Cat allergies

I have them bad, and haven't been brave enough to get a prescription for it. I've just avoided their presense most of the time, or suffered for small amounts of time. It's also been a deal breaker in relationships as well. Can I overcome this with the help of chemistry? Any suggestions welcome. I've seen the pet brush that uses ions to kill dander they claim much like Sharper Images Ionic Breeze. Any product reviews on that would be welcome.

Have you ruled out getting shots? That will provide a permanent solution to your problem.

If it's a cat you are going to live with, there are special shampoos you can use to help keep the dander to a minimum. Of course, you have to bathe the cat - frequently - for those to have any effect.

Just the thought of bathing a cat without full body armor strikes me as hillarious.

1. Know that although the kitty cat has the advantage of quickness and lack of concern for human life, you have the advantage of strength. Capitalize on that advantage by selecting the battlefield. Don't try to bathe him in an open area where he can force you to chase him. Pick a very small bathroom. If your bathroom is more than four feet square, we recommend that you get in the tub with the cat and close the sliding-glass doors as if you were about to take a shower. (A simple shower curtain will not do. A berserk cat can shred a three-ply rubber shower curtain quicker than a politician can shift positions.)

2. Know that a cat has claws and will not hesitate to remove all the skin from your body. Your advantage here is that you are smart and know how to dress to protect yourself. We recommend canvas overalls tucked into high-top construction boots, a pair of steel-mesh gloves, an army helmet, a hockey face-mask, and a long-sleeved flak jacket.

3. Use the element of surprise. Pick up your cat nonchalantly, as if to simply carry him to his supper dish. (Cats will not usually notice your strange attire. They have little or no interest in fashion as a rule.)

4. Once you are inside the bathroom, speed is essential to survival. In a single liquid motion, shut the bathroom door, step into the tub enclosure, slide the glass door shut, dip the cat in the water and squirt him with shampoo. You have now begun one of the wildest 45 seconds of your life.

5. Cats have no handles. Add the fact that he now has soapy fur, and the problem is radically compounded. Do not expect to hold on to him for more than two or three seconds at a time. When you have him, however, you must remember to give him another squirt of shampoo and rub like crazy. He'll then spring free and fall back into the water, thereby rinsing himself off. (The national record for cats is three latherings, so don't expect too much.)

6. Next, the cat must be dried. Novice cat bathers always assume this part will be the most difficult, for humans generally are worn out at this point and the cat is just getting really determined. In fact, the drying is simple compared with what you have just been through. That's because by now the cat is semi-permanently affixed to your right leg.

You simply pop the drain plug with your foot, reach for your towel and wait. (Occasionally, however, the cat will end up clinging to the top of your army helmet. If this happens, the best thing you can do is to shake him loose and to encourage him toward your leg.) After all the water is drained from the tub, it is a simple matter to just reach down and dry the cat.

In a few days the cat will relax enough to be removed from your leg. He will usually have nothing to say for about three weeks and will spend a lot of time sitting with his back to you. He might even become psychoceramic and develop the fixed stare of a plaster figurine.

You will be tempted to assume he is angry. This isn't usually the case. As a rule he is simply plotting ways to get through your defenses and injure you for life the next time you decide to give him a bath. But at least now he smells a lot better.

thanks for the chuckles. I will keep your wise words in mind should I have that need in the near future.

of the cat being attached to your leg for several days!

For what it's worth, it's possible for a cat allergic person to adjust to living with one or two cats comfortably. I know, because I'm actually quite cat allergic, but my two don't bother me. However, I had to give up volunteering at the cat shelter because after about 15 minutes I would be sneezing and blowing my nose constantly.

Do consult with an allergist about appropriate medication. But if you're one of those whose system simply won't adjust, don't feel guilty and don't feel like you must suffer.

I suggest chain mail. Hood, gloves, leggings and chest armor. A helmet will do little good if any flesh is left exposed, unless it has a visor.

However...rust will cause a problem unless you have a good squire.


:evilgrin:

gotta luv dem cats.

of Jamesons, Bushmills, etc. Just kiddin', I can take the needle with the best of them, but would probably need insurance first which I don't have. It won't be my cat obviously, but would ask that responsibility to bathe their cats to their owner. How often would you say "frequently".

I'm not opposed to buying them the ionic breeze either if necessary.

Thanks for the quick reply too. :hi:

That does rather limit your options. My wife had cat allergies but gradually lost them as she lived with cats anyway. Sadly, we don't have any cats right now, as our little girl was born allergic to them. :(

The other poster was right - it's generally the saliva people are allergic to. But if you can manage to have the cat bathed relatively often (every 7-14 days) it does help.

