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Anyone Here Allergic To Their Cats?
- Thread starter river2017
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- Sep 10, 2005
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I am not but my husband is. We have a chain link fenced in area that the porch door opens into. It has the Cat Fence In System attached, which keeps our cat in and most other things out. He lives in the yard during the day. At night he sleeps on the screened in porch. He has a litter box there, his favorite furry bed, a small insulated pet home with a furry bed inside. When the weather is extreme, I put him in the garage in a large pet cage for the night. The garage has an independent cooling/heating unit if it is needed. My husband actually can get by with taking the allergy medicine only as needed. We tried for a long time to continue on with cats in the house, but it just didn't happen.
I'm allergic. I take zyrtec every day and get allergy shots. I also follow a lot of the suggestions in this article -
Living With Cat Allergy
Living With Cat Allergy
I have never been diagnosed with a cat allergey but I strongly suspect that I have one. When I am at home my sinuses are ALWAYS congested. When I am at work they clear up. At home they seem to be worse when I first wake up, coincidentally when I have been lying under a pile of cats. 
I used to take Sudaphed and it helped immensely, but they passed a law years ago limiting how much you can buy (you have to get it from the pharmacy and provide your driver's license) that it became too much of a hassle. So now I just deal with it. Strangely as I have gotten older I think the symptoms have lessened. Maybe my allergy realizes that between it and the cats, the cats will win every time! 
I used to take Sudaphed and it helped immensely, but they passed a law years ago limiting how much you can buy (you have to get it from the pharmacy and provide your driver's license) that it became too much of a hassle. So now I just deal with it. Strangely as I have gotten older I think the symptoms have lessened. Maybe my allergy realizes that between it and the cats, the cats will win every time! 
I'm not allergic to my personal cats, but I work at an animal shelter, and there are just so many allergens there that even people without specific pet allergies tend to get stuffed up over the course of the workday. Most of us take an allergy med (I take fexofenadine, the generic for Allegra,) and I wash my hands a lot and change out of my work clothes as soon as I get home.
My mother's allergic to cats. She wasn't always allergic to cats. She seemed to develop this allergy as she got older.
As kids she adopted us a cat, and that's when she discovered she had develop an allergy to them. Instead of getting rid of the cat she took shots and made some modifications. I don't think her symptoms were very severe. The cat also ventured outside a few hours a day during most days of the year besides the winter months.
Overtime, her allergy to cats has gotten much better. She now has three cats lol. I don't think she even goes to the allergist anymore. She doesn't take any oral allergy medications either, but some people do. Everyone's different. If you have health insurance, I would make an appointment with you Primary care physician and request a referral to see an allergist to get the best info.
I believe my mom was specifically allergic to the hair and dandruff. She is neat freak and is always cleaning. That may be why her symptoms are managed so well. It's important to groom the cat regularly (try to comb outdoors if possible) , wash your hands after handling the cat (or it's things), and clean up after the cat.
As kids she adopted us a cat, and that's when she discovered she had develop an allergy to them. Instead of getting rid of the cat she took shots and made some modifications. I don't think her symptoms were very severe. The cat also ventured outside a few hours a day during most days of the year besides the winter months.
Overtime, her allergy to cats has gotten much better. She now has three cats lol. I don't think she even goes to the allergist anymore. She doesn't take any oral allergy medications either, but some people do. Everyone's different. If you have health insurance, I would make an appointment with you Primary care physician and request a referral to see an allergist to get the best info.
I believe my mom was specifically allergic to the hair and dandruff. She is neat freak and is always cleaning. That may be why her symptoms are managed so well. It's important to groom the cat regularly (try to comb outdoors if possible) , wash your hands after handling the cat (or it's things), and clean up after the cat.
