Allergies and Your Cat - What is That All About?

Being the proud owner of a cat is certainly one ofallergen goes airborne, which in turn, means that it is
life's biggest joys. These little balls of fur can enhancecan easily be found just about everywhere in your
our days and make everything just a little nicer.home.
Unfortunately, not every person can enjoy theOf course, not every human being, who comes in
"perks" of owning a cat, thanks to those dreadedcontact with a cat, will automatically develop
cat allergy symptoms. It is currently estimated that,symptoms - there are, however, some preexisting
in the US alone, six to ten million people exhibit allergyconditions, which may trigger these symptoms such
symptoms, when in contact with these felines. It isas having been diagnosed with asthma or other type
to be noted, however, that the degree of allergy canof respiratory disease, as well as if there has been or
vary greatly from one person to the next - goingcontinues to be a family history of allergies.
anywhere from mild to strong - with many peopleHowever, the reality is that, in many cases, the
finding themselves somewhere between the mild tosymptoms associated with cat allergies will simply
mid point. Regardless of the "degree", cat allergiesappear, of their own accord, suddenly one day.
remain, at best, uncomfortable to live with.Should this be your case, it is always a good idea to
While many believe that the root of these allergiesvisit your family physician to discuss the situation, as
stem from the fur or "cat hair", the truth is thatit is not a wise idea to simply "assume" that these
allergy symptoms are actually triggered by a protein,symptoms are related to your pet, especially since,
with a carbohydrate structure, called "Fel d 1". Thisfor the most part, the symptoms are too general
allergen is spread through a cat's saliva and sweatand vague to automatically assume they are allergies.
which, as you can easily imagine, is easily spread eachGetting a professional opinion remains the wise move.
and every time they lick and groom themselves. The