Living with Cats and allergies

I am afraid I am getting allergies. Is there a way to live with cats and animals? I don't want to give up Jake because of allergies. He is a pure joy to me and he has brighten up my life. I cannot face life without him anymore. I have vowed that I will always be with animals. i don't want allergies to have a conflict in my life.

It's sad to discover one has allergies related to animals. I've not had such allergies, but if that were to happen I would never for even a moment consider life apart from my cats! The medical profession can help you deal with your allergies, but you must insist upon keeping your animals no matter what anyone says to the contrary.



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You can start wiping your cats down daily with damp cloths, this helps to eliminate the dander. Groom them with the grooming gloves, take over the counter antihistamines. If you can, cover you soft cloth furniture with less attractant material like vinyl, or even rubber sheeting. Try to reduce the amount of carpet in your home (if you can)hardwood flooring is best, plus it doesn't house fleas as much as carpet does.

I've had allergies to cats since I was 12, but I love them so much that I'll never get rid of them. The best thing I've found is to groom your cat often and make sure you wash your hands well after you pet him. Otherwise if you rub your eyes or nose with the cat dander on your hands, your allergies will really flare up I also have something like a nasal spray that will block the histamine from interacting with what it believes to be the allergy.

Good luck and don't ever be rid of your cats!

Boy, do I have a lot to say on this subject! I have allergies and five cats. I can give you several pointers holistic and over the counter to help you combat this as they have immensely helped me. I almost have no symptoms whatsoever now. You may not need to do all of these as I suspect you probably don't have as many cats as I do but if you do, I think it will make a huge impact on your allergy situation.

There is a miracle product called Sneeze No More that is a spray you can get to spray in the areas where you cat spends the most time like on his bedding and sleeping areas. You can search on Google for it or you can get it off our website at www.houseofmews.com in the shopping area. Our shelter really works with people who want to keep their cats and we decided to sell this product because it was so remarkable. It may seem expensive ($20) but it last a long time.

Also, I got a small air purifier from Sears that I put in the main room of our apartment. It has made a huge difference.

I do not let my cats in my sleeping area unless it is when I am reading or want to spend special time with them. I keep my bedroom door shut when I am not at home to keep them from lounging on my bed and pillows.

Two drops of vinegar a day in their water made a big difference as well. A holistic vet recommended this to me. A lot of people think it is the hair and dander that you are allergic to but sometimes it is the protein in a cats saliva. When grooming themselves, this protein is spread over their body thus if a cat has long hair, the more protein that will be spread. The cats really won't like it the first few days but now my cats know no difference. The vinegar breaks this protein down and is not harmful to the cats at all. Good luck!!! Hope this helps!

Nena...I moved this to the health and nutrition forums, I hope that's okay...I thought you might get more response to your question here.

I have allergies to cats as well. I have not been too bad since I just got my kittens a short time ago. I do sometimes get the itchy red eyes and a little stuffed. There is something called Allergy Relief from Cats. You wipe them down once a week with it. It seems to help. Made by Outright. Also use a Hepa air filter. And we dont let the cats in the bedrooms. I read that an animal has to walk through a room only once to leave enough dander etc to flair up allergies.
Also bathing them regularly is supposed to help. I believe in time we build up immunities to them as well. I was worse when I would go and visit cats at a shelter than I am living with them.

I find the vinegar thing interesting and might try it as well. I know how you feel. I could not part with my babies now for anything.
Good luck.

I always has pets as a child. dogs, cats, rabbits, gerbils, birds, you name it. after I went away to college & was away from animals for years at a time I found that when I would visit my friends with cats my eyes would swell up and get all itchy & red.

I have 2 cats now, and when I brought them home I was very good about washing my hands after petting them and I found that helped IMMENSLY. now the only time I have a problem is when I go away for awhile. a couple weeks ago I went away for 5 days & when I got back my eyes itched. after a day it was back to normal. luckily that is as bad as it's gotten for me


I may try this vinegar thing. thanks for the tip!

I know it sounds strange but the vinegar worked for me!!! Good luck!

My boyfriend used to be allergic to Eric and whenever he came over to see me he'd sneeze incessantly (sp), his nose would run and his eyes would fill with tears. Ever since the moment we decided to move out together I've been worried about this but he seems to have developed an immunity to it. We've been living together for two years now and he has had no problems with Eric. It's funny but when we go visit friends that have cats or go see my mum who has a Siamese freak (I call him freak because he's totally weird) he starts sneezing again.
The thing is he used to have a cat for quite a long time and the allergy appeared after his cat passed away.
What's funny is that I seem to be becoming allergic to my mum's cat too.
Anyway I'd suggest you groom your cat more often and try the vinegar trick because I also think that it's their saliva people are allergic to. And by no means part with your sweetie. I'd rather sneez than be apart from my baby Eric.
Good luck!

Thanks for all the advice. I started taking a new prescription medicine called Zyrtec. It works really well. I groom Jake for a half an hour and I bathe him every four weeks, so all this is helping me. He dosen't sleep on my bed, just his own.

It took me awhile to convince my dr that I wasn't going to give up Kitty because of allergies (she doesn't cause a reaction even though the tests say I'm allergic to cats)! We have 2 filters from Sharper Image, so that there is always one on even while the other one is being cleaned and they really make a difference!! I think they are ionizing filters (they aren't hepa filters) and the vaccum has a hepa filter, which helps too. I can't understand why people without pets always say just get rid of the cat. What would they do if someone told them to get rid of their child because of an allergy? It's the same thing with Kitty, she's my baby! Glad you're doing better with the Zyrtec and grooming. Cats are so worth the extras it takes when you're allergic. They are sources of unconditional love, and we can all use more of that in our lives!