A recent client shot me an email this morning, feeling dismayed. You see, he has a severe allergy to cats, and all the women he was finding interesting on Match.com had furry children of the feline variety.
And he’s not alone. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, 1 out of 10 people is allergic to animals. The number could be as high as 30% in people with asthma.
While some folks have mild allergies and could co-habitate with a furry creature provided there was adequate ventilation and frequent vacuuming, not everyone is so lucky.
We did a poll last year, asking folks if they would give up their pets for a significant other. While the majority of folks said, “Hell no!” there were many other people who saw the issue in shades of gray (or perhaps tabby stripes?).
What I Want From Dating Sites
I’d like to see dating sites expand their options in the profiles and custom search to account for people with severe allergies.
Currently, most sites have these options:
- Have
- Don’t have, but like
- No answer / No opinion
Why not add to the list?
- Have, but it’s not mine. (For folks with roommates with pets.)
- I have mild allergies.
- I have severe allergies.
It’s not a lot of work, code-wise, to add in a few options to an existing framework, and it would greatly help those people who are searching for that special someone who isn’t covered in cat hair or dog slobber.
How About You?
Would you like to see options for pet allergies on your dating site?
Does your dating site have these options? (Please let us know!)
Have you run into some crazy catladies on your dating site?
Have your allergies (or a date’s allergies) affected your dating life?
About e
I’d love to see pet allergies integrated into the ‘Pet’ section of dating sites! OkCupid has separate drop down lists for cats & dogs, but only has the options of ‘Owns’, ‘Likes’, and ‘Dislikes’ for each. It would be quite simple to add in the option of ‘Allergic’ into the list, and in addition of ‘Owns’ include ‘Lives with’ as an option to incorporate those that don’t own but do cohabitat with pets.
Definitely run into a couple crazy cat ladies, and a couple of.. crazy cat men. Dun dun dunnnn.
I’ve personally had allergies affect my dating life, especially in regards to boyfriends trying to pretend their allergies ‘aren’t that bad’ and heroically struggling to live with my pets, despite their allergies. Puts a lot of strain on the relationship. It sounds petty, but I wouldn’t even consider dating anyone that was highly allergic to cats or dogs.
I have severe cat allergies and mild dog allergies. Certain breeds of cats set off my allergies worse than others – I once had to leave the house of a friend who had a long-haired cat because my eyes literally started swelling shut. I’m also asthmatic, which sure doesn’t help.
What’s worse? I absolutely adore little critters! It pains me to not have one. But combating allergies is not as easy as just taking a pill. I take two pills for mine every day and still don’t have 100% relief. I lasted about 9 months at allergy shots (which is a multi-year ordeal) before I tearfully begged to stop – the area where they had to give the shots was right along a nerve meridian or some such, and the shots were giving me headaches (not to mention the pain in my arms). Unless there’s a sudden medical breakthrough in the treatment of allergies, I’m never going to be able to have a pet.
I’m not in the dating world anymore, but if a guy had a pet I was allergic to, it would probably be a deal breaker for me. I’d never ask someone to give up their pet for me, but I need to be able to breathe. I think dating sites should definitely give the option to let potential dates know of your allergies.
When I browse a dating site and see that a guy has a cat I just click on by. I am super allergic to them and so his having one is a deal breaker in advance for me. Same with horses. Dogs are a different story.
I’ve actually had to leave a date (once) because I was sneezing so badly from the ambient cat dander.
I’m very allergic to cats (adorable though they may be!) and pets are one of the first things I check on a profile.
What I want is a section for pets that aren’t dogs or cats! I have pet rabbits, and I know people are allergic, but there’s no convenient way to let someone know (unless they read through my whole profile)