Have An Allergy To My Daughters Cat, What Can I Do Apart From Getting Rid Of It?
February 24, 2010 by admin
Filed under Allergy Questions
My daughter has allergies to alot of things so I checked her to make sure she wasnt allergic to the cat before I got it. She’s not. But now I am told that I am. What are ways I can reduce the reaction I have to it?? I dont want to get rid of it because she is very close to it.
Hi there,
I feel for you. What causes allergies to cats is their dander, which is a protein comprised of flakes of skin and are deposited on the cat’s coat when the cat grooms itself, when their saliva mixes with the dander.
While there is very little you can do to reduce the reaction, unless you are willing to undergo a series of treatments with an allergist, ( I did this and it helped a great deal and I am no longer allergic, actually ) there are things you can do to control your environment to lessen the amount of dander with which you are in contact. Here are a few of them, and I am providing a link with more information about this. Prevention is the key here.
Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum! Keep your carpets and cloth furniture as free of cat hair as possible. If you touch the cat, make sure you wash your hand immediately and do not touch your eyes until you wash your hands. Make sure your daughter handles the cat exclusively, feeding and handling litter box, as cat urine also contains protein which can cause allergic reaction. She should groom the cat daily to rid it of loose hair which to prevent the hairs from settling on furniture and carpets.
There are air filtration systems you can use in your house. They work well to rid the air of dander. They are quite successful, in fact.
Benedryl or other allergy medications work well. Either prescription or over the counter are useful. the newer medications advertise a great deal of success with pet allergies.
Here is that link:http://www.allergybegone.com/aboutpetdan…
But if it were me, I would really consider allergy treatments. Talk to an allergist about this. But most allergists are not that sympathetic to cat lovers, and feel that getting rid of the cat is the only way to go. Perhaps your veterinarian can recommend you to a pet friendly specialist. The attitude of so many allergists just makes my blood boil.
Hope this helps,
Troublesniffer
Owned by cats for over 40 years
Member Cat Writer’s Association
You are going to have to vacuum on a regular basis. You may also want to consider steam cleaning the carpets and furniture every now and then.
Keep the cat out of your room. Have your daughter keep it well brushed, especially when it’s shedding. Every month you can give it a bath, but it will take a lot of patience.
Talk to your doctor about a daily allergy medication you can take.
oh this is easy. dont let the cat sleep in your room. vaccum more often & dont snuggle & bury your face in her fur. That should keep many of your symptoms at bay. Most people are allergic to cat dander(dust more or less) than the cats themsleves. If you arent sleeping with her or snuggling her you shouldnt even need to give her bath. If these dont keep most issues at bay you can give her a bath once every couple of weeks(which she’ll probably hate) or you can take clariton or zyrteck, both non drowsy otc allergy meds. Since cats bath themselves often more than likely you wont even need to give her a bath at all.
I would start with over the counter antihistamines first. Otherwise, I would suggest talking to your doctor about a prescribed medication. I found out after I adopted both of my cats that I was severely allergic. Fortunately, he prescribed the lowest dosages of claritin and singulair, which have helped tremendously with the allergies and my asthma.
It is possible to live with a cat when you have allergies. I have serious allergies and was adopted by a kitten 2 1/2 yrs ago who showed up under our shed and we couldn’t let go.
First, try over the counter medications like Claritin or Allegra. They work differently so one may be better for you than the other. Each lasts 24 hours and don’t cause drowsiness like Benedryl or Zyrtec can. Try them for at least a week, you’ll need some time for it to build up in your system. If one doesn’t work, try the other for another week.
If this fails, you’ll need to see an allergist. Mine has dealt with enough people like us who won’t give up their pets so he’s pretty understanding. I’m on 3 medications a day: an inhaler, a nasal spray and Singulair.
There are many things to do around you house – the most important are vacuuming and keeping the cat out of your bedroom so you have an allergy free zone and your system can recover over night. I reduced the number of rugs in the house because they collect hair and dander and it turns out I’m also allergic to dust.
The links below have tips for living with a cat when you have allergies. I don’t do them all (don’t tell my doc!)
It’s usually the SALIVA that gets on the cat’s fur, that people are allergic to. To combat this, wipe her down a couple of times a day, with a warm, damp cloth. Don’t get her soppy wet, just get the saliva off.
Also, there are allergy medications that work…..Clariton, Zyrtec, etc. These should help you, if the wipe-downs don’t help.
Hope this helps…..Good luck.
I use special cat Wet Ones, they clean the dander and saliva off the cats fur and makes them shiny and smell good. I am severly allergic to cats, and I have been able to stop all meds since I started doing this daily.
Well i would get a cat that doesn’t shed but since you don’t want to take it away, then take some allergy pills whenever you get sick from it
(I’m allergic to cats too so your not alone =])