cat allergies! *sneeze*

I'm allergic to my cat. I love him too much to give him up (as my doctors coldly advised me to do) and I just want to live with it. He isn't too keen on baths but I do use the Furminator when I can. I also use these clothes that bathe him without using water.

Am I crazy for keeping him?

Not at all! I think of all people the vets should understand that you can't just give up a pet like that. Especially not a cat.
Have you not taken any allergy medicine? You could probably start up some of that. Your doctor might even be able to prescribe something to help.

-Teh Raynboh

I am also allergic to my cats....3 of them!! I take OTC (over the counter) allergy pills which greatly reduce the sneezing, runny eyes and nose. In fact, the whole allergy reaction has lessened in the last year of so....I'm now taking one pill about every 3 weeks.

My allergies are not asthma, or life threatning, so I will keep my cats and love them, and kiss them and hug them and stick my nose in their fur......why...because I love them and they bring me the greatest of pleasure.....

In fact, I'm more allergice to men's aftershave that they wear in the office...grrrrr....than I am to the kitties.

Good luck with your allergies and kitties!!

some suggest wiping kitty down with a cloth and some distilled water to bring down the dander level ...

furminating should help

on the allergy scale what are you to cats??

1 here is slight
4 is near deathly

not anaphylaxis by any means! Cheeto has to get up really close to me (he does this often) and I will get red eyes, teary, sniffly, congested, and typical hayfever type symptoms. It was my primary care physician who poo-poo'd me for keeping my cat. It's not like I'm allergic to a perfume I own and can just throw it away - this is a cat!

So, to answer your question, probably a 1.5-2 on a scale of 4.

I take claritin, singulair etc. I was just warned that if you have allergies long enough you can get asthma, which worries me.

I would also suggest vacuuming several times a week, with a vacuum with a Hepa filter if possible. That is supposed to help too. We just bought a house and switching to all hard floors has made me feel so much better (I have dust allergies). I've also read that for cat allergies, keeping the bedroom a "cat free" zone is supposed to help.

This article may help a bit.

http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/223...t-Allergy.html

My hubby's allergic to cats....yet he brought Harley home without thinking about it. I try to keep her out of the bedroom during the day when he's sleeping, (we also have a window fan on exhaust in there) and I vacuum the house often. I also wipe her down with allergy wipes.

I think a lot of it doesn't just stem from Harley, I think it has to do with my entire apartment being covered in carpet. Unfortunately I can't do anything about it; if it was my own house I'd go hardwood floors. Maintenance just ripped out and replaced all my old wooden windows a few days ago and stirred up God-knows-what in the process.

A question for you guys that take OTC allergy meds - which one do you find works best for you? Hubby takes Benadryl, but there's got to be something out there that's more effective.

Originally Posted by LadyLoneWolf

A question for you guys that take OTC allergy meds - which one do you find works best for you? Hubby takes Benadryl, but there's got to be something out there that's more effective.

Click to expand...

I like Claritin (the store brand of it) the best. Benadryl knocks me out, but I keep the sinus headache kind on hand for the times I need it. Zyrtec works but I feel like I'm in a fog.

Im very allergic to cats and refused to get rid of them when the dr said 2.
I have 4 now and a new kitten coming next month.
I have severe hay fever also and get hives if I get clawed.
I have flonase and claritin d.
I also have Benadryl spray when I get hives and it works good.
I have Asthma also and used toake allergy shots.