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Alleric to one cat but not the other?

post #1 of 7
11/9/05 at 7:41am
Thread Starter 
My husband says his face gets itchy when Sasha rubs against him, but it doesn't get itchy when Gizmo rubs on him. He said it's happened for as long as we've had her. Any idea why he'd be sensitive to Sasha but not to Gizmo? It doesn't really matter, we'd never be without our Sasha, but it's just interesting.

Amber
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post #2 of 7
11/9/05 at 9:10am
I'm not sure why this happens, but I have heard of it before. My cat's sleep around my face all the time & I don't have a problem, but a cat I used to cat-sit for & loved to push his head up against the underside of peoples chins. I would get horrible hives whenever he did this.
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post #3 of 7
11/9/05 at 9:19am
Different cats can produce slightly different dander - one of my cats makes my husband sneeze like crazy, while the others only bother him a little bit.

If Sasha is a very fastidious cat & always grooming herself, she might have more dander on her - it comes from the deodorizing component in her saliva. I think that's why Felixia bothers DH more.

If it's really bad, it might be worthwhile to rinse her in warm water every couple of weeks to cut down on the dander. That's what my allergist recommends - he says you don't even need to use shampoo, that just rinsing thoroughly with warm water works just as well. Or you could try some of the allergy wipes or solution sold in pet stores for use on cats.

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post #4 of 7
11/9/05 at 9:32am
Different cats can produce slightly different dander ... This is true ... some cats have very little dander and others have a ton... I have found that orietal breeds and my bengal cross are less irritating than my older longhair....
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post #5 of 7
11/9/05 at 2:52pm
I think this is true. My husband swears by the sniff test. He claims he can tell immediately. I think I am more allergic to the kittens for some reason that the other cats.
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post #6 of 7
11/9/05 at 5:27pm
Yes, some cats are definitely more allergenic than others. The general rule of thumb is that female cats are less allergenic than males and lighter fur is less likely to cause problems than darker fur. But these are generalizations and every person and every cat are different.
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post #7 of 7
11/9/05 at 7:22pm
I know cats like Persians and Himalayans don't have the thing (for lack of better word) in their dander that causes most allergies. Like a protein or something that causes the allergic reaction. It is odd because most people think that longhaired cats would be horrible for allergies when it really isn't the fur at all that causes the problems. Some people just don't care for the persian type of fur that is so thick and seems to stick to your face when you snuggle or on your clothes when they rub by. I also find that they shed better because it is usually in clumps where short hair cats just shed hair everywhere.
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