SIberian Cats & Allergies

[krispy]

The OH is desperate for a cat or dog of some sort to liven up the place. I'd love a dog but, unfortunately, we're out and about too much for that to be viable so a cat is the only possibility at the moment. However, and it is a big however, I am pretty allergic to them and have to be extremely careful when visiting anyone who has cats to avoid fairly unpleasant swollen red eyes / streaming nose / asthma-type effects. Move on to this afternoon, and she reads that Siberian cats are claimed to be hypoallergenic, apparently because they produce less of a particular protein in their saliva.

So, has anyone here got a Siberian cat or have any experience of them? I'm skeptical they can be THAT much better than other moggies...

[tinman0]

You could find a breeder and go spend an hour round their house and see what happens. They'll have loads of rejects wandering round the place and if you are gonna get a reaction - it should happen there. If you are up front with a breeder I don't think they'll mind either as you are a potential buyer for one of their moggies and they want to know its going to a good home.

[krispy]

Hmm, that's what I was thinking of doing. Some breeders seem to offer fur samples but that's not going to give the same sort of total immersion effect that you get from actually living with one....

[4hero]

You really need to spend some quality time with a specific breed before buying. I'm in the same boat, watery eyes, itchy throat etc. However, after spending a few weekends at a cousins house (they have 2 siamese) I had none of the symptoms. I now have two lovely little kittens and have no allergy issues at all

She's camera shy




Of course, you could pay well over the odds for a hypoallergenic cat!

[daveenty]

4hero said:

She's camera shy

Yeah right

4hero said:

Of course, you could pay well over the odds for a hypoallergenic cat!

That is a cute cat. I really would love one, but the lifestyle dictates otherwise unfortunately.

Another couple of years to retirement and I can let one boss me about for a while with a bit of luck.