my allergy solution

abigail · Dec 2, 2005

I am wildly allergic to cats but wanted, but after a long string of personal losses, one so much that decided i would go to great measures to make this possible. this is what I do:
get allergy shots weekly. insurance pays and it takes 30 seconds.
keep her out of the kitchen and bedroom with closed doors
use two HEPA air filters in the rooms she frequents
vacuum every other day with a hepa filter bagged vacuum
damp mop the floors in the bathroom she uses- daily
Give her a Daily bath. she tolerates this well and today I encouraged her to actually climb into the sink by offering treats. tomorrow I try the spray rince rather the wipe down.
I stroke her with a static hair brush or a lint roller several times a day while she sits contentedly on my lap.
and finally
I shower all the dander off me before going to bed and I take Claritin.

In the olds days I would have had a full blown asthma attack within 30 minutes but now i have a teeny cough and slightly itchy eyes. that's REALLY liveable for me.
"http://webpages.charter.net/parkavenue/abismall.jpg
If you think I am nuts , it is well worth the effort to have this wonderful companion in my house.

jen · Dec 2, 2005

you know, you could have saved yourself a bit of trouble and gotten a hypoallergenic cat or a Persian. they dont have the stuff in their dander that makes people allergic. my dad is highly highly allergic and we got one and it had no affect on him whatsoever.

kerrimah2005 · Dec 2, 2005

amazing what we do sometimes for

I dont think your nuts at all just a kind caring person who loves cats!!!
I take allegra and have been on it for years...seems like its the winter it bothers the allergies the most with having to keep the windows shut more often and all...and yes I have actually heard about a special breed of cats that grow hair not fur ...havent had one of those yet ..Ill keep taking the allerga!!

MoochNNoodles · Dec 2, 2005

We do a lot of that for DH too. Noodles is crying outside DH's study at the moment because she is not allowed in here. Our 2 also aren't allowed in the bedroom. We have an air filter in the livingroom and kitchen and one in the bedroom. We have a hepa filter vacuum and we use a waterless wash you just wipe on them once a week. It really helps DH. He loves our babies just as much as I do! Oh and we brush them regularly too!

nekomimi · Dec 2, 2005

My husband has had horrible cat allergies in the past, and whenever we visit shelters both of us have allergy attacks. We got Seth (a maine coon mix) and we have absolutely no problems with her. I've read that Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest Cats (as well as some other long haired cats) lack the protein in their saliva that causes allergies.

ashleynicole · Dec 2, 2005

How wonderful that you love cats enough to do all of this! Me and my mom have had allergies all our life, but after living with cats since I was little, I guess I've gotten a little used to it. Meeko, who is the cat that lives with my parents, still makes me a little sneezy/itchy, etc. But Marlee, unbelievably, does not bother me one bit! I mean, I can pet her and touch my eyes, and no itch! At first I thought it was because she was so young, maybe she didn't have dander yet or something. But she is getting her winter coat in, and is shedding, and still no problems! Is it true that if you live with them since thery are very young you will kinda be immune?

abigail · Dec 3, 2005

Originally Posted by Nekomimi

My husband has had horrible cat allergies in the past, and whenever we visit shelters both of us have allergy attacks. We got Seth (a maine coon mix) and we have absolutely no problems with her. I've read that Maine Coons and Norwegian Forest Cats (as well as some other long haired cats) lack the protein in their saliva that causes allergies.

we adopted a feral maine coon and she was never permitted inside the house due to my allergies back then, but if I played with her outside inthe summer I would start to get a runny nose and itchy eyes. And I didn't want to mess withthe longer and more extensive grooming issues. Actually to be honest Abi chose me, when i visited the humane shelter she started purring the minute i stopped in front of her cage and none of the other cats did that. she isn't wildly extroverted nor is she overly skittish. of course I am biased because I think she has the perfect temperament for our house.

abigail · Dec 3, 2005

Originally Posted by Jen

you know, you could have saved yourself a bit of trouble and gotten a hypoallergenic cat or a Persian. they dont have the stuff in their dander that makes people allergic. my dad is highly highly allergic and we got one and it had no affect on him whatsoever.

never heard of a hypoallergenic cat, my vet says its the enzyme in her saliva from grooming that flakes off her body and causues the allergic reaction in me. By washing her daily I get rid of the dander and she does less grooming causing less saliva to get all over her body. but what do I know? this is new to me.

musicteacher · Dec 3, 2005

You really are terrific for being so dedicated to your love of cats. My husband was allergic too, but wanted me to have a cat so he got my two babies for me anyway. He eventually got over his allergy entirely.

cathystupak · Dec 4, 2005

Before we got our two cornish rex cats Jake and Callie we did alot of researching online. AS we have allergies we thought we should look and see if there were allergy differences depending on the cat breed. THis was a good step for us. We ended up getting the cornish rex breed as they only have a down coat and not the usual guard coat that animals have. We don't have hair all over the place. For those that are allergic to the pets saliva protein, we bathe our cats every week and thus don't have a problem with allergies. Hope this helps.

Cathy Stupak
http://www.pawssosweet.com
pet products for your dog and cat.

Originally Posted by Abigail

I am wildly allergic to cats but wanted, but after a long string of personal losses, one so much that decided i would go to great measures to make this possible. this is what I do:
get allergy shots weekly. insurance pays and it takes 30 seconds.
keep her out of the kitchen and bedroom with closed doors
use two HEPA air filters in the rooms she frequents
vacuum every other day with a hepa filter bagged vacuum
damp mop the floors in the bathroom she uses- daily
Give her a Daily bath. she tolerates this well and today I encouraged her to actually climb into the sink by offering treats. tomorrow I try the spray rince rather the wipe down.
I stroke her with a static hair brush or a lint roller several times a day while she sits contentedly on my lap.
and finally
I shower all the dander off me before going to bed and I take Claritin.

In the olds days I would have had a full blown asthma attack within 30 minutes but now i have a teeny cough and slightly itchy eyes. that's REALLY liveable for me.
"http://webpages.charter.net/parkavenue/abismall.jpg
If you think I am nuts , it is well worth the effort to have this wonderful companion in my house.

goldenkitty45 · Dec 4, 2005

Not sure what you are washing your cat with but one of the cheapest and best thing that really works is to wipe your cat down once a day with DISTILLED water!

Someone told me about that and I suggested it to allergic people - they tried it and it works very well. But it has to be distilled water - not plain tap water. Something in the distilling must reduce the allergins on the coat.

I think the biggest problem is keeping the cat out of your face and out of your bedroom

Also remember to wash your hands after petting them.

BTW my ex was allergic to cats - that's why we had the cornish rexes. And I am not allergic to cats; however I once petted a sphynx cat and had an allergic reaction on my hands - had to wash them off and I was fine. So hairless cats are NOT cats to get for allergies if you are allergic to the saliva!

sharky · Dec 4, 2005

wow I will have to try the distilled water...

my allergy solution

abigail

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jen

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kerrimah2005

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MoochNNoodles

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nekomimi

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ashleynicole

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abigail

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abigail

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musicteacher

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cathystupak

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goldenkitty45

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sharky

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