Does any cat owners here suffer from cat allergies and if so, how do you cope with it?
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cat allergies
- Thread starter ellen54
- Start Date
Im ok with my cats, its other people's animals, or new animals that get to me, but I do know people who are quite allergic to their own pets as well as other things and they all get a yearly allergy shot.
Maybe something to talk to your doctor about
Maybe something to talk to your doctor about
I work at an animal hospital and one of the girls I work with is highly allergic to cats and some dogs. She has to get allergy injections weekly!
I had relatively minor allergies to Red Cat and Purdy. Perpetually runny nose was the main symptom, but it wasn't bothersome enough to do anything more than to take Purdy, the long-hair, to a groomer every three months. I took Red Cat once, too, but he turned ballistic and the groomer told me never to bring him back. I might try taking him to a different groomer one of these days, though, as I think the groomer I'm now taking Purdy to is probably more experienced and better equiped.
In September I added a third cat, Sheba. That's when my problems really started. She has very short hair, but man, does she put out the allergens! I could tell right away after I got her that whenever she would get near my face, my nose started tickling, I'd occasionally sneeze, and I'd even feel the problem in my lungs. Not a serious breathing problem, but enough that I knew she was affecting me. Thankfully, I've adjusted enough to her now that I no longer have the breathing problem. My eyelids have been swollen and sore ever since I got her, though. Unfortunately, I also have a problem with my eyelids (the oil glands block up), so I really didn't know how much of my problem was due to Sheba and how much to my blepheritis. I took Sheba to the groomer December 31, but I also started antibiotics for my eyelid problem about the same time. My eyelids show definite improvement, but I still don't know how much of the problem was from the cat. I expect that as the month goes on, if the problem starts getting worse again, I'll know it is time to take Sheba back to the groomer.
I'm not the only one with allergies to Sheba, though. My stepdaughter is allergic to cats. Every time she came before when I just had the two boys, as long as she took a Claritin, her allergy was noticeable but tolerable. But she came on Christmas Eve for the first time since I got Sheba. Her allergy got so bad that she just ate and left, though she had planned to stay overnight. She said she even had to stop her car for a time on the way home because one eye was swollen shut and the other was running so bad she couldn't see. She had taken an allergy pill before she came, too, but it wasn't enough to cut it.
I have a portable air cleaner that I have started to use, and that seems to help me some, too. I may need to get another, so I'll have one for upstairs and one for down.
In September I added a third cat, Sheba. That's when my problems really started. She has very short hair, but man, does she put out the allergens! I could tell right away after I got her that whenever she would get near my face, my nose started tickling, I'd occasionally sneeze, and I'd even feel the problem in my lungs. Not a serious breathing problem, but enough that I knew she was affecting me. Thankfully, I've adjusted enough to her now that I no longer have the breathing problem. My eyelids have been swollen and sore ever since I got her, though. Unfortunately, I also have a problem with my eyelids (the oil glands block up), so I really didn't know how much of my problem was due to Sheba and how much to my blepheritis. I took Sheba to the groomer December 31, but I also started antibiotics for my eyelid problem about the same time. My eyelids show definite improvement, but I still don't know how much of the problem was from the cat. I expect that as the month goes on, if the problem starts getting worse again, I'll know it is time to take Sheba back to the groomer.
I'm not the only one with allergies to Sheba, though. My stepdaughter is allergic to cats. Every time she came before when I just had the two boys, as long as she took a Claritin, her allergy was noticeable but tolerable. But she came on Christmas Eve for the first time since I got Sheba. Her allergy got so bad that she just ate and left, though she had planned to stay overnight. She said she even had to stop her car for a time on the way home because one eye was swollen shut and the other was running so bad she couldn't see. She had taken an allergy pill before she came, too, but it wasn't enough to cut it.
I have a portable air cleaner that I have started to use, and that seems to help me some, too. I may need to get another, so I'll have one for upstairs and one for down.
I have to vacuum and dust daily or my eyes swell and itch and my nose runs away. I also run all the pillows and blankets that we use on the beds as well as the couch pillows through the dryer 1-2 times a week to get rid of the cat hair/dander. Lots of handwashing and a prescription from the dr.
I have mentioned this before and others have agreed! Petal Cleanse/C, you wash your cat/s with it and it traps the allergens (it also conditions your cats' coat!)
You can find worldwide stockists and more information at www.bio-life.co.uk
Hope this helps a bit! Plus, if you do a thread search, you might be able to find the previous thread about cat allergies.
You can find worldwide stockists and more information at www.bio-life.co.uk
Hope this helps a bit! Plus, if you do a thread search, you might be able to find the previous thread about cat allergies.
We had a thread on this recently, but I can't remember if it was before or after the crash. Anyway, I take daily meds for allergies and asthma (Zyrtec and Singulair) and I try to vacuum regularly. I know it's also recommended that people with cat allergies not let their cats into the bedroom, because the dander gets trapped inside the mattress and you can't get it out, but I don't have the heart to keep my kitties out--plus, my cat allergies aren't that bad (my allergies are mostly to other things and the kitties just aggravate them a bit).
Whenever my MIL comes over, she starts wheezing, etc. So,she poops in a Claratin, and it really helps!
Here is the other thread that was about allergies! It might be of some help to you!
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...hlight=allergy
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...hlight=allergy
Uh...Susie...she POOPS in a Claritin????? How does that help?Originally Posted by kittylover4ever
Whenever my MIL comes over, she starts wheezing, etc. So,she poops in a Claratin, and it really helps!
Originally Posted by mamacat
Uh...Susie...she POOPS in a Claritin????? How does that help?Sorry, couldn't resist.
Thank´s God NOPE, Hope you can find a cure!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #14
Thanks for all of your replies. I have 8 cats and I just started having problems. When I got up yesterday morning my eyes were so puffy I couldn't see out of my left eye. My doctor gave me some eye drops and some Allegra to take before I go to bed. I'm not really that impressed with Allegra. When I go back to him on Friday I'll ask him for some Zyrtek and maybe an allergy shot (ouch!). I hope he dosen't tell me to "poop in a Claritin". That was too funny.
Glad I could make you smile Ellen!
