Hello to all! (Cat Questions Inside)

My name is RJ and I just registered here. I never thought of being on a cat forum before until last night. I have some questions and I think someone here might be able to help me out.

My fiance Megan and I recently moved into a house and decided that we need a little companion. We decided on getting a cat. I could not be happier. I grew up in a home where multiple dogs and cats roamed. I love animals and I miss their friendship. Our place is nice, but lonely. A cat would be a perfect addition to our family.

As with all things new and important, I do alot of research. Megan told me that she was allergic to cats..... SOME cats. What does this mean? For a year, we lived under my parents roof where a cat lived. Meg groomed and fed her many times a day. I am only now hearing of her allergy. She said that my Mom's cat was one of the cats she wasn't allergic to.

My Mom's cat is named Pepper. She's 23 years old. She's black with a white chest, face and boots. What kind of cat is she? I remember being a kid when my sister and I brought her home from our area pet shelter. I have no idea what breed she is. Does color signify breed? I have no idea what breed my Mom's cat is. All I know is she sheds and loves to be groomed. (the cat, not my Mom. )

Can anyone here educate me on cat breeds and how often people are allergic to them?

Statistically, are there breeds that people are commonly allergy to?

Is Jonsey from the movie Alien a Tabby cat?


OK, I am done. Talk to you soon.


RJ

Originally Posted by Ardge

My name is RJ and I just registered here.

I never thought of being on a cat forum before until last night. I have some questions and I think someone here might be able to help me out.

My fiance Megan and I recently moved into a house and decided that we need a little companion. We decided on getting a cat. I could not be happier. I grew up in a home where multiple dogs and cats roamed. I love animals and I miss their friendship. Our place is nice, but lonely. A cat would be a perfect addition to our family.

As with all things new and important, I do alot of research. Megan told me that she was allergic to cats..... SOME cats. What does this mean? For a year, we lived under my parents roof where a cat lived. Meg groomed and fed her many times a day. I am only now hearing of her allergy. She said that my Mom's cat was one of the cats she wasn't allergic to.

My Mom's cat is named Pepper. She's 23 years old. She's black with a white chest, face and boots. What kind of cat is she? I remember being a kid when my sister and I brought her home from our area pet shelter. I have no idea what breed she is. Does color signify breed? I have no idea what breed my Mom's cat is. All I know is she sheds and loves to be groomed. (the cat, not my Mom.

)

Can anyone here educate me on cat breeds and how often people are allergic to them?

Statistically, are there breeds that people are commonly allergy to?

Is Jonsey from the movie Alien a Tabby cat?


OK, I am done. Talk to you soon.


RJ

Click to expand...

Hi RJ~

I too have allergy to cats. (and I have three of them!) People who are allergic to cats are actually allergic to the protein in the Saliva and Urine. Since cats groom themselves---their fur is coated with this protein. The length of the fur makes no difference.

Now, there are theories that male tom cats have a stronger more potent form of this allergy and females having less potent. Also, adult cats are more potent than kittens....

As for your Mom's cat depending on her coat length she is either a Domestic Short Hair or a Domestic Long Hair and with the color of her coat she would be called a Tuxedo DSH or DLH again depending on her fur.

I know in my case...I will develop a bit of a tolerance to a cat and my symptoms lessen and when I add a new cat to the mix...My allergies flair and it takes a couple months to get them to settle.

I have serious allergies that cause me to have Asthma attacks but I love cats so much that I treat my asthma rather than go without having a cat....I have some tricks to lessen the exposure to the allergens in cats

Keep your bedroom off-limits to cats...and keep the door closed.

Wipe your cats down with a damp washcloth once a day.

If possible intruduce your cats to a bath. There are great shampoos for cats that don't lather and rinse quickly to keep bath time a minimum. I bathe mine about once every two-three weeks.

Invest in a HEPA air purifier...IT IS AMAZING!!!

And if you do the grooming and the litter box that will also help to lessen her exposure...

Good Luck!

PS Oh and yes, Jonsey was a DSH Red Tabby & a cutie pie!!! LOL! ...FYI Tabby is about the markings not a breed. You can have a Persian Tabby or an Exotic Tabby etc.

Hello & welcome

Welcome to TCS, RJ. We are so glad you have joined us!

If I can help you with any questions you have about the site, please click on my username and send me a message.

Hi & welcome to TCS!

Just wanted to say hello and welcome you to the site.

I think you have already gotten some very good feedback.

Thank you all so very much.

Welcome, RJ I am allergic also (or was) . I , and many other people I know have somehow adjusted to their allergies. It's like somehow my body adjusted to my own cats dander. When I get a new cat, I start out sneezing, etc but then my body adjusts in about 3 weeks. I know everyone is different, and if Megan is really allergic, you might really want to reconsider.

Hola y bienvenido a TCS, ...Catulina

y Milky

te saludan!!........

(Translate: Hi and Welcome to TCS, Catulina and Milky say hello to you!!!... )

See you on the forums!

Originally Posted by Ardge

My Mom's cat is named Pepper. She's 23 years old. She's black with a white chest, face and boots. What kind of cat is she? I remember being a kid when my sister and I brought her home from our area pet shelter. I have no idea what breed she is. Does color signify breed? I have no idea what breed my Mom's cat is. All I know is she sheds and loves to be groomed. (the cat, not my Mom.

)

Can anyone here educate me on cat breeds and how often people are allergic to them?

Click to expand...

Welcome.

I can't answer the allergy part of the question, but here's some basic info about cat breeds. Unlike with dogs, most cats that people own as pets aren't a specific "breed". As a previous post mentioned, generally those are grouped by the length of the fur into short hair and long hair and generally called Domestic Short Hair or Domestic Long Hair (DSH or DLH).

There are breeds of cats, but most of them are not all that common as pets (i.e. for people who don't go to cat shows). The most common breeds that are owned as pets are siamese and persians. The color/pattern of the coat sometimes goes with the breed (like points for siamese or himalayan) but generally the color/pattern doesn't indicate breed.

I've never known anybody personally who has had a "breed" cat, just your normal cat.

Welcome to TCS!

People with allergies can live with cats, it just takes some getting used to & some extra work.

You might consider allergy meds for your fiance.

I do suggest visiting the shelter & moving one cat away from the others(one you are interested in) to see how your fiance reacts(allergy wise). Going into the shelter, I'm sure all the cats in such a small place will set off her allergies!

Well, I am happy to inform all of you that yesterday, Meg and I became the proud parents of a 1 year old Tabby. We named him Gordon. He is amazing and is currently sleeping next to Meg on my new king size extreme pillow top bed. Want to see pics? I have about 100 of them so far.

We went to the animal shelter near us yesterday and were introduced to about 7 cats, all of whom were amazing. However, they were all very VERY active and busy wrestling and playing with each other. Then, Gordon came strolling out of his cage and leaped onto Meg's lap as she was sitting and filling out the adoption paperwork. He spent about 3 minutes rubbing up against her and when he stopped, they were nose to nose. Meg was like, "Hey there buddy." He then gave her a few kisses on her nose and then curled up and took a nap. Meg looked at me and said, "This is our cat. Let's go."

We did just that.

We are very happy. I am gonna try to upload a picture or two now. Try is the key word.

RJ

Gordon

Originally Posted by Ardge

My Mom's cat is named Pepper. She's 23 years old... What kind of cat is she?

Click to expand...

Moribund!

Sorry... just kidding.