The Big Lie About Hypoallergenic Pets You Need To Stop Believing

For people with pet allergies, hypoallergenic pets are marketed as the supposed solution — but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Here’s a hard reality check: your favorite labradoodle, Yorkshire terrier, Siberian cat or other popular “hypoallergenic breeds” can still make you cough and sneeze if you’re allergic to pets, because there is no scientific way to guarantee you’ll have an allergen-free cat or dog.

“I have this conversation almost every day in my clinic,” said Kathleen May, division chief of allergy, immunology and pediatric rheumatology at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. “The biggest issue is the data does not support the existence of hypoallergenic pets.”

Too many people believe that if your pet has a certain coat texture that sheds less, it means your pet is more likely to be hypoallergenic. But regardless of fur, pet allergens can be found in the dander and skin of your beloved pooch or cat. “When they lick, it’s in their saliva, because they lick their skin,” May explained.

And not even a hypoallergenic dog can prevent your allergy sensitivities.

A 2011 study in the American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy found that households with dog breeds cited as hypoallergenic, including poodle mixes and terriers, had no difference in the levels of the primary dog allergen Can f 1 found in dust samples from those homes.

In fact, a separate 2012 study showed that certain hypoallergenic dog breeds had higher Can f 1 levels in their hair and coat than non-hypoallergenic
breeds did. Labrador retrievers had the lowest allergen concentrations in their hair, while poodles had the highest concentrations of allergens, and labradoodles had the second-highest.

Even hairless cats’ skin can produce allergens. “There is no scientific evidence for a hypoallergenic cat breed, even hairless Sphynx cats produce Fel d 1 [allergen]” one 2024 study found.

There are popular pet foods and supplements that claim to lower common allergens in your pets. The problem is that pet-allergic people may be sensitive to multiple allergens.

“When you’re allergic to a pet, sometimes you’re not just allergic to one protein fragment,” May said. So even if your allergen-reducing food improves your response to one cat allergen, you may still be allergic to others found on your cat, for example, May said.

“There might be 10 or 20 different allergens that that animal sheds that you can be sensitive to,” May said.

If you start sneezing up a storm in a house with a cat, know that you’re not alone. “The reason why the cat allergen is in particular problematic is it’s very small, and it can be inhaled pretty deeply, and it stays in the air for a very long time,” May said.

Some well-meaning cat owners will vacuum right before their cat-allergic family member comes over, but this is actually a common mistake.

If you vacuum right before your cat-allergic friend’s arrival, “it basically aerosolizes the [cat] allergen for about three hours,” May said. “So if you could vacuum at least the day before, it would be better than stirring it up that day.”

And don’t believe that simply adding more air purifiers will help lessen one’s pet-allergic symptoms. An additional HEPA filter in a room can remove more airborne particles, but “it’s just not going to be enough to really overcome it,” May said. “It would take an entire wall of HEPA filters to scrub the allergen from the air completely.”

However, if you are allergic to cats, try wearing an N95 mask or a KN95 mask during your visit, because that will help filter out most of the cat allergens you’ll breathe in, May suggested.

Obviously, limiting your exposure to pets is the easiest solution if you’re allergic to them.

“If you know you’re sensitive in advance, getting a dog is not going to improve your symptoms. That’s the harshest reality,” May said.

But for many of us, pets are family, and we’re unwilling to part ways with an animal we learn we are allergic to. So know that there are certain proven ways you actually can lower your pet’s allergens and your response to them –– and they have nothing to do with getting a hypoallergenic pet.

For one, you should know that the sex of your pet and whether they are neutered can make a difference. “A male, unfixed cat is going to have a higher level of the Fel d 1 allergen than a female fixed cat,” May said. She also noted that if you have a dog, washing them weekly can also diminish the allergens they produce.

The pet’s skin health also impacts what proteins they shed. “If a dog has dermatitis or eczema, the dog is more likely to shed allergens that will bother you,” May said as an example.

One unexpected way to reduce your chances of being allergic to your cat or dog? Be born into a household that has one. A 2002 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association followed hundreds of children from birth to nearly age 7 and found that children who grew up with dogs and cats in the home had a significantly lower risk of developing common allergies later on.

Many of these allergy tips focus on short-term symptoms, but there is one proven way to address the underlying problem: allergy shots. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is famously going this route and is taking weekly allergy shots for seven months in preparation for owning a cat.

Typically, you will get weekly injections for about six months to build up your response to pet allergens, and then after that, you get shots about every two to four weeks for the maintenance phase over the next three to five years, May explained.

“It’s literally a desensitization,” May said. “You get small but increasing amounts, until you get to a level … that’s likely to be clinically helping you.” Typically, children will respond more quickly to this treatment than adults, May said, but in general, she sees an 85% chance of pet allergy improvement after a year.

Whatever choice you make, know that there are treatments to help you breathe more easily around your pet — as long as you know the difference between facts supported by science and myths.