Hypoallergenic cats

First of all, you should know that there are no cat breeds that are totally hypoallergenic. So, if you are allergic to cats it does not mean that you are allergic to their fur, but to a protein in their secretions and this type of protein is transmitted through saliva when they groom themselves. 

“Though no cat is fully hypoallergenic, you can consider getting a cat that doesn’t shed much or even a hairless cat like a Sphynx,” said Landis-Hanna.

“When people say dander, what they mean are the proteins that are in the cat’s saliva,” says cat geneticist Leslie Lyons, who runs the University of Missouri’s Feline and Comparative Genetics Laboratory. “When you’re allergic to animals, you’re allergic to several different proteins, but the cats have their own special one.”

“With cat allergens on the skin, they are then on the hands of the cat’s owner, who will take these allergens with her,” says Dr. William H. Miller, a professor of dermatology at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Like the cat grooms, it covers itself in its saliva which will become aerosolized (turned into vapor) when dry. That, coupled with the cat’s habit of covering every square inch of the house, makes cat allergen very widespread.”