cats and allergies

cats and allergies
Cats and Allergies

In spite of the fact that our domestic animals bring us a lot of affection, some people think otherwise. Indeed, the presence of our companion's hair causes several people various allergic reactions. It seems also that cats cause the majority of known animal allergies, dogs following far behind. If you are of the number of cats' allergy victims, console youself, between 6 and 10 million Americans are also afflicted.

First of all, let's define what is an allergy. An allergy is a reaction of the organism (more precisely of your immune system) to any substances that it believes to be an aggressor. This causes a a lot of different reactions. These reactions vary from the simple inflammation of the nasal walls and reddening of the eyes to the serious asthma attacks, passing by the cutaneous irruptions and itching.

For the cat, the main allergic agents are saliva and secretions produced by sebaceous glands located in the skin. Hair is also another factor but less important.
When the cat licks his fur, he puts saliva that dries and produces very small particles. The glandular secretions also dry and produce the same effect on the skin.
It is these particles that cause allergies. They are not even 2 micron in size, this permits them to float in the air during a long period of time. These particles also encrust in carpets and furniture and will take long time before being removed completely. Thus, even after having gotten rid of your cat, it may take several weeks, indeed a few months, for your symptoms to disappear completely.

Are there miraculous solutions? Not really! Some people will only have light reactions to a new cat in the house. It could be a temporary allergy, after a few days everything returns to normal. However if symptoms persist, your problems could be permanent. It appears according to some specialists, that a bath a week (for the cat not for you) would decrease greatly the impact of allergenic emissions after a while. A lot of slightly allergic people are going to tolerate minor annoyances for "love" of their companion. In the more serious cases, the solution stays at this time to avoid all contact with cats. For the people suffering from asthma in addition to allergies, all direct or indirect contacts with cats are to be avoided.

No matter what anyone says, by the nature of the allergenic agent produced by the cat (saliva and skin particle) there doesn't exist any miraculous answer nor any non-allergenic breed. It may happen that you are less allergic to one breed than another, that short hair cats disturb you less than long hair ones (Their shorter fur offering less surface of exposure for particles of salvia), but in general, if you are cats' allergic to any cat, you will be allergic to all cats. A vaccine is presently being studied in the United States and looks promising, however until then, if you are allergic, you should resign yourself to watch cats.... from afar.

Never forget that it is not the cat who gives you all these problems, but rather your organism that reacts by the way of your immune system to the presence in your environment of products that he identifies as "foreign" and "aggressor". The cat of the house has nothing to do with it. Some of the knowledgeable cat owners, can tell you that the problem is not cats, it is you and your over-sensitive immune system. Don't blame cats and their owner, for all problems affecting you, they are not responsible for anything. Just think a moment that If you are allergic to peanuts, would you blame a jar of peanut butter? Really�! ......

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