Devon On Earth - Allergy Information

Often people with allergies will seek out a Devon Rex because they have heard that Devons are "hypo-allergenic". While it can be said that some people with allergies are able to live comfortably with a Devon ~ Devons are not NON-allergenic. They do shed very little, so there isn't hair floating about spreading allergens into the environment. Therefore there are people who are allergic to cats who actually have no reaction to a Devon, but there are also many people who do. The only way to know for sure if a person can live in comfort with a Devon is for them to be around them for an extended period of time. It can take hours for symptoms to surface in some cases and much longer in others (sometimes weeks or even years).

If you are considering or have purchased a Devon because you have allergic reactions to cats, there are some extra steps you can take to assure that you and your new cat will stay compatible.

First, a few thoughts about allergies:

	One out of every six Americans suffers from at least one allergy.
	At least 2% of the U.S. population is allergic to cats, with nearly one-third of those people living in a household with at least one cat.
	Allergic reactions to cats are almost always due to a chemical produced by a cat’s salivary glands and the sebaceous glands of its skin. It’s not their fur itself, but the particles of dried skin and saliva – the dander – that spread over the cat when it grooms itself.
	You may be allergic to cats and not know it until you have prolonged exposure. The more you are exposed, the higher the level and the more serious your symptoms may become.
	Allergic reactions can be inherited. If you are allergic to cats, there is a high likelihood that your children will be too.
	Allergic people will react differently to different animals. You cannot say that because you were violently allergic to your friend’s cat that you will react that way to every cat you meet. Some researchers believe that the chemical makeup of dander varies not only from breed to breed but from animal to animal.

Because Devons have less coat than other breeds, resulting in less surface area to collect dander, many allergy sufferers can live happily with them. Besides picking a breed that has less hair, you can also:

	Avoid other allergens. Allergens are cumulative. People rarely have a single allergy and cutting down on other triggers, like house dust, can help you to live with a cat.
	Avoid alcohol consumption. Alcohol triggers the release of histamines that will cause mucous membranes to swell and aggravate symptoms.
	Avoid dusty or deodorized cat litter and maybe even scented candles. Smells can cause an allergic reaction so cutting down on your exposure to them can help.
	Open a window for a few minutes every day to allow air to circulate, lowering the concentration of airborne cat dander. This will also reduce mold which can also be a trigger.
	Consider removing your carpets. Not only do they hang on to dust but they will also collect cat dander. Carpeted floors hang onto cat dander at nearly 100 times the rate of bare floors.
	Vacuum regularly if you opt to keep your carpets. Steam cleaning has little or no additional benefit over regular vacuuming.
	Use dusting sprays when dusting to prevent scattering dust and dander.
	Schedule your cat’s meals to twice a day and feed a high-quality food. Some believe this can reduce cat dander.
	Rinse your cat regularly. In a study conducted at Washington University in St. Louis, researchers rinsed cats monthly with distilled water for seven months. At the end of the study, dander production had been decreased in all the cats. Another study involved rinsing a cat weekly with distilled water and showed a 90% reduction in the amount of airborne dander coming from the cat.