HappyLady Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 To sum up, a stray cat showed up at my house last week and a few days later brought her two kittens. I cleaned them up this past weekend and brought them in the house. They're "quarantined" in my spare bedroom at the moment. Mama kitty goes to the vet tomorrow to get checked out. Anyway, I'm allergic to everything under the sun (which I actually only found out about 7 years ago when we bought out house and I couldn't stop sneezing and such and went to an allergist because of it), but my pet allergies only affect me when I pet an animal for a long time or, with some animals, they come in contact with my skin. Ever since I brought the kitties in, when I visit them I immediately start sneezing, get a runny nose, my eyes water..... And that's even without touching any of them. :( I'm hoping it's just because they're all in a bedroom with the door closed and once they're out and about in the house I'll be ok. I do have the window cracked open with the fan going during the day, but apparently it's not helping. I want to keep mama kitty and it looks like if I do, I might have to actually take the allergy meds my allergist said I should be taking (I don't like taking any medications, especially in pill form). I just needed to vent. But if anyone has any suggestions, I'll gladly take them. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 My dh is allergic to cats. We gave our kitty a bath everyday for the first month. For some reason after that we haven't had to bathe him (kitty is very happy about that) and dh has been fine as long as kitty stays off of his bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datgh Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 We found out our son is allergic to dogs when our first one who was around since ds was born died and we bought a new puppy into the house. We found if we kept the dog out of his room and kept an air purifier on in there that he could easily handle the dog during the day. The way the allergist explained it was to think of ds as a garbage can :glare: As long as the garbage can isn't full and over flowing with allergins, he won't react. Once his system was overloaded then the congestion would start. By keeping his sleeping environment allergin free he had every night to empty his garbage can and start fresh in the morning. My son was so relieved it worked because he loves our pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in MN Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 My body can handle one cat at a time. She doesn't sleep with me at night but if I nap she is near my head. IF we have two cats I am hitting my asthma inhaler every thirty seconds and making weekly trips to the ER for adrenaline shots. Bathing, and the resulting blood loss, never helps me. Generally speaking people are allergic to a protein in cat saliva rather than the cats themselves. Since you have three cats and two of them are kittens... that means a lot of saliva. You may be better once you have a population of one cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 when we first got cats, I was allergic to them for a few months but now we have 8 and I have no problems. However, I am still allergic to other people's cats. When we first got cats, I would wipe them down with a damp washcloth. It seemed to help with the allergies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 You may get used to them (you also may not :tongue_smilie:). My husband was terribly allergic to the 6 cats that came with dating/marrying me. After months of exposure he was fine with them. We've been married 18 years, so we've obviously lost some cats and brought others in. He typically reacts to a new kitty with sneezing, watery eyes, and runny nose for about a week and then he's fine. He's such a trooper :001_wub:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 Our allergist told me to wipe down the cats with a damp cloth daily, keep them out of my son's bedroom, shower him before bed, and use a HEPA along with dust allergy protocols in his bedroom. My son has allergy induced asthma and we did have to rehome the cats eventually. I'm sure success varies according to severity of symptoms. I tend to think that you've got a better chance given you tolerate a cat in the home now. It may well be that they are together and there is a lot of saliva with mom and kittens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 The way the allergist explained it was to think of ds as a garbage can :glare: As long as the garbage can isn't full and over flowing with allergins, he won't react. . Now that I've been through allergy shots and my system is settled down I'm able to have a cat. I wouldn't have even considered it 15 years ago when my body was reacting to everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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