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SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2006
11/2/06
Cat washing to reduce cat allergen levels
Summary
Background - Cat owning patients who are allergic to cats often do not want to remove the cat from their homes. Will thorough washing of the cat suffice to reduce cat allergen levels to the point where they do not trigger symptoms in cat- allergic individuals?
Findings - Nageotte et al studied the effects of thorough washing of 12 female short/medium hair cats by the immersion technique (dipping the cat to the head level in water, massage for 3 minutes, followed by another 3 minute immersion in fresh water, followed by towel drying. They found that this procedure did significantly reduce Fel d 1 allergen levels (4-5 fold) collectible from the cats at 3 hours after the washing, with a return to pre-washing Fel d 1 levels at 24 hours after the washing
Reference
J Allergy Clin Immunol 2006;118:521-22
Editor's Comments
These findings indicate that this laborious cat-washing effort yields only transient reduction in cat allergen levels and is therefore not worthwhile. One could question whether cats could be washed at least once daily to obtain a more persistent reduction in allergen levels. However, my cat- owning friends tell me how much house cats dislike such a washing procedure and would therefore be resistant to it being carried out frequently. To quote the old saying, this approach would be a "long run for a short slide".
Commercial approaches to reduce cat allergen levels on the cat have not been particularly effective. Getting the cat out of the house with thorough house cleaning afterwards is still, by far, the most effective approach to reducing cat allergen levels.
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