The glamorous and rather special Savannah cat is the right choice for the Obamas if they do consider getting a First Cat to accompany their First Dog, Bo. I’ll tell you why, in my opinion, the Savannah cat should be their first choice. I’ll also propose a second choice.
Malia Obama, the oldest daughter of President Barack Obama, is allergic to cats, apparently. Or at least she has “pet allergies” according to the Los Angeles Times. She looks like her Mum, incidentally. And her mum is the one, with the children, who are going to make the decisions on this.
There are no cats that are guaranteed to not produce an allergic reaction in a person who is allergic to the allergen in cat saliva called Fel D1. It does not matter if the cat is purebred or a moggie. Unneutered males are probably the most likely to give you an allergic reaction even if you did not know you were allergic to cats or are slightly allergic to cats.
Savannh Cat Choice as First Cat. Photo top left copyright Helmi Flick. Read more about Motzie
There is a group of cats – I’ll call them “types of cat” because they are not officially cat breeds – that are claimed to be hypoallergenic. “Hypoallergenic” means less likely to produce an allergic reaction. It does not mean no allergic reaction. These cats are the LifeStyle Pets Inc. Allerca cats. There are several “models”. One looks like a moggie, one has pointing (Siamese style called Chakan) and one looks very much like a first generation Savannah cat (an F1 Savannah cat). These cats are called the Ashera GD. They are the Rolls Royces of the cat world. Highly stand out and noticeable. High profile etc.
I have finally got to the point I want to make. I have it on the highest authority that the Ashera GD is an F1 Savannah cat. And I also have it on the same authority that the Savannah cat is hypoallergenic although the same authority sensibly says that there is no scientific support for this. For this reason this person does not advertise this characteristic. However, her say-so is about as good as it gets in terms of certainties in the very grey and vague world of hypoallergenic cats.
There is lots of stuff on the internet about hypoallergenic cats. Tons of it growing by the minute. Nearly all of it is hearsay and repeated information from less than reliable sources.
A Savannah cat is a good bet for the Obama family. In addition to its hypoallergenic pedigree it is a very glamorous, high profile cat that spells “success”. This cat would seem to be highly suitable to a glamorous and highly successful family. Even Republicans have to concede that they are a great success story. The American Dream made good.
The Savannah cat is relatively high energy. A nice touch for a President of the United States who has to give the impression that he is high energy and committed to resolving some very sticky problems. If the first filial Savannah cat is too big and too much of a handful a cute fifth generation is nice too. These are called SBT Savannah cats. “SBT” stands for “Stud Book Tradition” in reference to the stud books or records of family trees of purebred cats.
There is one last point to make about the Savannah cat – it is the creation of an American. Only in America would you see this sort of cat breed. Americans like their exotic cats.
If all that I have said is unwelcome then a beautiful moggie from the local cat shelter would do nicely. The one downside in adopting a Savannah cat is that you are very unlikely to find one at a cat shelter. Although there are some Savannah cat rescue organizations.
If a beautiful random bred cat is selected, then one cat is being saved. One unwanted cat would find a home – and what a home. This aspect of the matter might be the clincher. Adopting a female would be advisable as there would seem to be less chance of an allergic reaction. And how about trying out the relationship first? An allergic reaction to the cat allergen will happen quite fast. Malia Obama would find out pretty quickly if she was allergic to a rescue cat. A female red tabby would be the one to choose. You’ll have the better chance of a cat with a character able to deal with the pressures of being the nation’s first cat.
The cat I had a reaction to is a male cat. He gets mainly dry food. Also, being a 100% indoor cat he sheds continually. Since Monty gets outside he isn’t shedding at all right now. He’s working on his winter coat. I do wonder though if diet plays a role in how much of an allergen is present in the cat’s saliva.
I believe the world was originally created for all animals, including humans, to live in perfect harmony. When humans rebelled, those relationships were all broken– between God and humans, between humans between man and other animals, even the earth itself, so that what Adam once cared for perfectly is continually destroyed by his descendants. It is ultimately the fault of human rebellion, as God cursed this world to punish human sin. Becoming allergic to your beloved furry friend is just part of that same curse, as sin separates us from those we love. The only thing I don’t understand is why God frustrated all of creation instead of just sending rebellious humans directly to hell and leaving the animals to live in peace. It would have been better had man never been created.
