Hello,

I have been wanting to get a Bengal for many years now, unfortunately, once I moved in with my gf (now my wife) the thought of a Bengal went out the window, as she is pretty allergy to cats and dogs. However, recently, I have read that Bengals seem to create less allergens than other cats. Is there anyone on this forums who is allergic to cats, but owns a Bengal and experiences little to no allergic reactions?? I have always owned cats and larger breed dogs such as huskies, labs, and muts that are not hypoallergenic, and I was thinking that maybe a Bengal may be the only in between option for me to own anything other than a little yippy hypo-allergenic dog (which I really cant stand).

Any input would be very much appreciated!!

thanks in advance!

Welcome to our forum! Bengals are not completely hypoallergenic. They do not have the normal fur of a cat. They have a pelt like a wild animal and their hair is very short (unless it is a cashmere bengal). There are people who have less of a reaction with a bengal than with a regular cat. It really depends on how sensitive your wife is. Most allergens come from the dander in the pelt. A lot of owners take allergy medication to take care of the reaction. The only way to truly tell is for your wife to be around a bengal and see if there is any type of reaction.

Both my Son and Daughter have mild allergies to cats and mine has not caused any issues with them at all. There are very few hypo allergenic cats out there and a Bengal is not one of them. That said, they are far less reactive than other floofy cats. If the allergies are moderate than there may be some sneezing, if the allergy is heavy or severe then I would buy pictures of cats and not take that chance.

I know at least one friend who is allergic to the taurine additive in the cats diet,when present in dander and saliva of cats. She found that out after consuming a human energy drink that contains taurine. I don't know how many other cat allergies are attributable to taurine.

That may be something worth checking out, although there are not many cat foods that don't contain taurine. Even a raw diet with heart and other offal meat has taurine in those meats, but it may not be as reactive as the taurine additive in commercial cat food.

As far as I know, Bengal cats are hypoallergenic compared to other breeds.

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Unfortunately, taurine is a required supplement for a cat and ALL cat foods are going to have it and if you feed raw, you need to supplement that. I'm sure there are many stories online regarding bengals and allergies. We did have a member who took her family to meet a bengal and see if there was a reaction and there was none. But, every cat is different. A sphinx is probably the most hypoallergenic cat out there.

If you are truly serious -- find a bengal breeder near you or one that you are considering getting a bengal from. Most will allow visitors. Also, there are bengal rescues and rescues that need fosters -- you may want to "try" before you "buy."