Hope could be on the way for those who are severely allergic to cats.  Cat allergies are the most common animal-origin allergies among people. This affects about 1 in every 5 adults worldwide, according to Purina. Cat allergies can keep many animal lovers from being around these lovable animals because they don't want to sneeze their head off. I am one of those people. That's why I was intrigued when I saw a post from People claiming that Purina researchers may have found a way to end cat allergies.

According to Purina, the main cause of these allergies stem from something called "Fel d1", which is found in the saliva of cats. Purina researchers have been working on a way to counter the effect Fel d1 has on humans. So what have they found? Purina said:

Purina scientists discovered that an egg product ingredient containing antibodies to Fel d1, the major cat allergen, can bind to Fel d1 in the cat’s saliva, preventing its ability to trigger an allergic response in a cat allergen-sensitized individual.

This discovery may lead to novel and exciting approaches for managing cat allergens, while maintaining the normal production of Fel d1 by the cat and without impacting the cat’s overall physiology. These breakthrough findings can transform how people manage allergies to cats while keeping the cat in the home.

When scientists fed cats a diet including this egg product with IgY, 97% showed decreased levels of active Fel d1 on the hair and dander. Purina says "Decreasing active Fel d1 on a cat’s hair can reduce cat allergens shed into the environment on hair and dander. Reducing the allergen load in the environment has been shown to be beneficial to allergen-sensitive people."

This is a huge breakthrough for those who are allergic to cats. It means that it is possible for us to control our allergies while not being limited to how much exposure we have to cats.  As of now, they are still working on a way to commercialize this breakthrough to get it out for public use. Once they do that, I think there will be a lot more cat lovers in the world, myself included.

 

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