Allergic to New Cat-- Absolutely Heartbroken :(

So I have never posted anything here before, but I seriously need some advice. A little under two weeks ago, I adopted an amazing cat (Robin Hood), whom I adore, and am now having severe skin allergic reactions. I have no idea what my options are in terms of controlling all this, or even if I can control it, and hope someone can give me some advice. :/

Background Information:

As a kid and teenager, I was allergic to cats (sniffling, occasional rashes, the whole nine yards).  I sadly avoided them for years... until grad school, when I reluctantly agreed to a roommate who had a cat. Long story short, my plans for avoiding the cat lasted about five minutes, and the cat and I became BFFs. I expected to spend the rest of the year sneezing my brains out, but was shocked to realize that my allergies were almost nonexistant-- I comfortably snuggled with the cat constantly and slept with her almost every night. Even when she decided my pillow was her new throne, I never seriously reacted. So I started hanging out with other cats (including some who had caused reactions in the past), and realized that only a small number still bothered me. And even those reactions were nothing like before. I was absolutely thrilled that I could actually adopt a cat of my own-- I figured that if I did some research and used extra caution, I'd know early on if allergies were a problem with any particular cat.

Current Situation:

I was up-front with the cat rescue about my allergies, and hung out with the kitty for at least an hour before making the decision to take him home. The cat is ultra social, so I let him climb all over me, lick my face, etc. Everything seemed totally fine, so I officially adopted him. But about an hour after getting home, I suddenly had the worst rash of my life, with hives and giant red marks all over my arms and face. It looked and felt like someone had slapped me. I wound up taking him to the vet for a bath the next day (he'd been living with several other cats, so we wondered if the extra dander was making things worse), which helped somewhat, but I'm still getting at least one major rash a day, and they've been just awful the past couple days. Weirdly, I have zero congestion, just this infuriating skin stuff! It turns up right after I've been directly touching the cat, and disappears after I've taken a break. Areas covered in cat hair (even my bed) don't seem to cause problems.

Has anyone here ever experienced an allergic reaction like this to a cat? Is there a particular antihistimine that works best, preferably for long-term use? I took Claratin all last week with no improvement, and switched to Allegra tonight, which hopefully will help.

Would allergy shots be a viable option? I'm making an appointment with an allergist ASAP, but am not even sure what I can realistically expect. I've read a couple places that allergy shots aren't known to work for skin reactions, but I have no idea how accurate that is.

I desperately, desperately want to keep this kitty. We've started to bond, and I already have a hard time imagining life without him. But I can't function with rashes this terrible. The one good thing is that he definitely has a safe place to go no matter what-- the lady from the rescue has assured me that he can always go back to his foster home (where he seemed happy), and my friend is interested in adopting him if I can't keep him. If rehoming is the only option, then I guess it's what I'll have to do... but I want to do everything I can to avoid getting to that point. In short, HELP!

I know allergy TESTING can't be done if you have a rash because you'll likely get a false positive. Not sure about shots though. There are quite a few folks here that have cat allergies though (and happily live with several cats) so hopefully some of those folks will see this.

Just to play "devil's advocate" so to speak... is there anything else new in home or life lately? Any new furniture, carpeting, are you on any new meds (or even NOT so new meds)? I've been on meds that took a year for the allergy to show up because there was a trace amount of something I was allergic to in it.

And when you get the hives, are they only where you've been touching the cat, or all over? It does sound weird to have that type of reaction, but I'm assuming not completely unheard of.

What you feed the cat can affect the allergens he produces. Maybe a food switch would help. . .but I don't know what to recommend to switch to! It might take a little experimenting. Definitely a high-quality food with no artificial dyes.

Weekly baths are also known to help, along with frequent wipe-downs with distilled water.

And sometimes litter dust is the allergen. Perhaps a litter change will help.

I was also going to suggest that maybe it is litter or something the cat is coming in contact with that is causing the issue? Or, yes, even something else inside your house?

I just worry about the type and severity of the reaction you are having. I do suggest you see your dr or an allergist as soon as you possibly can.

Allergy injections may indeed help, they are the strongest solution. You also might try 25 mg. of Benadryl before bedtime, it will make you sleepy so do not take it in the day time. I give Benadryl for allergic reactions that cause hives with good success, but check with your Dr. first, you don't want to be taking too many antihistamines. i don't understand why it took so long for the reaction to come up,it is usually pretty quick.  I pray you find a solution, I truly hope things work out for you.

Since it is a contact reaction it might be the flea stuff put on the cat.  Most of the topicals stay on the cat's skin to kill fleas and other parasites.

I suggest process of elimination. As people said above, it could be the litter, flea treatments, or could even be his food- I know someone who was allergic to cat-nip. try eliminating some of these items, switch litter to corn (supposedly non-allergenic).

Thank you for trying to make it work with your buddy- I know a lot of people would easily give up their pets because of allergies. Kudos to you for willing to do anything to make it work!!

One of the cats at the shelter I volunteer at got adopted and then brought back because the guy had allergies. Adoption Counselor told me that he (the guy) was working on getting them under control so he could take the cat back - and he has! At one point they had on their web site things you could do, but I just went and looked and I don't see it anymore. Good luck!

Is this cat's fur long or short that you are reacting to?

I am VERY allergic to cats. Normally it takes the body 3 to 6 months to build up immunities. So for me-I have 2 long hair-who hardly ever make me sneeze. One short hair makes my eyes itch and nose sneeze. I brush her often but never bath. 

I found that if I am around other cats I react much more than my own=like at the vets. I found when I got Floey i didnt react as much. Same as Honeybee. But Pumpkin face yes makes me sneeze and itchy throat/eyes. I have to wash my skin and face if I touch her. I touch her often as she loves to rub up against my face. I can't say no!

sometimes weekly baths can help. sometimes the short hair cats cause more allergies than long hair=dander is what we react to.

also if my cats scratch my skin-I get a huge welt=is it the claws that is causing you to break out? sometimes when I pick them up one decides to hang onto my skin and dig in-not on purpose. 

Also what kind of laundry soap are you using and cat litter?

Sometimes its the perfumes in our everyday products that cat cause trouble.

I use Pert plus shampoo. They changed all the formulas. One has this really weird smell and it makes my skin itch. Did any of your products change formula?