People like to only think of God as loving, but He is also just. He is the true owner of every loving pet tortured, every unwanted animal put down, every animal killed for our benefit. What would you do to someone who tortured and killed animals you love? We owe a huge debt to our Creator and He will see it paid. We’re all living on borrowed time and every animal harmed stores up more anger against us. Only human pride says we are more beloved than the other animals. God loves His whole creation. What about that statement makes how we treat that creation ok? Far from humans babbling on about a dominion over animals, which Adam forfeited, we should rather be careful of how we treat a world that does not belong to us, but to Him who made it.
I actually agree with you in large part. I feel it is unnatural that humans are allergic to cats. If it is unnatural it may be something that we have done as we are the kings of unnaturalness. In that case it might be linked to a cat’s diet that we feed a cat. I don’t know of any research on this.
Its a shame about the allergy factor between humans and cats. I bet you that alot of cats get dumped with the excuse of somebody suddenly having an allergy when its in fact not true.
Absolutely. The allergen in cat’s saliva is a big barrier to the domestic cat’s welfare. It almost seems like some sort of God given brake on the relationship. Maybe the wild cat should never have been domesticated?
I question whether any cat could be 100% hypoallergenic, but some breeds certainly could be more of a trigger than others. This could vary from person to person. I don’t seem to have much of an allergic reaction to Monty at all. I had a much stronger allergy response after handling a resident’s cat at the assisted living facility at a nursing home where I work. Residents are allowed to have pets there. With permission, I removed the resident’s gray cat from his lap, placing the cat gently on his kitty bed, so that I could do some gait training with my patient. My head stuffed up pretty good after handling the cat and I was glad that was my last patient of the day because later while doing my billing I couldn’t stop coughing. It was all from the cat fur that had adhered to my clothing. I hold Monty right up to my face and breathe deeply, trying to sniff his fur (even though I can’t really smell anything) and I don’t cough, sneeze or get stuffed up. I was thinking I no longer had much of an allergy to cats, but my reaction to that resident’s cat was pretty severe. I don’t know why.
The good news– that resident’s cat is NOT declawed! I expected, sadly, that any cat residing in a nursung home in the USA would have been declawed without a second thought. I decided that maybe his family is more enlightened on that issue. But the cat didn’t come from his family. He belongs to the facility, technically. He is an elderly cat who has been cared for by other residents. When the former caretaker passed away the staff suggested the cat go next to the man I had been working with in physical therapy. It was like the cat brought this resident back to life, he is so much happier. The cat likes him too. They seem to have bonded. The cat has a scratching post in the room. I’m just very pleased to be working at a place where the people in charge are enlightened enough to know that cats need their claws. Their perceptive care for a (previously) lonely man was pretty nice too.
There is large difference between individual cats, irrespective of sex or breed etc. as to how much of the cat allergen is on their fur or how strong it is. The only cats that I have had a reaction to – and I am not allergic to cats – are male cats. An unnueutered stray I used to feed, Timmy, made me itch and that was the first time I had ever had an allergic reaction to a cat. I am very slightly allergic to Charlie, which is a disappointment but it is so slight it does not bother me. I agree there are no 100% hypoallergenic cats but in practical terms many have such a low level affect that you can’t feel it at all.
On a wider point, it is a great shame that humans have an allergy to this allergen in the cat’s saliva. It is rather bizarre that this should exist. Why does it exist I wonder?
Is Timmy no longer around?
No, he is no longer around. He disappeared about 18 months ago. I think he has found a good home. He came back once for a meal and was fat and clean! Miss him. I took him to the vet twice for abscesses to the head from fights.
I hope if the Obamas ever do get a cat, no matter what kind of cat he/she is, that they don’t think declawing is a good idea!
Me too. It would be interesting to see what happened.