pet hair allergies get worse with age, I would think carefully about getting a cat that you may have to the take away later.

Also how allergic are your parents? My mum can only be in a cat house for half an hour or so even if it's very thoroughly cleaned before hand.

I've always been allergic to cats but I always build up a tolerance to them after a few weeks.

I'm allergic to cats but I have this little man in my life. It varies cat by cat for me - a couple of years ago I was hospitalised by an allergic reaction to a cat. I seem to be able to look at some cats and keel over. Others can sleep on my face and I wouldn't know it.

It's a risk, certainly but even if I had to take anti-histamines every day in order to keep my gorgeous boy I would!

I realise my response isn't that helpful!

There are no hypoallergenic cats. I've heard people say that Siberians are low allergen compared to other breeds. Apparently lighter coloured cats are less allergenic than darker coloured too, no idea why (could well be a myth). I react far worse to short-haired cats than long-haired cats. That may sound counter-intuitive but all the allergic people that I know are better with longhaired cats. I got an adult Maine Coon from a rescue centre. She doesn't set off my allergies too badly but she definitely isn't allergen free. She is longhaired and white and grey smoke (all of her hairs are white at the bottom).
The main thing though is that she doesn't scratch, ever. She has the sweetest temperament of any cat I've ever met and that really helps as cat scratches often trigger allergic reactions. In your position I would definitely avoid a kitten and get an adult cat as all kittens scratch and it's impossible to know whether they'll grow out of it or continue to be scratchy cats. If you get an adult cat from a rescue they'll be able to give you a much better idea of the cat's temperament. When I was growing up my parents always got kittens rather than adult rescues and it really is hard to judge the personality you'll end up when they reach adulthood. One of our cats was a lovely little kitten but grew up to be skittish, scratchy, unpredictable and awful around children. Visiting children were all terrified of her, she could be very sweet but if she decided she'd had enough just clawed people to pieces.

Ultimately I think it comes down to how bad the allergies are. My allergies are very manageable but they aren't linked to asthma. I'm not sure I'd risk having a cat if it was affecting my breathing.

There's no way of telling. I developed an allergy to ours after previously being fine. It makes me miserable and reliant on mega cleaning and anti histamines.

Maybe it's a risk you think is worth taking. I wouldn't go there personally but I never wanted a cat in the first place.