My friend isn't allergic to her own cats, but is allergic to other peoples' cats. Why is this?

She's in love with her own cats. And what kind of dogs did you have. Some kinds of pets have different dander to cause allergy symptoms.

I react to cats the same way as your friend does. I had 2 cats (one recently died) and when I brought him home for the first two months or so I would get a reaction when I was around him (restricted breathing, watery eyes, hives, etc). As time passed by I was less affected by him. But at first it was definitely a reaction. He did however die back in March of this year, so I went to the Humane Society to look for another cat, and guess what? After spending an hour with unfamiliar cats all those symptoms came back. I do believe that someone can be allergic to something but they can "habituate" of get used to the allergen and live with it just fine. I don't believe this is the case with every allergic reaction however.

It's a psychological problem- Not a real allergy. Don't get me wrong- the symptoms are real.

Animals all have different dander, according to how they live and are groomed. For instance, I am only allergic to cats who go out doors, I have no trouble at all with indoor cats. Some short haired dogs cause a reaction for me, I think because their skin is dryer. Also if i were to go into a house where there are pets and the house isn't very clean from pet hair build up, it effects me almost immediately. So, I don't know about psychological, like mentioned before, I think it is more of a grooming matter to me.

A Dr explained this to me many years ago. You build up a tolerance to the animals around you. This is why others pets can bother you or if you animal dies and you get another it bothers you for a while while your tolerance level comes up.