Why You Are Allergic to Cats and They Are Allergic to You
[caption id="attachment_9639" align="alignright" width="480"] Cat allergens are inside a mite's intestines.[/caption] The overwhelming majority of people who are allergic to cats, suffer because of traces of proteins – especially two of them – Fel d 1 (a secretoglobin) and Fel d 4 (a lipocalin). These proteins are associated with the skin and saliva of a house cat. Allergic to Cats? How You're Exposed Flakes of dead skin can be found on the fur. Now, a cat cleans itself by licking its fur. So if you let a cat lick you, you are exposed to both of the primary allergy-related proteins. That and two or three other minor protein allergens as well. What About the Cat? Humans aren’t the only creatures subject to allergies. Cats have them, too. As the cat…