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Help with cat allergy
Basar
IstanbulRegistered User regular
IstanbulRegistered User regular
We adopted a 5 year old furball last year who happens to be the sweetest cat I've ever come across. He loves to sit on laps, cuddle in bed, bump his head to us randomly and basically has never ever scratched or bitten even when first time strangers pay a visit and play rough with him. He is a champ.
Unfortunately the lady of the house is allergic to cats and we are trying to find a way to lessen her symptoms and giving him away is not a solution.
She is taking antihistamines daily but sometimes they don't work well. Besides, we are not sure of the long term side effects of regular antihistamine use. We are going to limit his access to the bedroom to at least have a less allergen filled sleeping space.
Things that we are considering:
1. Remove carpeting from the house to keep it cleaner.
2. Get a HEPA bagless vacuum cleaner.
3. Get a HEPA air purifier.
4. Trim the cat's hair 1-2 times a year? Not sure if this is good for him, if not we won't do it.
Any recommendations for the vacuum cleaner and air purifier for this specific purpose?
Here are the obligatory photos of the culprit:
Unfortunately the lady of the house is allergic to cats and we are trying to find a way to lessen her symptoms and giving him away is not a solution.
She is taking antihistamines daily but sometimes they don't work well. Besides, we are not sure of the long term side effects of regular antihistamine use. We are going to limit his access to the bedroom to at least have a less allergen filled sleeping space.
Things that we are considering:
1. Remove carpeting from the house to keep it cleaner.
2. Get a HEPA bagless vacuum cleaner.
3. Get a HEPA air purifier.
4. Trim the cat's hair 1-2 times a year? Not sure if this is good for him, if not we won't do it.
Any recommendations for the vacuum cleaner and air purifier for this specific purpose?
Here are the obligatory photos of the culprit:
i live in a country with a batshit crazy president and no, english is not my first language
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1) clean , keep surfaces and floors fur-free
2)bathe the cat four to six weeks using cat shampoo
3)Air purifiers can be agreat weapon against allergens
4) Take an occasional allergic exam
Giving him away is not an option for sure
I always thought giving them baths was not good for them? Besides the allergens are from their saliva AFAIK, so he will probably lick himself for hours after a bath so I think it could be counter-productive? No?
She's been to several doctors about it but their first recommendation is always "get rid of it". Then they all prescribe the same 3 or 4 antihistamines. I think doctors here (Istanbul, Turkey) just don't know jack about allergies.
Trimming the cat's hair probably wouldn't help because it's the proteins from his skin (basically dandruff) that cause the allergy, not the hair.
You could also look into allergy shots. This is a type of immunotherapy where you're injected with the allergen in increasingly high doses over several months, then with a maintenance dose a few times a year for 3 - 5 years. The idea is to build tolerance so that your body no longer reacts as strongly to the relatively minor allergen doses in the environment. Symptoms should be greatly reduced within the first year and the results can last a lifetime. It does take some time and commitment though, and I have no idea how much it costs.
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From what I've read, bathing cats doesn't help unless you bathe them daily. But they make wet wipes specifically for cats that you can try if you're dedicated - just like bathing, you'd have to give a "wipe bath" once daily for it to have any affect on the dander.
I know when my seasonal allergies kick in I take Zertec (Cetirizine), at two or three times the single 10mg pill a day dose to have any effect on my allergies. IANAD, but it hasn't killed me but your mileage may vary.
Thanks, we researched those but they are expensive where I live and I wouldn't trust the practitioners here with them anyways as they are noobs to them.
Thanks, she is flying to Toronto at the moment (cabin chief) so I hope they have the flonase spray in Canada as well. Is it prescription only or OTC?
Yeah, she has to take 2 or 3 of those for it to have any effect on her. I think the standard dose is for people with minor allergies
Thank you all for the help.
I get mine prescription but I've seen it over the counter. I don't know if there's any difference.
Personally I use Flonase and I switched to the OTC version wih no difference, it's cheaper than the copay.
Getting rid of the cat is the only solution. Over the counter medications aren't meant to be taken indefinitely, and she isn't able to get the shot then *shrug*.
Keeping the house clean will help a little.
Thone are the most common side effects of the most common allergy medications. Claritin is pseudoephedrine and loratidine, a decongestant and an antihistamine.
You will have limited success controlling cat allergens in your home. You should prioritize your sleeping quarters, as sleeping with rhinitis is horrible. Consider air filters, closed ventilation, frequent room cleaning, and not letting the cat into certain rooms.
