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Me and my SO would like to adopt a cat, however we have some concerns:

  • Her parents have a cat (russian blue) and I'm quite allergic to it
  • My nose starts running
  • My eyes turn red and become itchy

I used to own a cat years ago when I lived with my parents, however it was a countryside and cat most of the time, obiviously, was living outdoors. There were no issues back then.

Only thing I can think of after doodling and googling around would be allergy to their dandruff (apologies if it's not right word).

Are there any species (I was adviced to adopt siberian cat) that I could live with?

Other things worth mentioning:

  • We live in a 35m2 flat
  • I've head breathing issues since 7 y/o
  • I'm using Salbutamol on daily basis. Mostly once a day

Is there anything else I should consider before adopting?

Evaldas Buinauskas
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3 Answers3

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There are a number of breeds suggested for folks who are mildly allergic. The allergy is usually to a specific protein (fel D1), and breeds differ in how strongly they express this. A websearch for "less allergenic cats" turns up essentially the same list from multiple sources differing mostly in how much additional information they give you about the breeds, but the shortlist is:

  • Balinese-Javanese.
  • Cornish Rex.
  • Devon Rex.
  • Siberian.
  • Sphynx.
keshlam
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get exact tests, they are ussually done for free or at very low prices, its often something very simple which appears around the cat, but isnt really an issue with actually having a cat

ex. i know few people who though were allergic to cats and were in fact allergic to bentonite (cat toilet sand compund), replacing bentonite with special wood chip or gel stone resolved the issue.

Also advice of predecessor is very sound if all else fails

Vercy
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There exist several cat breeds that may not trigger the allergy symptoms as other cats. Those are known as hypoallergenic cats or allergy-friendly cats. Also some people may be more allergic to one specific breed whereas some other may not be allergic to it. It depends on several conditions.

I would recommend you reading the articles on ihypoallergeniccats.com website, especially the article Should I get a Hypoallergenic Cat as it may give you nice overview what you can do.

DavidBreno
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