Growing Up with Cats Good for Allergies

Reuters ^ | Nov 3 2003 | N/A

[MizSterious]

Growing Up with Cats Good for Allergies

Mon Nov 3, 4:42 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Allowing cats to be in a child's bedroom, starting in the first year of life, may prevent the later development of allergic asthma and hay fever, new research suggests.

Although many reports have shown an anti-asthma effect for early cat exposure, others have actually tied such exposure to an increased risk of asthma. These seemingly contradictory findings may relate to the timing and amount of exposure.

In the current study, Dr. Rudiger von Kries, from the Institute for Social Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in Munchen, Germany, and colleagues evaluated the effect of pet exposure on asthma risk in 8216 children, 5 to 7 years of age, living in rural regions of Bavaria.

Among children with pets, exposure was classified as pet keeping in the first year of life but not later on, continuous exposure from the first year of life onwards, or current pet keeping but not during the first year of life. In addition, the parents of such children were asked whether the pet was allowed in the child's bedroom.

In general, pet exposure had no bearing on the risk of allergies, the researchers report in the journal Allergy. However, kids who were continuously exposed to cats and had cats that roamed in their bedroom were 67 percent less likely than other children to develop allergic asthma and 45 percent less likely to develop hay fever.

"We hypothesize that allowing cats in the child's bedroom from the first year of life onwards might be an indicator of early and intensive exposure to cats which appears to protect against the development of (allergic) asthma," the authors note.

Further research on the relationship between pets and allergies "should focus on early and intensive exposure," they add.

SOURCE: Allergy, October 2003.

[LibKill]

My own personal research is that cats are good for their annoyance value. :)

[Nataku X]

Ah, yes, a chance to brag about my kitties :o)

Jabez--Sealpoint ragdoll. He's not quite 6 months yet but he's over 10 pounds already. Ragdolls are the most unusual cats in behavior--by far the most person-friendly and loving... they're like little dependent dogs, not cats! If you've got children the Ragdolls will LOVE being "abused" (poked/pulled/played with/dressed up) by them. They're also the biggest cat breed out there, males can weigh 20-30 pounds. More on ragdolls


Shadowfax--wasn't planning on getting a second cat, but Jabez was so constantly codependent and attention-demanding (Ragdolls are more suited for homes with many children) that I had to get him a playmate so I could sleep for more than 15 minutes. :o) And it's working out beautifully. :o) Shadowfax's a flamepoint Himalayan and named after the female white horse in LOTR (I name my pets after Biblical characters, but there were no good female Biblical names left...)

[Lucy Lake]

Meow, meow. Pinging you to # 3 and these beautiful kitties.

[MaggieMay]

Goodmorning. Thanks for that information on the Ragdoll breed,they sound like fun kitties. :)

[Nataku X]

Thanks! I recommend getting a ragdoll cat if you've got a young child... ragdolls are the only cat breed out there who'll actually love being dressed up and pushed around in a stroller. :o) The downside is that they'll want to be played with & cuddled 24/7/365, they're loving but very very attention-demanding, LOL!

I love Jabez to pieces, but I didn't get a wink of sleep until I got Shadowfax. Poor Shadowfax is now the one who doesn't get any sleep but she still seems to love her big brother anyway. :o) Do either of you have cats? I'd love to hear about them too. :o)

[MaggieMay]

Do I have a cat? No, he is a royal prince,desguised in a cat's body. And he is a talker. My husband has the audacity to correct Tiger. Which just triggers Tiger to bad mouth poor Bruce. Tiger always gets in the last word.

Tiger is a Devonshire Rex. He is a kick in the pants. He is not supposed to go upstairs,but that is just the kind of challenge he likes. I could go on but you get the idea,he really runs the show. I will have to learn to post a picture. He is so cute you will fall in love with him. I took his picture down to get copies at Kinkos's. I had to run off extra's because everyone wanted one. Do I sound like I'm bragging,well it's just because he is the apple of my eye. :)

[mewzilla]

I've heard the same thing about homes that aren't kept perfectly sanitized, that the kids living there are less allergy prone. Interesting.