Fighting Against Cat Allergies
Katsu can’t help having his gorgeous fur on every surface we own 😂
Before I got my first cat (Qing), I was dating a New Zealand man who was very, very, uncomfortably allergic to cats. We were long distance (I was living in New York at the time and he was living in Wellington!), and settled on raising bunnies instead if we were to ever finally get to live together. Fast forward about 7-8 years at the time of writing this, we aren’t together anymore, and we never had the chance to co-habit at all.
There’s one thing that I remember very vividly saying to him in one of our final conversations: “I’m sacrificing so much to be with you..” I told him, thinking about my future with him in New Zealand. “I’ll never be able to get a cat!” He laughed.
Aren’t I just an over-sharer 😂? Not sure if you needed to know that.
Still, that moment resonates with me, especially how things have changed. I wonder if we would’ve been able to get a cat together if I knew what I knew today.
…
Cat allergies are a common topic that comes up in the breeding community. It’s too often that breeders get kitten returns because of an allergic family member. Sometimes, people randomly develop allergies in their life (crossing my fingers this never happens to me — I’ve had literal nightmares about it), sometimes people have no idea they’re allergic to cats until they’re around one for a longer period of time, sometimes people misunderstand “hypoallergenic”, and sometimes people just want to give it a shot to see if they can handle it.
In just the last few years, there have been SO many improvements in research around cat allergies and how to fight against them. Many of these existing improvements are around the Fel-d1 protein, one of the eight known cat allergens but also the most prevalent.
Before you give up on your dream kitty, try a few of these out and see if any of them work for you.
Food changes
I know I talk about raw feeding quite a bit, and while I don’t recommend dry feeding to cats ever, Purina has managed to develop a cat food that has proven to fight against cat allergies. The LiveClear line has been shown to reduce Fel-d1 dander, one of the main causes of cat allergies in humans.
To elicit a similar affect with other forms of food, Purina has admitted that the key ingredient is actually.. EGG YOLK! Isn’t that a surprise? Specifically, it’s egg yolk from chickens that are exposed to cats in their lifetime. I’m not sure how true that last part is, since a lot of people have reported just have less reactions with regular egg yolk. People even report that dehydrated eggs work for them. On top of this, egg yolk contains lecithin, which helps with hairballs in cats.
I would not feed raw egg whites to your kitties, but cooked is fine. Egg yolk in either form is great! Once a week for chicken eggs, every day for quail eggs.
This, paired with high quality food — there have been report of high quality raw and wet food also working as well (since they help skin and coat health), are an amazing combo to try out.
“Hypoallergenic” breeds
There are some cats that are touted as hypoallergenic, but in reality, only a small handful of cats are truly hypoallergenic. This population exists the most within Siberian cats, with breeders dedicated to low dander Siberians. These cats can be tested by the breeder to check for their Fel-d1, though these tests can cost quite a lot.
If you’re looking to get a hypoallergenic cat specifically for cat allergies, make sure the breeder does proper testing. Fel-d1 production does not start until the kitten is about 12 weeks old and increase in time, so cuddling with babies may not be a great indicator of whether or not you’re allergic. Two low Fel-d1 cats do not guarantee low Fel-d1 babies only.
Not all “hypoallergenic” cats are truly hypoallergenic. Be careful out there!
Cat allergy hygiene
There are extra things you can do with your kitty to help tone down the amount of allergy proteins they produce. One is using allergy wipes, and the other is allergy shampoo.
While I’ve not personally used any of these products, I’ve seen people report success with using these dander wipes every day to every few days (depending on the severity of your allergies). These wipes moisturize and deeply condition the cat or kitten's dry skin to reduce redness and flakes, stopping any dander that may fall alongside the flakes.
I’ve also seen people report success with this allergy shampoo. It’s best done with the wipes at the same time, since you shouldn’t bathe your cat every single day.
Cleaning up after kitty
Vacuum, lint-roll, purify the air. The same way you would fight seasonal or dust allergies in the home. Use a vacuum to remove dander from surfaces like upholstery, floors, and under furniture. An air purifier can catch shed fur and flakes in the air and make the air quality in your home so much better. A good lint roller can catch any fur stuck to surfaces in your home (you wouldn’t believe how many of these we have in our home)!
On top of keeping up with those daily things, washing and wiping down any surfaces your kitty likes to hang out with are also very helpful. We like to lint roll the cat trees since they seem to collect the most fur. All of our clothes (and other things, like towels) are washed in hot water!
Good cleaning practices should already come naturally if you get a cat.. just step it up a notch if you’ve got allergies too. ;)
Check-in with your doctor
Last but not least, going to your doctor could potentially help you out immensely. Whether that’s prescribing stronger medicine than OTC (I live on Allegra, Claritin, and Flonase during spring), or trying out allergy shots, your doctor can help you out.
Allergies come in around 11-12 weeks old!
Having cat allergies isn’t the final nail in the coffin for people who want to their dream kitties. With so many advancements in studies and research, plenty of people are now able to keep their cats if allergies ever pop up or strike at the worst time.
I hope there are even more improvements in the future with cat allergy studies, so more people can be blessed with an adorable friend fur life!