About the shedding - I've been pleased with the results I'm getting from the Furminator this season.
It takes loads out of Pursley's short but very thick/wooly coat so much so that she barely "moults" at all these days. I just groom her thoroughly with a flea comb once a week and furminate her when the undercoat feels like it's thickening up, and the shed fur goes straight in the bin. The mikki matt breaker was a godsend for her back-end at the start of the summer, but once the old coat was out, this regime has kept her new fur in tip top condition.
This combined with a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner meant that even my allergic sister-in-law stayed sucessfully in my house for three nights this spring without resorting to ridiculous levels of anti-histamine (I have seven cats, and am at bursting point in my tiny two-bed house).
Could Lady Blue's current owners try a new grooming regime and see if it reduces her fur loss to an acceptable level? Maybe even get a professional groomer to have a look at her? How about a rubber grooming mitt? What about a change of diet? Get a cleaner in once a week to help with the house. Restrict Blue to a couple of rooms.
There must be some things they can try rather than just giving up...seems such a shame when they love her so much
(Gosh, got quite passionate there - sorry
)