Really bad news for those of you who have children with allergies, if you happen to be a cat lover like me. Unexpected findings from a European study suggest that if you have allergies, being exposed to cat dander may affect your ability breathe, even if you are not allergic cats.

The study was conducted by Susan Chinn, a professor of medical statistics at the Imperial College in London, and colleagues from 20 European centers. Researchers anticipated a higher bronchial airway reaction in research participants who were allergic to cats when they exposed them to cat allergens. The surprise came when participants who were allergic to dust mites, mold or timothy grass, but not cats, showed a similar increase in airway reaction when exposed to cat allergens.

Bronchial sensitivity is a measure of the tendency of the airways to contract. It isn’t exactly the same as asthma, but it is an indicator of an asthmatic response by the airways.

Unfortunately, for cat lovers the study found that cat allergen exposure at moderate levels may be harmful to those with allergies, regardless of what their allergy triggers might be. Chinn went on to say that all allergic people "might benefit from reduced cat exposure."

But, what is moderate exposure, is it sharing your home with a cat? Not necessarily, Chinn said that even the presence of cats in the neighborhood seemed to be enough to leave cat allergens in the mattress dust from homes tested by researchers. They found the cat allergens in the homes of both people who owned cats and those who did not.

Cat allergens are small, sticky, airborne particles, which can be a quarter of the size of dust mites. Cat hair is not the cause, so the length of a cat’s hair is irrelevant. A protein produced in the cat salivary glands and sebaceous glands of the skin is released as they lick their fur and is the cause of the allergens.

The "Fel d 1" allergen is found mainly in the cat skin flakes and saliva. It becomes airborne as microscopic particles, which when inhaled into the nose or lungs can produce allergic symptoms. Although an individual cat may produce more or less allergen there isn’t a non-allergic breed. However, testosterone increases Fel d 1 so male cats produce more allergen than female cats.

The findings are published in the first July issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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(C) Julia Fuller 2006