I'm very allergic to cats but a few years ago when I tried to get shots but my doctor wouldn't recommend I go an allergist because I didn't live with a cat. Without a recommendation I would've had to pay out of my own pocket to see an allergist, get tested (I've been allergic since I was about 8 but he claimed I'd still need to be tested first), and for my shots so I decided it wasn't worth it.

regarding the above suggestion - it's a rare cat that i've met that will allow anyone to bathe it.

From what i understand, it is the saliva of the cat that causes the allergies, not the hair. The cat licks to bathe, and this gets the saliva on the hair, which gets in the air. I had a siamese that was the most drooly wet mouthed cat ever, and ended up having to find it a new home because I was so allergic to it. However, I've lived with a black domestic shorthair for almost 8 years now with little trouble. I don't touch my eyes after petting her, and keep her off my pillows, and that seems to be enough. So you may have less of a reaction to some cats than others. Perhaps you can try being near a shorter hair cat (one that doesn't drool) and see how you fare. You may find that your allergies diminish over time with exposure to the cat.

With the Siamese, I tried Allegra for a while, which did work rather well. This could also be an option.

with laughter from that post............ OMG thanks, that was hilarious.

OK You are correct MBC2. It's the kitty drool that causes the trouble. I wuld suggest the ionic breeze thingy myself. Also good housekeeping and well tended hepa filtration should help as well.

I suffer from cat allergies something fierce. UNcontrollable sneezing fits, puffy runny nose and eyes, if a cat scratches me the area around the scratch swells up like a balloon. All that said, I have two cats, the key is to bathe them twice a month. As long as you do that, and vaccuum and clean off the hair from furniture you'll do fine. Cats get used to bathing, my mom's cat actually enjoys it. Start bathing them regularly and early and they wont fight so much.

I will check in later today for any others.

has a lot to do with allergies. Cats who are fed a good diet often have much less dander and dandruff than cats that are fed Friskies and Nine Lives. I feed my cats Innova and people food (turkey, chicken, beef, and even broccoli) and one of my sisters who is allergic has no symptoms with my guys. She even house sits for me.

I will try to find an article from a while back that supports this-I think it was on one of the Alternative vet websites.

By the way, Liberal Veteran, that description of bathing a cat was hilarious...

I was exposed to cat dander from birth until I left home in my teens. As a result, I suffered severe and long-lasting affects. My brother, who refused to get cats out of his life, has progressed from allergy to asthma and is now showing symptoms of heart disease.

My allergist, at a research institution, explained that shots do not cause anyone to became "cured" of their cat allergy. Some lucky people outgrow cat allergies. When those persons take shots for temporary suprression of symptoms, and it happens that eventually they outgrow their allergy, then they give the shots credit for something which would have happened anyway. Unfortunately, because most people are emotional to the point of irrationality about cats, many doctors will not share this information unless you make it very clear you want the TRUTH rather than being humored along.

If you try to live with cats, then you are putting your respiratory health at risk. You could very easily progress to asthma and heart disease. You could die. I apologize for being so blunt but I had my health sacrificed for cats, and it is very very very hard to forgive that a mother would put her affection for cats above her children. It is shame, considering how common this allergy is, that more doctors are not more blunt with their patients about the effects of living with cats on a susceptible person.

If your parent or partner doesn't love you enough to care about your respiratory and cardiac health, they don't love you enough. Move on. Find someone who does. There are plenty of good people out there living without cats.

You cannot overcome allergies with the help of "chemistry." You can only repress the symptoms and continue to expose yourself to the allergen, with predictable effects on your heart and lungs.

I care. I know it is hard. I was raised with cats, and it breaks my heart that I can't have a cat in my life. But they are not worth dying for.

By the way you don't need an Rx for temporary suppression of symptoms. Claritin is available OTC in any store. Take it when exposed to cats to relieve symptoms. But please never, never, NEVER forget that if you value your health, the only real answer is to avoid exposure to the allergen -- cats.

my health is a concern, both physically and mentally. I could see it making me just crabby which is not the route I'd like to go. Thanks again everyone.

P

1. Cats KNOW who has a cat allergy and who doesn't. Apparently the former are far more pleasant company. I have a cat allergy and have become a veritable Pied Piper for local cats, who all love nothing more than chasing me around demanding that I pet them. This is OK for a while, but not too long....then they try to break into my house.

2. With my allergy I'll get sneezing and running eyes, then shortness of breath and on occasion just general swelling/irritation of exposed skin. If I get scratched it swells up around the scratch. I asked to get an anti-cat allergy vaccine, but was told that the UK national health service (NHS) no longer recommends them, as they're unreliable and prone to side effects. This may have changed in the last 5 years though. Antihistamine tablets can sometimes help the symptoms for a while though, and might be worth a try - however, you'd need medical advice and wouldn't really want to be on them longterm.

I can last a few hours in a cat household before I start getting any symptoms, but if I have to stay more than a couple of nights and can't get outside during the day, the situation becomes intolerable.

Good luck!