Help!!!! I am losing my mind

[rumberg]

Hi everyone, i am new to this forum and i am sorry if the title sounds to dramatic but, i really need some advice right now. here is my situation

Last month my SO and I brought home a cat ( 8 months) from the humane society. He is a orange tabby, loves to play (like any other cat) and is VERY Affectionate. WE live in a two bedroom condo and he pretty much has the run of the house except for our bedroom. My SO has a dander allergy and it was suggested to us that we keep a sorta of safe haven with no pet dander. Thus the problem

My SO is working away from home for 4 months so he is only home on the weekends so i am left to keep this bedroom dander free. The cat will sit infront on the door all night and scratch and meow. Recently i took one of thoseplastic things you put on your carpet for your computer chair to roll on and put that infront of the door with the spikes facing up trying to keep him away from the door, it worked for the first night but he has gotten use to it and it doenst bother him one bit. I am averaging 3 hours of sleep a night and i cannot function during the day, i know i cannot give in to him but it is becoming so tempting lately. He has tonnes of toys to play with and i try to tire him out before i retreat to the bedroom. But none of this is working.

Yesterday i even locked him in the guest bathroom with his food, water, and litter but because of how close it is to our bedroom i can still hear him at the door and i feel guilty for confining him to such a small space

anyways i am sorry for the length of this post, and i hope someone out there has had a similar experience and can give me some words of wisdom.

Thanks,

Al

 

[jenny82]

Hi Al,

I had a similar problem with my cat. I would get up in the middle of the night, after hearing a lot of scratching/meowing/tearing at the carpet, and put her in a large travel crate. It gave her enough room to stand/turn around/walk a little but she didn't have access to food/water/litter, so I didn't want to leave her in there for more than a few hours. Eventually I gave up and gave her access to the bedroom and she doesn't bother me anymore (I don't have allergies though). Hopefully someone else will have a more permanent suggestion, because you don't want to confine the cat all night. Good luck!

 

[rblaude]

One of my friends used one of those big cages with multi-levels. There's room for a small litter box (not hooded) and food and water and some toys, but not a whole lot of room to run and play. Obviously not ideal for kitty, but you gotta do what you gotta do! It'll keep your home from getting torn up and you can move kitty away from your room so it's quieter for you. Here's a link to this cage at Petsmart:
http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...N=2025518&Ne=2

Another alternative that might help but won't help your SO is to get another kitten to keep the first company. It could increase allergy issues tho.

Good luck!

 

[esrgirl]

I also have allergies. I just gave up. I take my prescriptions, brush the cats daily, wash my sheets frequently, and sneeze a lot!!

 

[malakaiii]

I heard that someone on here suggested taking the vaccuum into the bedroom with you. You set it up inside the closed door, facing the door, then wait for the meowing and scratching to get to a frenzy, then turn on the vaccuum. It might take a few tries, but when he is confronted with such a scary noise, it will ideally stop the bad behaviour.

 

[larke]

Was it really fair to the cat to bring him home if one of you is allergic? That has to be something you were aware of beforehand, but apparently never thought through or researched with other cat owners, and now all 3 of you are paying. Animals cannot be put on a shelf at night, then rewound in the a.m. (though it would be nice sometimes :-), and maybe you need to reconsider things long term before the cat gets any older and has trouble adjusting to another home.

 

[callista]

Yeah, but this is more of a "Okay, so I made a less-than-ideal choice; now I need help figuring out how to make the best of it" idea...

I'm thinking, if this is a shelter cat, chances are it's better off even if it does have to sleep in a crate at night, than it would be in the shelter, where it would be in a cage 24/7 at worst, and quite a lot at best.

Try the vaccuum idea first... you could even plug it in from your bed by connecting two extension cords.

If the cat gets used to the noise of the vacuum, you might have to confine him to another room (I'm assuming "2-bedroom condo" means you have another room with a door on it?). The kitty crate is a more confining option, but cats are generally not too put off by small spaces--they feel comforted in them, mostly--so if he is in only for 8 hours while you sleep, it should be doable. Likely enough, he can get used to such a routine and simply sleep when you do (though it might take time).