Allergy shots can desensitize, but they're not guaranteed and can be expensive and require many visits. It's preferable to long term use of allergy medication.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
I grew up with cats all my life and never had a problem, then went to college for 4 months, came back for Christmas and was suddenly unable to breathe
what my parents have done to enable me to visit them without having an asthma attack twice a day is to get a hepa filter air filter thing and run it in the room I stay in all year round, and COMPLETELY block the cats from entering. Before I come visit, they vacuum the couches, rugs and floors, wash all the bedding in my room and dust everything in there too
I also took an albuterol inhaler every 4-6 hours when I was home, and would go on Montelukast (generic of Singulair - prescription and gives me HORRIBLE nightmares unfortunately) starting a week before visiting, on top of taking either Zyrtec or Alegra + non-drowsy sudafed and a couple of ibuprofen every day. That made it...... barely tolerable, at first, but, now that my parents have been being really diligent about the cat-hair in the house year-round for a while, it's helped a LOT
now I can come home and even pet the cats some, be a little stuffy but basically no problem (still on the Montelukast), rarely need my inhaler and the occasional benadryl for eye/skin itchiness.
Oh one of the other things we do is turn off any fans that are on in a room I am in. If there's a fan, it stirs stuff up no matter how well they've vacuumed and it's terrible.
It can also be really cat-specific .. I am definitely allergic to my two beloved cats that I grew up with, and a couple of cats that friends have, but I spent a month living with a cat at my boyfriend's place and barely had any problems at all even without any of the medication
so, yeah, my solution when being with cats has been to throw every medication under the sun at it and be extremely fastidious with house cleaning
I'd love it if you took a look at my art and my PATREON!
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
Also, allergy shots can be super helpful if your allergy isn't that bad. But if it's a hugely intense reaction, be careful. My mom had to stop taking allergy shots because her arms swelled up so much (and didn't recover for so long) that the doctor was afraid she was getting nerve damage.
no it happens. it happens way faster with kittens than older cats but it does. your body down regulates the response to a certain degree with constant exposure
Thank you both.
This is what I have been telling her, "you'll get used to it"... she hasn't so far but I am keeping my fingers crossed
We are definitely working on this. Bedrooms is off limits. We are removing carpeting. Getting a HEPA vacuum, and air filter. Thanks.
Can you share the brand and model of the air filter your parents are running in your room? Thanks and happy to hear that you have figured out what works for you
I think someone has already mentioned there are purpose made wet wipes for this purpose alone?
I'm not so much allergic to cats per se as prone to reacting to their dander in enclosed and badly-ventilated spaces if I'm in them for a while.
Add me to the air filter / vacuum party, here.
You do realize that allergens can travel with hair, right? And in most cases the hair will be covered with the stuff? Particularly if you're talking about saliva proteins?
Are you really going to subject her to this for the next ten years of your lives? That's a lot of life lost to watery eyes and sneezing or a foggy head. Wife/SO > Cat.
This is basically me. Owned a cat, no issues. A few years after I owned it I wound up having major issues when visiting a friend (who has cats).
Turns out I gained a nice weakness to cats, but not in the "aweee" way.
It's incredibly dependent upon the cat. Some I can pet, hold, even bury my face in their fur and inhale without a single issue, even without medication.
Others I can't even be near for longer than a few moments, even if I am loaded up on allergy meds, before I need to step outside from nearly collapsing and trying to breathe. A few cases I would likely have had to go to the hospital if I hadn't left ASAP and happened to have an asthma inhaler nearby to use.
I just don't risk it in general. The worst offenders there's nothing I can do. They just need to be nearby for a few minutes and everything goes to hell.
The less bad ones can make it hard to breathe, leave me itchy with swollen eyes, and I tend to get sick shortly thereafter. Even when I make sure to load up on allergy meds.
Cats like this can be gone for years and going into a house where they lived can still leave me uncomfortable.
So basically... I'd suggest discussing just how bad this allergy is before leaving the "get rid of the cat" off the table. In my case if that was true, there are some cases where that would mean that I go in favor of the cat... there just would not be any other way it would work.
This I'll look into
She doesn't plan on using them continuously, only during seasonal changes like in May or September. We are hoping that air purifier + no carpeting + 1 or 2 trimming of the hair per year + regular cleaning of the house will help a lot. Thanks for your warning
I have no idea but I can ask them!!
@spool32 what is the air filter in my room !!
I'd love it if you took a look at my art and my PATREON!
Some sort of Honeywell
Thanks, Honeywell seems to be popular among pet owners