Expert: John Locke - 8/26/2008

Question
I live in a three story condo enclosed with 38 units. Some residents don't want to allow cats to live there because they shed dander and they are afraid they are breathe it in as if it's going to poison them or somethein. I was wondering how much skin a human sheds ( average) in a yesr as apposed to a cat. Maybe they will be surprised if humans shed more dander than cats

Answer
Thanks for using AllExperts. Your question is a relevant one, as many people have allergies to various substances in the environment; some of the most common ones are to pet dander (skin cells shed by cats and dogs) and to dust mites, which feed on the flakes of skin that people shed. As you might expect, the rate of shedding depends upon the surface area of skin, because in most animals, the skin is shed and replaced at a fairly constant rate. As such, the more surface area of skin that you have, the more that you'll shed in a given amount of time. In humans, it takes about 27 days for the entire outer layer of the skin to be shed and replaced completely; that works out roughly to 1.5 pounds of skin cells per year (I emphasize "roughly" because these calculations are difficult and subject to some uncertainty). Unfortunately, I have not been able to find conclusive data on the shedding rates of feline skin; it may be worthwhile to ask a veterinarian if you wish to know more. I would reason that cats shed less dander than humans shed skin cells over the course of a year, but unfortunately I cannot provide good data for feline skin shedding. Good luck.