I'm allergic but diving in, this should be interesting...

Hey guys, a quick backstory on me.

I got married this past October, and me and my wife moved into an apartment together. I have never had an indoor pet, but grew up on a farm and always had pets, just outside. Dogs, cats, and various farm animals. My wife grew up with different pets, cats and dogs, and for the past ten years or so she had 1-4 indoor cats at any given time, and had 3 at the time we got married.

I am highly allergic to cats. When I would go to her her house while dating I had to make sure I almost never touched her cats, and if I did I had to force myself to not touch my face at all, and had to wash my hands anytime I touched one of the cats or anything the cats came in contact with a lot.

My wife knew this even before we started dating, and she was fine with it. She lived with her parents, so her cats were just as much hers and even if I weren't allergic we would have left the cats there at her house with her parents since they are inside/outside cats and can come and go as they please, and wouldn't be happy moving to an exclusively indoor setting. We talked about getting a dog, a Boston Terrier, something we will still eventually do. It is just with us in the apartment right now, on the second floor and with both of us working full time, we don't think the time is right for a puppy. That is when we started to seriously look into the Siberian cat breed. We talked about it while dating, so it came up again.

Long story short, we have found a somewhat local Siberian breeder and have reserved a kitten and he'll be ready to come home with us on June 16th. I'm going to post in another thread more details, but that's the start of it all. I've never had an indoor pet of any sort, much less a cat. I'm sure I'm in for an adventure, to say the least. 

His name is Clancy, and he is a full blooded Siberian. Here are some pictures, the first three at 4 weeks and the second set at 6.

I'd love to hear from other Siberian cat owners. Thanks!

That is such a cute little kitten!

I have a similar problem with keeping down allergens in my home. I have a couple of Russian Blues for that reason.. one from a breeder and one rescue.. and I find that, with regular bathing and grooming, there are no allergy issues.  It is thought that they have less of a glycoprotein in their saliva that is responsible for allergies.

I've recently notices that people are getting Siberians for the same reason and it interests me as both are cats from Russia, so perhaps cats from that area tend to be less allergenic.

Have you spent a reasonable amount of time with these cats?  I hope so, as it is best to be sure.

Enjoy your new experience! You're going to have a wonderful companion.

Oh he is toooooo cute!!  Good luck!!

My DH is also allergic to cats.  We left my last kitty from growing up with my parents when we got married.  She was very sick anyway; and passed about 3 weeks after our wedding.  I was SO lonely for a cat after I grieved for that kitty.  Almost 2 years later we ended up adopting our 2 that we have now.  I think it helps to get them as kittens.  When they were smaller I'd give them baths to help control the dander.  They are just your average shelter cats; no identifiable breed.  We also do not let them sleep in our bedroom and only in recent years have they been able to come in there at all.  DH washes his hands after doing a lot of petting and his face if he falls asleep on the couch at all.  I used to change my clothing before bed; but over time I haven't had to do that either.  He takes daily allergy meds anyway.  And they do say that some people develop a tolerance to their own pets over time.  He says they bother him less than they used to.  If it were practical; we'd be replacing the carpet in the house with hard wood flooring to help the dander too. 

A good brushing does seem to help too of course.  But for the most part we've had them long enough (7 years just recently!) that I don't have to do all I once did.

I hope things go wonderfully for you and your wife with Clancy!  I'd love to see more pics after you bring him home and as he grows!

Ohhh, he is too cute for words!

Kind of funny, before I met Dana, my wonderful boyfriend, I met what seemed to be a really nice guy, but as soon as he told me he was allergic to cats, I never returned his calls. (I had 5 strictly indoor cats at the time and was highly involved in rescue.)

Hello and Welcome! Hope you can keep your allergies at bay. That kitten is way to cute.

Thanks guys! The wait is killing us though. I can't believe we have to wait until June 16th! Since I have never had an indoor cat, what should me and my wife be doing to prepare? She has had them inside, as mentioned before, but still. I'd love to hear what you guys think. I'd also still love to hear from other Siberian owners, but I can't find many threads on here about them, or anywhere else hardly either. Are they that "rare" or am I just doing a bad job at searching?
 

I'm sure you've heard this, but some people claim that just wiping down the cat with a damp microfiber cloth every day can help a lot with the allergens, since it is the saliva proteins on their fur that cause the problem.

Such a beautiful little kitten you're going to get!
 

RockySC said:

 I'd also still love to hear from other Siberian owners, but I can't find many threads on here about them, or anywhere else hardly either. Are they that "rare" or am I just doing a bad job at searching?
 

Click to expand...

Here in Australia they are quite rare (and very expensive!).

Mrblanche is right about the wiping down bit, too.. one of my girls had an absolute love affair with a microfibre cloth

Clancy is just the cutest thing! :love:

Hopefully you won't need it, but article gives some tips on coping with a cat allergy. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/living-with-cat-allergy

I am very allergic to cats, but I do have one mixed breed. One is my limit for me allergy. I've done a lot of research on Siberians and have even done a "fur test" with a breeder. I do think I reacted less to the fur than I did to my own cat. Since I am at my cat limit right now, I can't adopt a Siberian, but I will certainly consider it in the future.

Here is Clancy just one more week older. He is starting to have the wild hair going on, lol.

Clancy is just stunning! :love:

Thanks!

The date that we can pick him up has been moved to June 8th. We can't wait.

I can see a very besotted cat person happening here....

Not surprising... young Clancy is very photogenic!  It's almost as though he knows how to pose.

It's lovely that you are so thrilled about your new little mate.

Hi there welcome along to TCS

Clancy is gorgeous!!

Thanks guys. If any of you care, here are the Clancy pictures for this week..

I'm more than happy to look at pictures of Clancy!

I know you are eager to take Clancy home, but I wouldn't move the date to pick him up sooner than June 16th. That date was probably set as the ideal amount of time for him to spend with his mother, and leaving him for one more week will make him a much more well rounded out kitty. :nod:

He is absolutely gorgeous! I am sure you are going to love him to bits (as if you ddin't already!) but I do agree about leaving him as long as possible with his mom - it can make all the difference to having a perfectly balanced and well behaved kitten. Good luck - I look forward to many more posts and pictures.

About getting him early - Clancy was born on March 13th, so on June 7th he'll be just over 12 weeks old. The original date was her estimate, and when she emailed all of the buyers a week or two ago she had the updated date. She actually told us June 8th, but on that day I had to work and we would both be working that that following Saturday and my wife on that Sunday, so we got her to move it up just one day to the 7th so that the following day my wife would be home all day with him to help him get used to everything. He is being fixed on the 7th, but was told it would be fine to pick him up on the 8th since males rebound from that surgery quicker than females.

I'm going to continue posting the pictures in this thread and everything, but I'm going to post one asking to hear from other Siberian owners as well.

I think he is going to be  a huge cat. His paws are already looking bigger.

EDIT:

Ok, nevermind about posting the other thread. When I try to post in the "Cat Lounge" it says I don't have permission. When, if ever, will that change for me?

You must have some other problem.  How many posts have you made?  There is a certain minimum to have full posting rights, but it's not very high.  I see you only have seven posts.  PM some of the mentors for that area, and maybe they can tell you.