I'm Alergic to Cats!

I'm alergic to cats. I always have been. I have been able to develop a tolerance to them and fall victom to an itchy eye here and there from handeling them then touching my eye. But now I'm experiencing some athsma just when I want to go to sleep. A couple benedryl seems to work enough to get me to sleep. Perhaps walking around with a kitten plastered to my face a lot is agrivating the condition. Any other cat lovers "Alergic"?

You betcha!!

I am allergic and have asthma. I take prescription Zytrec, Flovent and Singulair. Allergies are real bad right now anyway with the goldenrod, etc out.

I always have been, as well. Over the years, though, it improved. My cat that owned me as a child would occassionally sleep on my face, and I would wake up with swollen and itchy eyeballs (yes, the actually eyeball itself would swell, very gross and uncomfortable). I've never had any issues with asthma, though...

It always seemed a small price to pay to cuddle with my kitties!

I am not, but have u tried the shots? i heard now they have shots for those kind of allergies?

My Mom suffered for years with her cats. We vacuumed a lot and put an air cleaner up for her and it did help. My kittens are starting to go "airborn" which i'm sure is not helping.

A lot of the people in my family are allergic to cats, which bothers me cuz I really would like them to come visit us sometime. Is there anything that will take the cat dander and such out of the air? Like when they are planning a visit is there anything that I can do to help them out with their allergies? I plan on taking Harley to my DB's mothers house while they are here (there are other kitties there for him to play with! ) I was just wondering if maybe Febreeze or anyone out there made anything for people with pet allergies

I am allergic. I used to get the itchy eyes and sneezing, but I got used to it over time. I rarely have those symptoms any longer. I do have asthma, but have meds for that . Seems to keep it under control. Febreeze has a allergen reducing spray out but I haven't tried it . Have your tried air cleaning machines?

We're both allergic to cats. My current allergist knew better than to suggest I get rid of them, so I get allergy shots. If you can keep the cat out of your bedroom, it can help you to have a place to sleep where your body can get a break from the dander. Using an air filter can help too. If you have a lot of carpeting in your house, you might want to consider getting rid of it and installing smooth flooring - carpet is really bad about holding onto allergens. Wash your bedding frequently, and you might want to try using allergy mattress and pillow covers too - the object is to reduce your exposure to any additional allergens (such as dust mites), because the more allergens you're exposed to at a time, the more likely you are to have an attack.

If your cat will let you bathe him, you can rinse him thoroughly once every couple of weeks in warm water to cut down on the dander (my allergist said it's not necessary to shampoo unless you want to - rinsing will do the same thing).

Originally Posted by babyharley

I was just wondering if maybe Febreeze or anyone out there made anything for people with pet allergies

Click to expand...

I found this stuff at the site I order my pet supplies from - I haven't tried it because it's so expensive, but perhaps it might help? I've tried the Febreze allergen reducer spray (it comes in a blue bottle with a yellow label) on our living room rug, but honestly I can't tell if it helps or not, because I've always got at least one cat's worth of hair on my clothes anyway.

I'm allergic to cats. I brush my kitties regularly, then wipe them down with damp paper towels. That helps a lot.
I always wash my hands after a major petting session.

I also use a HEPA air filtering machine in my bedroom. Sometimes when it gets bad...I take an Allerga.
My furkids are worth every eye itch & sneeze.

My Mom is so allergic to cats that she can NOT even take the shots to build up her amunity. She can NOT come to my house...and I have to be very careful to have bathed and put on clean clothes before going to see her...and I do NOT touch the cats on my way out the door to go there either.
It probably depends on how severe the allergy is....but agrivating allergies can make them worse over time.

Oh yeah to all 8 of them but you can't give up everything you Love, I don't think mine are as bad sence I got these other 4 cats Maybe I'm just allergic to the Basset Hound and now that I have so many cats that over powered the dog

I like that Febreeze allergan reducing spray- it smells nice and I think it works ok. I take Clarinex and Singulair, and use Proventil when I have to. You should vacuum often- but wear one of those masks that cover your face and nose. Also vacuum your furniture and if you can, shampoo your carpets once a month. I can't stand the idea of keeping my cats out of my room at night like my allergist says to, so I just wash the sheets frequently and vacuum everything.

I am allergic to cats too. I didnt know i was untill we got our cat. But i love him. I put up with my itchy eyes n sneezin just for him

My sister is allergic and has asthma, I use Petal Cleanse/C when we are going to stay at my parents' and she will be there!

Every week, you rub your kitties down with the Petal Cleanse and it encapsulates the allegens! After three weeks, it will be completely effective and my two don't mind so much, as they know they get treats afterwards!

It really works well, so I would certainly recommend it!

Hi,
I'm new to this site, and have a few comments about cat allergies. I am thankfully not allergic, but unfortunately my boyfriend is. When I lost my last cat to cancer in 2003 I waited for 10 months to get another one, because his allergies are so severe. I ended up finally getting a Siberian kitty (Nika), because Siberians are known for being less allergenic than most other breeds. A very high percentage of cat-allergic people are either non-reactive, or much less reactive to Siberians.

I was hoping my BF would be in the former category. Unfortunately he's still allergic, though less so than other cats. Still enough to be a problem though. Some days he has to leave my apt because he's so uncomfortable.

One thing that helped a lot was NAET treatments (Nambudripad (sp?) Allergy Elimination Treatment). NAET is an energy-based system, created by a Chiropractor/Acupuncturist. From a western medicine paradigm it sounds kooky, but it works. It has actually eliminated allergies completely for lots of people.

Another modality I've heard of but have not tried yet is Bioset, which is apparently similar to NAET.

The NAET treatments eventually wore off, I think because my BF never did the full treatment--you're supposed to be treated for 10 foundational food allergies before moving on to specific environmental allergies, but he just had a few "emergency" cat-specific treatments. This is not as effective as going through the whole battery of treatments, which can be very expensive, and take months, and he's just never gone back. Sigh...

In the meantime, just this past week my BF was staying at a friend's place, where there were two resident cats. The friend had treated the place with Febreze, and he had no problems for the whole time he was there (4 days?)!! I immediately went out and bought some, and will apply it for the first time after the cleaners come tomorrow. I hope it works! We both think Nika would be happier with a friend--Siberians are quite social, and I think she needs more play time than I can provide, even though I work at home. If the Febreze works we may get her a buddy...

Anybody else have any experience with Febreze, or other cat allergy solutions?

I had just developed athsma about a year ago, and lately I have been having itchy eye too....oh well...I'll deal with it!

I get the itchy eyes and I sneeze sometimes. Eyedrops help for the eyes. I think I might try wiping her down with a damp paper towel. Are you supposed to use distilled water for that? I thought I read regular tap water doesn't work.

I don't think it matters...?

I think if you react to the cat I do not think to get her wet helps at all.
Maybe if you bath her regally every 14 days.