Allergy-Free Pets No More?

Some allergies can be treated by exposure to the allergen...under medical supervision of course.

Having said that, I grew up with dogs, but visited a grandparent with a longhaired cat. If I got a cat hair in my eye, then itching, swelling and redness resulted. My sister only had to touch the cat to get the symptoms.

We both now have pet cats, including longhairs. I regularly get cat hairs in my eyes, with no more effect than that you would expect from a (relatively) large foreign body in your eye.

I want one of those Siberian Blues, they're sooo cute!

Exposure is an interesting suggestion; unfortunately, it doesn't work for everyone. My boyfriend grew up with cats and dogs and also received allergy shots through his teens. He's still quite allergic to them. His cousin dealt with the same situation and yet still suffers from asthma related to dander and dust mite allergies.

Needless to say we run several air purifiers our house, which has 2 beagles and a cat. I sweep the non-carpeted first floor daily in addition to hepa-vacuuming the other levels of the house bi-weekly. That helps keep most of the allergy symptoms at bay - that and minimal contact with the pets, of course!

Good point. I should have stressed the "not for everyone" thing.

I'm allergic to gluten and exposure isn't going to cure that !

How awful for the people who thought they'd finally be able to have a cat despite allergies! If you were going to pay that much money, you clearly really wanted to be cat person. For them not to deliver is just unacceptable. I feel bad also for the man whose pricey kitty still bothered his allergies. It would be incredibly sad that after the whole process of getting one, he had to give it up.

You gave some good examples of cats who are hypoallergenic, but at the risk of sounding like a cat lady, I'd also suggest watching the show Cats 101 on the Animal Plant channel (where available) if you're considering choosing a breed. The show highlights all the important facts on each type of cat, including ranges of the hypoallergenic protein, grooming requirements, and so on. I believe there is a Dogs 101 also.

When I was really young we used to have a cat that lived in my house. But with my father's allergies and asthma combo, it made it nearly impossible to have a cat live with us. When we moved to a multi-story house, we kept a cat that would live in the basement, but not in the house. She was also an outdoor cat. Having her live in a specific part of the house where my father (and later, my sister) could control how long they were in an allergy triggering environment. Although it may not be as comfortable as being upstairs with us humans (the basement does have a heat source via pellet stove), the cats seem to have no complaints. It is possible to live with pets, it just may not be in such an intimate setting as in your living room.

Jaxy, I agree, it's a good compromise. Our dogs are restricted to the first floor - no carpet and the couches are leather - so there's little surface area for dander to embed itself. The pet bedding and curtains are the only "soft surfaces" and are washed frequently. The air feels clean on that level of the house and most people with pet allergies aren't bothered, even with the dogs in the room.

WOW!! $5000 hmmm

My wife is not charging enough for Maltese pups.