Positive allergy tests, not sure what to do now

wannahelp

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I had my cat allergy tested and she wqs found to have multiple environmental allergies and a dog allergy. However, she doesn't have skin symptoms. She does have congestion, which I'm told isn't really indicative of allergies.

I got the test because I was planning to get a dog nad wantedt to see if it might make her worse. The problem is, no one can tell me whether any particular breed of dog would be better than another-shedding versus non-shedding, etc. Thinking back, however, she did seem to be more congested when I had my dog. However, at that time, my brother and his cats were also living with me and I know that was a stressor for her. So, I don't know if it was the stress or the dog that was making her symptoms worse (congestion).
I also know that it mau not be the dog, per se but the allergens on its coat that are problematic. Since nobody can give me a more definitive answer, I'm not sure what to do about getting a dog. A couple of people have told me to foster a dog for a short itme but again, I wouldn't know for an extended period whether it was stress or allergy that was irritating her. It's hard tot believe there's no one that can give me a better answer. I tried emailing a couple of vet schools but they won't give any info without seeing her.

Taking her to a dermatologist would be futile, since she doesn't have skin symptoms. I know there are "hypoalelrgenic" dog breeds but people, at least, with allergies can still have reactions to them. Plus, I wasn't really looking at those types of dogs. I guess I'm the only person to have ever encountered this problem.
 

Brian007

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I'm sure there will be plenty of others in a similar boat, whose cats are allergic to their dogs, and vice versus.

I would argue that congestion is one of the main indicators of an allergy, as allergies bring about coughs, sneezes, wheezes, sniffles, runny noses, and are generally quite snotty.  If she has allergies now, they're likely to include dust mites, which are a bugger.  

You could give her an antihistamine like, Chlorphenamine, which is a cheap over-the-counter medicine, used in both cats and humans (in humans it has a sedative effect but this does not happen in cats).  Or you could try adding cold nettle tea to her water, which is a natural antihistamine that tastes nice, to me, at least.

This list of anti-allergy dogs has some stupendous looking wee fellas:

http://www.dogguide.net/dog-breeds-for-allergies.php
 

furrypurry

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My cat is constantly congested and at times has a lot of awful sounding mucus, as well as some sneezing.  I have thought in the past he might have asthma but the vet says it is allergies.  We have used Chlorphenamine in a transdermal gel but I've started trying Zyrtec as of today.  I'm also pretty sure that my Jaspurr has FHV, which is a huge contributing factor to his issues.  
 
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wannahelp

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My cat was on the transdermal Chlor, but it didn't seem to help much and she also vomited after I gave it to her.
 
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