🇬🇧 Can allergic people have dogs and cats?

Many people have allergies. Some of them are allergic to cats and dogs. What may surprise those who follow this blog and my social networks and know that I have these pets, is that I was diagnosed with an allergy to animal hair in my teens.

With this information, the questions “who has allergies can have a dog?” and "who has allergies can have a cat?" theoretically have a yes as an answer. And I say theoretically because I don’t want anyone to buy or adopt an animal and then have allergic attacks, abandon the animal and come and say that I said one could. I'm saying that I managed to have long and semi long-haired dogs all my life without major problems. The last two, both of the Lhasa Apso breed, kept in long hair most of the time, slept in my bed. Thor, my cat, makes my arm as pillow at bedtime.

With dogs, despite the medical diagnosis, I never had any problems. When I decided to adopt the cats I went to the doctor and explained the situation of being allergic, never having had cats, and I wanted some medicine if the allergy manifested itself.  He prescribed me a spray to use on my nose only when I had allergic attacks and I even used the medicine a few times, but then the attacks disappeared. I kept the medicine until its expiration date and threw away more than half due to lack of use.

So, with the proper care, I believe that any person who, like me, loves animals, who is not afraid of them or wants to overcome that fear, can have a dog or cat without major problems. But as I am neither a doctor nor know you, I recommend testing your allergic reactions with dogs and cats from friends, neighbors, etc. before purchasing one. Visit friends who have dogs, play with neighborhood dogs, always with the necessary care. The same with cats. Look for anyone who has sociable cats (not Thor's case) and try to interact with them, play, pet, etc. A pet is like a child: a responsibility that lasts for many years. So before adopting or buying one, talk to a doctor or more than one, see the care that the professional recommends and, taking such care, start to approach dogs, cats or both to see how your body reacts. If you react well for a few weeks, then you start thinking about getting yours.  Remember that no responsible breeder or protector sells or donates dogs or cats under three months of age. If a kennel or cattery wants to deliver you a puppy less than three months old, without all the vaccines, look for another one that takes breeding seriously and takes care of the animals' health.

If you liked the content, buy me a coffee on Ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/nycka, subscribe to receive the next texts by email or in your favorite feed reader (see the 🔔 icon in the sidebar, visible in web mode), follow me on social networks and make your donation to help me to study music next year, increasing the quality of the blog's cultural and artistic content.

Nycka, the Nomad