Allergic to Cats

That was my worst fear as a little girl, to be allergic to my most favourite animal. It's not a strong allergy, but it mainly affects my eyes and nose. My eyes will itch like crazy, and i will sneeze and sniffle. I sleep with both my cats, one by my head and the other by my feet. Their purring helps me sleep, and one cat will cuddle right up to me. The other one, I want her to leave and she leaves, just like that. My cuddly cat won't. I will push him away and he comes back. I go to sleep with him in the middle of the bed and wake up with him on my pillow. He's 6 months old, and very clingy. Is there a way for me to live with my allergies without getting rid of my cats? 

I have horrible allergies - not cats, luckily, but to just about everything else.  I'm allergic to pollen, grass, trees, dust, and mold.  I have seasonal allergies - if you're talking about all 4 seasons!

When I was a kid, they used to cause horrible nosebleeds.  Now they just cause an unbearably itchy nose, stuffiness, sneezing, and red, itchy eyes.  Obviously, I can't avoid all the things I'm allergic to.  I take a combination of Claritin (one pill) and Flonase (2 squirts per nostril).  They don't completely eliminate my allergy symptoms, but they make it bearable.  Of course, as horrible as my allergies are, nothing I've tried has ever completely eliminated symptoms.

I found out I was allergic to cats after I got my first kitten. My Sootball also insists on sleeping in bed with me at night, usually right next to my head on my pillow. I don't have the heart to kick her out of my bedroom, so I just put up with waking up with itchy eyes and a stuffy nose lol.

I have a HEPA filter that I turn on every night in my bedroom, and I've gotten several spider plants (they purify the air and are non-toxic to pets) all around my apartment. I also wash and dry my bed sheets, comforter, pillow, and pillowcase every week, and vacuum and mop every other day.

All this really helps to keep my symptoms to a minimum, and on nights when my allergies feel especially bad, I just put my kitty in the living room and sleep with my bedroom door closed. Even when I take allergy meds, I've found that my symptoms don't go away completely, so I'd rather continue with what I've been doing, instead of taking allergy meds every day for the rest of my life