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Best Pets for
Allergy Sufferers
By Patricia Willson
Yes, there are actually pets that will reduce your allergy
symptoms. Although, there isn’t a 100% guarantee that
any animal will eliminate all allergy symptoms, less
suffering can be achieved by following the advice below.
More allergens are associated with long fur or larger
breeds which naturally have more fur, so consider
adopting small, short-haired animals as a way to
minimize dander and other allergens. As for cats and
rabbits, many allergens are in the saliva they clean
themselves with; thus, short hair minimizes these
allergens as well. It’s also helpful to know that female
and light-colored cats secrete less allergens than male
and dark-colored cats.
There are allergy-friendly breeds you may consider
adopting. For example, a Bichon Frisé dog and Rex
rabbit don’t shed much, so this reduces dander. The
Cornish and Devon Rex cat breeds do not clean as
frequently and have almost no fur at all.
Since gerbils and mice are in cages instead of running
around the house, they are great pets for allergy
sufferers. Reptiles don’t have fur, so they won’t have
dander. Be sure to keep their aquatic cages clean,
though, so mold issues don’t arise and trigger allergic
reactions. Pigs have hair instead of fur so there are no
dander issues.
Birds release dander in their feathers and have allergens
in their saliva and droppings. Routine cage and room
cleaning, bathing the bird and air purifiers can reduce
allergen production.
Returning a pet isn’t fair to your family or the pet. Be sure
you’ll be able to maintain its grooming and necessary
habitat cleaning to reduce as much of the allergencausing
matter as possible. Often simple measures
such as using a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter
and frequent bathing and grooming of a pet will reduce
dander in the fur that often trigger allergies.
Patricia Willson has been a virtual assistant since 2007. Blog writing, web
content creation, proofreading, data entry and transcribing are her primary
administrative tasks. Interests in research and writing steered her to pursue
her career diploma in freelance writing from Penn Foster. Working remotely
allows her to be devoted to her worldwide work for other women without
sacrificing family commitments.
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