ok, the first 3 quotes say that allergy's are to dander, saliva, urine or faeces - not that the cat grooming itself causes there to be more dander in the air. In fact if this dead skin is coated in saliva, it is much less likely to have an aerosol effect and be present in the air as much.
a cat that does not groom itself, or is not brushed regularly will produce a lot more dander into the air.
A cat licking itself will not "weigh down" the dander, it only adds to it once it's dried. Saliva dries to a very lightweight flake itself, which is how they determined that people are allergic to the saliva..it's not from them licking you that you are allergic.
sorry, but again, dog food is for dogs, cat food is for cats. Otherwise they would just make one. Feeding a cat dog food long term will cause problems. the greasy coat you mention as a desireable effect is a sign of poor nutrition.
No it isn't. Cat food has more crude protien then dog food. Dog food has more crude fat then cat food, as most dogs are more active then most cats..who spend a great deal of day lounging about.
They could make a food formulated to be compatible for both if they wanted..but then they couldn't get $40 a bag for dog food and $30 a bag for cat food....now could they? You are ok with buying 3 pills a day and a vaccum operated contraption to suck the hair off a cat..but not ok with suplimenting their diet with real meat to add to the lack of protien from eating dog food...
I've got a cat who has eaten dog food her whole life, she's been with us 15yrs ..she was a adoptee. She's never had a kidney or urinary tract infection or any other type health problems. She is 17 yrs old.
I use piriton myself for my allergies, and find it many times more effective than once a day capsules. If they work for you then fine, but I am just suggesting an alternative if they aren't doing the job for you. I only tend to take 1 or 2 piriton a day, usually one in the morning, and find that I am ok all day, but you can take it every 8 hours if necessary.
This is fine for you. The feel of your other reply was one that basically said they shouldn't take the once a day med's because they weren't worth a toot.
As I have said, I personally would not take the risk of using Fabreeze. I have seen 1 dog die, with this being the most likely cause, and would not chance it with my animals. The product was one of the very old ones, so they are probably much better now.
Having said that, dogs regularly develop allergies to all kinds of household sprays, particularly perfumed ones, so at the very least keep pets out of the rooms for a couple of hours after spraying.
The report from the ASPCA says they have only 2 reports of deaths due to Febreeze..I'm assuming you saw one of the 2 then? Or was your case not reported?
And as mentioned above...the deaths of the 2 animals reported were probably animals who already were known to have allergies to other household cleaning products. That is not the norm with most animals.
Wiping a cat is no substitute for good grooming, and doesn't have a lot of the benefits. If you are concerned about the fur going everywhere, you can buy a grooming brush that attaches to a vacuum cleaner, which sucks up all the particles as you groom (providing the cat will tolerate the noise).
So you're telling me that animals in the wild get brushed? Last I saw on Discovery Channel they still licked themselves to groom and straighten their fur, and to rid themselves of unwanted items in their fur. With that in mind..it seems to me that wiping with a semi-moist towelet that is textured to replicate an animals tongue (as the pet wipes are) would do the same thing for them that they do to themselves. Just not lettig the hair actually end up in their stomachs, but instead on a cloth you can throw away.
And I don't know many cats that would tolerate that kind of equipment unless they were raised to do so from a young age. I also don't know many cat owners that would want to #1. spend that type of money for the equipment, that their cat would quite possibly not tolerate, #2. be able to properly use it, and #3. have a place to keep/use/store such equipment. I have worked in many groom shops over the years...and 80% of cats who come in for grooming had to be sedated because the noises freaked them out so badly.
I would never shave Lily, she would look too nasty. But I agree, unless you're willing to go through the extra trouble like I do, stick with the shorthairs.
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j/k SRC
