CLEANSING AND BATHING

Cleansing The Allergens Away With Allerpet Dander Remover®

Over the last few years, there has been much written about pet-related allergies with a special emphasis on cat allergies.

Fel d1, the major ‘cat allergen’ is probably responsible for 65% of all pet-related allergy problems. Reducing Fel d1 has been the subject of many of these writings.

Allerpet substantially reduces the Fel d1 allergen load of a house by removing a very large, significant majority of these allergens from your pet before they have a chance to enter your environment.

Rinsing

Circa 1987, a study at Washington University in St. Louis concluded that after having washed each of 10 cats once every month for 9 months in distilled water (not because of any advantage over tap water other than it eliminated many of the variables in the analysis), there was a reduction in the amount of Fel d1 that was removed from the animal. This was determined by analyzing the 1 liter (34oz.) of distilled water that each cat was washed in. It should be noted here that all of the cats were minimally sedated. The national media created a great stir about this study after it was presented and shortly thereafter; distilled water became the product of choice ‘to keep the cat at home’.

Rinsing (no shampoo) a cat in any kind of water… distilled or tap as described above will benefit you more than doing nothing, however, research has shown that you must do this at least once a week to achieve any kind of positive effect. For an allergy problem, once a month is almost as good as not at all, once a week is marginally better. Rinsing does not effectively cleanse the animal. It is on a par with taking a shower without using any soap or shampoo.

Bathing

A big step up from rinsing is bathing, the difference being the use of a shampoo. Bathing will considerably reduce the allergen level of a cat providing that you do several things that most cat owners don’t.

First: You must use a shampoo formulated and pH balanced for animals. The determination of pH is an important factor in animal as well as human hair and skin care. All chemicals are acid, alkaline or neutral. The pH range for dog and cat skin and hair is not the same as that of human and is slightly more alkaline. Therefore, the shampoo you use should have an alkaline pH in excess of 7.0, preferably around 7.5. All human shampoos have a pH around 6.0, much too acidic for an animal. An acid shampoo will cause scratching and an excessive shedding or scaling (both allergy-causing allergens).

Second: Problems will begin to increase if you don’t properly bathe and rinse an animal… especially a cat. You must know how to truly rinse an animal, not to just get the visible soap off the skin and coat, but really cleanse off every bit of residue. This requires a minimum of 2 good quality rinses, and preferably 3. If you can do this, and if you do it once a week, you will substantially reduce the cat allergen load. If you can’t, you will probably add additional allergens to the environment that didn’t exist before.

Third: The earlier in life a cat or dog becomes accustomed to being bathed, the better the chances of having it accept the process without becoming panic-stricken. Most dogs eventually learn to accept – and even enjoy – being shampooed. Cats, on the other hand, may only tolerate baths and giving one is not an experience for those who are faint of heart or short-tempered. Wiping over the coat with Allerpet can be an alternative to the dreaded bath.

A study published in the September 1997 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that washing cats with soap and water did reduce allergens, but the reduction didn’t last longer than a week.

Use Allerpet

At this moment, other than giving up your animal, Allerpet is probably the best solution available to help you keep your pet at home because of its ability to remove the offending allergens before they have a chance to enter into your environment. A washcloth lightly dampened with just a little Allerpet is all that is necessary to reduce the allergen level of an animal. The ease of use of Allerpet enables most pet owners to treat their pets as often as necessary without the usual hassle of a bath. Yes, we know that dogs and some cats might really enjoy a bath… but most owners don’t enjoy giving one. With a small animal they can cleanse it on their lap while watching TV. Our suggestion is to use Allerpet once or twice a week. A side benefit is the beautiful look and feel of the coat from its conditioning and moisturizing agents.

Your Choice

Whatever your choice… ask yourself two or three simple questions about any product or treatment that you may consider using. Does the product tell you what it contains? Does it make claims or does it “imply” its claims? Has it been clinically tested by a recognized testing laboratory, university or hospital? Does it leave a residue on the hair to attract more allergens of all types… , grass, pollen, dust, etc.?