Are Maine Coons Less Allergenic?
by Shadi
(Ontario)
Three Maine Coon Cat Brothers: Photo copyright Helmi Flick
I just wanted to ask if anyone had any experience with the fact that people who are allergic to cats are less allergic to Maine Coons. I find I am one of those who can tolerate this breed but the shorter hair ones makes me itchy. What is your input? Is this my imagination?
Hi Shadi... In all my travels on the internet and on the ground I have not encountered information from a reliable source that says that Maine Coons are hypoallergenic or less likely to cause an allergic reaction.
The truth is that no cat is absolutely hypoallergenic unless you believe Life Style Pets and their Allerca cats.
As you know the allergen is in the cat's saliva (new window) that gets deposited on the fur and it then flies around the place when the fur sheds and the skin flakes break free of the skin (cat dander).
The only long haired cat that is said to be hypoallergenic is the Siberian but I don't think this is true.
I think what is happening is that the potency of the cat's allergen varies from individual cat to individual cat and you have bumped into some Maine Coons that you are not particularly allergic to.
I am not allergic to cats but became allergic to a stray cat who I feed, Timmy(new window). He only had to be in the room and I would itch. Touching him caused itching over most of my body. Now (after 6 months or more) I am not allergic to him.
There are some variables here and we can get used to cats too I think.
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My son wanted a cat 8 yrs ago. I was very apprehensive because I’m severely allergic to cats. He saw this tiny, black puffball in the pet store and fell in love. I picked up the cat and put it near my face and he didn’t aggravate my allergies, so I bought him. Over the next few months, the cat was getting HUGE. I was pretty sure at that point I had a mountain lion on my hands. I brought him to the vet at 5 months old to be neutered and vaccinated, and that’s when the vet told me he was a maine coon, and they are hypoallergenic. That explained my eyes not swelling shut. My youngest son has a severe cat allergy as well and he has no reaction to this cat whatsoever. Which is a good thing because it would have broken my heart if I had to give away my giant beastie. ❤
Hi Ann. I think you are lucky to be honest. Your vet is wrong I am afraid. Maine Coons are not hypoallergenic but some individual cats will be and they could be any cat, purebred or not. Your boy is one of those cats. Great. If you could market it you’d be a millionaire. Thanks for sharing.
I visited my son for a weekend and he had just adopted an adult main coon cat. I did not have ne problem the whole week end with itching on my face abd arms or breaking out in blotches that itched, or have a runny, sneezing nose. I held and pet the cat often and he rubbed up against me often. I even got close to his fur with my face for the true test. I love cats but have not been able to get near them since I was in high school. i developed an alergy to my angora cat.
Thank you, Delores, for sharing your experience. To be honest, I believe that the reason why there was no allergic reaction is because the particular cat that you referred to does not produce the usual amount of allergens that are produced by the typical domestic cat. This is irrelevant as to whether the cat is a purebred cat or a random bred cat. That is my opinion but I will leave it to others to decide whether I’m correct or not.
I have a two main coons and never had an allergy problem until recently. Over a month ago my 6 month old main coon got his tail stuck in my recliner. The vet had to come to my house and amputate his tail:-(. During this traumatic experience he bit me! I’ve been on meds since! Started out on my meds for the bite. For the last month I’ve had a rash all over my arms, hands and shoulders. My cat has been grooming more than ever since his accident. I’m having to stay away from both cats for seven days right now. My meds have the allergy suppressed for now but I can’t keep taking 15 pills a day. I really don’t know what to do amymore. Every time I see him licking himself I just cringe! I can’t sleep at night because I itch. I’m having my house cleaned from top to bottom today. I really don’t want to have to find new homes for my two sweet boys. Any suggestions?
Hello Amanda. I find your comment very interesting because it appears that the medication that you took for the cat bite has made you allergic to cats. That is how I read your comment. As you say you can not take medication to suppress an allergy indefinitely which as I understand it is what you are saying.
The only thing I can offer you is this: an allergy to cats can come on and it can fade just as easily. As you were initially non-allergic to your cat I have a feeling that you will get back to that state of affairs in time, and I hope so.
Ultimately, you can only hope and presume that you will lose your allergy but if after a while you do not you may have to re-homed your cats because as you know there is no remedy but there are techniques.
The following pages may assist you and provide further reading:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/tag/cat-allergy
Thanks for visiting and commenting. I might turn your comment into an article because it is so interesting and unusual.
Recliners are dangerous to cats:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/recliner-chairs-and-kittens.html
https://pictures-of-cats.org/riser-recliner-chairs-can-crush-pets.html