If all else fails... sleep on the couch... let the silly kitty sleep with you... But I have a feeling your SO won't like it when he's home and the cat is mewing at your door while you're trying to snuggle.

I sure hope you can solve this problem... allergies are miserable; cats in shelters are miserable... Catch-22, neh?

 

[rumberg]

Just to clearify for everyone,

My SO has never owned an animal before, although he has come into a lot of contact with dogs he has never experienced any allergies. Therefore we had no idea of knowing. I wouldnt think about getting rid of Wiggins (cat). I have come up with a solution though.

In the condo we have a Atrium ( a balcony inclosed with glass with a patio door on it) Seeing how the weather has warmed up so recently i have decided to move him in there at Night which he loves because that were his cat tree is and being 18 stories up i am sure he has a lot to look at and keep him occupied for the night. A lot more fair then locking him in the guest bathroom.

Anyways thank you all for your ideas, and i look forward to particapting in this Forum over the years

Al

 

[zissou'smom]

Al- have you considered sleeping in the guest room when its just you and Wiggins home? What Wiggins wants is not so much to be in the bedroom but to be in the room that youre in!
It could be a compromise, he sleeps out in the atrium mostly and when your so is home. But then sometimes you sleep somewhere he is allowed. Its an important bonding experience for the cat and you! Plus if you're lonely while so is out of town you'll feel better.
I am allergic to cats too. Zissou sleeps basically on my face sometimes... I have noticed that I have become less allergic to her. This may happen for you, the allergies may get worse, or they may stay the same. However, there are medicines which could make everybody happier. I like Singulair and Claritin personally, but there are all kinds of them. Chances are great that someone who is allergic to cats is allergic to other things to and he may not realize it, and will feel better in general with a medicine.

 

[silvermoonmyst]

my husband is allergic to cats too. But we compromise, i dont like dogs, but he has one, he dosent like cats, but i foster them. So we manage. He takes allergy medications to help with the allergys, im gonna guess that this is a really severe allergy and not just sneezing and itchy eyes, If that were the case an OTC allergy med would work. Do you and your SO work difference scheduals? Your going to have to dedicate some alone time to kitty or he is going to get resentful.

I really hope you guys can figure out a way to life happily. I know that after several months of fostering cats, my husbands allergys have become less pronounced. I hope its that way for you guys as well.

 

[beckiboo]

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Al- have you considered sleeping in the guest room when its just you and Wiggins home? What Wiggins wants is not so much to be in the bedroom but to be in the room that youre in!
It could be a compromise, he sleeps out in the atrium mostly and when your so is home. But then sometimes you sleep somewhere he is allowed. Its an important bonding experience for the cat and you! Plus if you're lonely while so is out of town you'll feel better.

I think that would make it worse for you. Once kitty gets in the habit of sleeping with you, it would be harder for him to sleep alone, IMO.

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Chances are great that someone who is allergic to cats is allergic to other things to and he may not realize it, and will feel better in general with a medicine.

I used to work with an allergist, and he taught me that often people with allergies have multiple allergies. Also, that while several allergies may be mild, when you are exposed to another allergen, those mild allergies have an affect, too.
For example, someone could be mildly allergic to milk and eggs. Normally they notice no problem, but in the spring, when their allergies to pollen flare up, milk and eggs cause it to be worse.
If this is true, and I believe it is, your SO could have mild allergies to dust, and several foods. If he is able to identify these things, and reduce those exposures, the cat dander may become less of a problem. I'm sure meds would help, too!

 

[callista]

Brushing the cat could help. It would remove stray hairs and keep him from shedding too much.

 

[lucinda]

I read an article by an allergest that says washing the cat once a month in distilled water will help. I have talked to several people that say it does help tho when their allergies are bad they wash the cat more often. I guess the distilled water gets rid of the dander better than regular water.
They also make stuff that you can buy that you just rub on the cat that DOES keep the dander down. I talked to a lady that had 3 boys with asthma. She had several critters includeing cats and ferrets. She used the cat OUTRIGHT on all of them and the boys were fine. here is a link to the website for the company that makes it:
http://www.bramton.com/
here is another link to the Mayo clinic pet allergy info:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pet-allergies/HQ01204
It sounds like you are already on track to finding a solution. Hope this helps.