Which cat breeds are best for people with allergies?

Siberian cats are supposed to be tolerable to even those with severe allergies, despite their long hair. The hairless (or near hairless) Cornish Rex, Devon Rex, and Sphynx are less likely to aggravate those with cat allergies. It is recommended that individuals have an allergy test before bringing home a new cat as allergy symptoms may not appear until you have spent a few weeks with the cat.

Source Link: Cats for people with allergies
Source Link: Cat allergies

Allerca boasts the production of scientifically-proven hypoallergenic cats. They are pretty expensive and not many “regular” folks could afford one. Syberians are fabled to be hypoallergenic. Actually, save the Allercas, any cat has the potential to cause an allergic reaction-even the furless ones.

Source Link: http://www.allerca.com/

Since the allergy to cats is most often an allergy to their saliva and dander, produced by oils secreted by a cat’s sebaceous glands, there really is no one naturally occurring breed that is hypoallergenic.

While there are cats that have been deemed hypoallergenic (see PrettyKitty’s post) no one has yet to determine if there are any ill effects to “breeding out” particular genetic traits later in the cat’s life. The drawback for your pocketbook is significant, as one of these kitties can cost anywhere from $5-30k.

If that is not an option for you, and your allergies appear to be mild, some hairless varieties, like the Sphynx, appear to be less likely to trigger an allergic reaction. In addition, unaltered males produce more secretions than females, and neutered males produce the least.