Hi all,
I have had mild allergy symptoms on and off all my life, and then finally a few years ago I was tested and the test showed I was allergic to dust mites. That was just a basic test for the most common allergens, but cat allergen was included and it showed I was not allergic to cats. Last year I moved to a new place, didn't get carpets and curtains, got furniture without upholstering and a new mattress for bed, and for over a year I was completely allergy-free. Right until I got cats. (I had lived with a cat in my parents home for 6 years, so it wasn't my first contact with felines.)
As soon as I walked to them (they were a mother cat and three tiny kittens) and leaned over to watch them, my nose would get runny and sneezing would start. When they got older I gave them baths (in case that dust and dirt stuck to their fur - though I clean and vacuum my home religiously), sprayed them with Frontline (I thought maybe they had mites in their fur and I read that Frontline would help), and nothing helped. It actually got so bad that I developed asthma. I had never had such violent symptoms, although I had spent most of my life in a home full of old carpets, woolen blankets and dusty old books! My doctor is perplexed, and doesn't know what allergens to test me for. They are indoor only cats so it can't be something they got from the outside, and my symptoms subside when I go out anyway so I think my problem is inside my home. What allergens do cats carry other than that protein that causes cat allergy?
I have had mild allergy symptoms on and off all my life, and then finally a few years ago I was tested and the test showed I was allergic to dust mites. That was just a basic test for the most common allergens, but cat allergen was included and it showed I was not allergic to cats. Last year I moved to a new place, didn't get carpets and curtains, got furniture without upholstering and a new mattress for bed, and for over a year I was completely allergy-free. Right until I got cats. (I had lived with a cat in my parents home for 6 years, so it wasn't my first contact with felines.)
As soon as I walked to them (they were a mother cat and three tiny kittens) and leaned over to watch them, my nose would get runny and sneezing would start. When they got older I gave them baths (in case that dust and dirt stuck to their fur - though I clean and vacuum my home religiously), sprayed them with Frontline (I thought maybe they had mites in their fur and I read that Frontline would help), and nothing helped. It actually got so bad that I developed asthma. I had never had such violent symptoms, although I had spent most of my life in a home full of old carpets, woolen blankets and dusty old books! My doctor is perplexed, and doesn't know what allergens to test me for. They are indoor only cats so it can't be something they got from the outside, and my symptoms subside when I go out anyway so I think my problem is inside my home. What allergens do cats carry other than that protein that causes cat allergy?
