Hello Karen,

I did not know that about heavy-coated cats. But that's not why the Siberians cause less (or virtually no) allergies. Siberians have an extremely low concentration of FEL D1 protein in their saliva which causes the dander in the first place. Of course no animal is 100% hypo-allergenic because some allergies may be caused by the fur, saliva, etc. But most allergies to cats are dander-related.

Rinat

Originally posted by Karen:
<STRONG>No cat is actually non-allergic, but some breeds, especially some of the heavy-coated cats like the Siberian, cause less of a reaction, something to do with their fur keeping their dander closer to them instead of shedding the dander that will effect allergic people.

When I was a teenager, I babysat for a family that raised, bred and loved Himalayan cats. There were a total of fourteen cats around the house, from the domestic shorthair types to Siamese, to the extra-fluffy Himalayan, and Boo (Champion Show-cat Little Boy Boo) especially liked to "help" me with my homework, usually by lying across whatever textbook I was trying to read. The one night I forgot my antihistamines, I reacted quite strongly to Fluffy (the unfluffiest cat in the house, a DSH tomcat of dubious origins, coool in demeanor to everyone but the adoring four-year-old who named him), but barely at all to Boo, despite his attempts to help me with my Chemistry book, that eventually ended up with him completely content, purring, covering my lap while I guarded my book from him with one arm and propped it up with the other!</STRONG>
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