Bruce Williams, DVM ([log in to unmask]) says: In eight years of practice - I have never seen a person who is allergic to ferrets. They appear to be hypo-allergenic, at least in my experience. My wife Colleen is extremely allergic to cats but has absolutely no problem with ferrets. I would venture to say that most other owners with cat allergies will tell you a similar story..... and Laura L'Heureux ([log in to unmask]) says: About ferret allergies -- Dr. Kawasaki claims that ferrets are almost hypoallergenic. I believe he may be right as far as ferret dander (i.e. inhalant allergy -- they shouldn't make you sneeze!). ... My wife Clare is definitely allergic to ferrets, so much so that I have to do essentially all of the ferret handling. They cause her to wheeze and if they scratch her the scratches swell up quite a lot. They also some times make her sneeze. She is also allergic to cats but the symptoms are somewhat different, cats make her eyes burn. I myself am only mildly allergic to ferrets. At places of large concentration of ferrets (like ferret shows) I get a burning feeling in the nose. A scratch tends to swell up, but only mildly. Bill Sebok Univ. of Maryland, Astronomy Internet: [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 0648]