Hypoallergenic Cat Breeds

Does your eyes become tearful and nose begin to itch the minute you hear someone say cat? This means you are allergic to cats and cannot bring home one as pets. However, your love for these graceful and royal feline pets has surpassed your fear of sneezes and compiled you to look for hypoallergenic cat breeds. Luck is in your favor as some cat breeds have been scientifically proven to be hypoallergenic.

What are Hypoallergenic Cat Breeds

Hypoallergenic cat breeds are low allergen cats that produce fewer allergic reactions than other cats. You should remember that no cat breed is completely non-allergenic. All cats have a protein allergen (Fel D₁) present in their saliva. When they lick their coats, these allergen containing saliva becomes airborne. Thus, finding its way in your nose and sinuses, causing you to develop an allergy. They produce this protein in less amount, thus making them low allergenic.

List of Hypoallergenic Cat Breeds

As mentioned above, no cat is totally hypoallergenic. They too contain the allergen, but in lesser amounts, that do not trigger an allergy. The following list can be considered adoptable by those allergic to cats.

Balinese
These are commonly called 'longhaired Siamese'. Balinese cats produce less of the allergen protein that causes fewer allergenic reactions.

Oriental Shorthair
These hypoallergenic cats should be regularly groomed to keep the cat dander level to a minimum.

Javanese
These are medium long single coat hypoallergenic cats There coats do not mat easily and the lack of undercoat has made it to have fewer allergens.

Devon Rex
The Devon Rex has short and less fur making them hypoallergenic cats.

Cornish Rex
These cats tend to have oil build up on their skin and therefore needs frequent baths. The Cornish Rex too are good pet choice for people with allergies.

Sphynx
These hairless cats are obviously free of allergens. This does not make them completely non-allergenic as the allergen is present in the saliva and not in the hair. These cats require frequent bathing due to oil build up and their large ears need cleanings.

Siberian Cats
These cats too have a long coat, but are less hypoallergenic than other cat breeds. It is said that 75% of people with cat allergies have no reaction to the Siberian cat.

Russian Blue
The Russian Blue cats are also considered as hypoallergenic cats. The reason behind the hypoallergenic nature is not very clear, but they tend to trigger less allergic reactions.

These were the names of all hypoallergenic cat breeds that you can consider adopting. Before bringing home a hypoallergenic cat breed, make sure you carry out thorough research of the cat breed and the level of allergy it may induce. You can even visit a home with hypoallergenic cat breed as pet to see if it triggers any allergies in you. If not, then probably it is the correct hypoallergenic cat breed for you and your allergies.