Since I had my cat ,thats when my asthma started and constantly never free from symptoms
breathing problems with lungs full of mucus.
edit-might had asthma first but asthma and cat came last 2 years.
After a heart breaking decision decided would be best to get him a new home.
The vet gave me a few numbers to call,but they are over run with kittens and they all said the
same and could not re home him so will have to find him a home my self.
Just wondered if anyone on AUK had a cat allergy and have a cat ,what they do about it or what
they take that could mean me giving it a try to help keep my cat.
He is a house cat and wont go out at all and think his cat litter tray thats like a house you go through a flap to get in is the cause and as soon as there is a wee smell my lungs react fast.
hes cleaned out daily to stop odours.
Any advice would be appreciated on what is best to take for a cat allergy as a last resort to keep him.
thanks love Glynis xxx
17 Replies
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Must be awful to make the decision to try to rehome your cat.
I have 3 cats and a rabbit, and think there is a possible link with my asthma.
Apologies if this seems basic or you've done this before. I think my first step, as with my hayfever, would be to try some antihistamine tablets. There are a few around and it may take trying a few to find one that works. That might help.
Have you considered changing your cat litter? Some are dustier than others, some are better at keeping odour down. Provided your cat isn't too fussy about the type of litter (some will only use a particular type) it might be worth trying.
Where do you keep the litter tray? Is it possible to put it in a room that you don't use very much?
Is he restricted to certain areas of the house? Keep him out of the bedroom (this is something my GP has suggested to me and I am so reluctant as my little boy likes to snuggle in my arms at night with his head on my shoulder and it is so CUTE!)
Daily hoovering of the rooms he uses and the furniture he goes on might help - and if you can get someone else to do the hoovering, and the litter tray changing for you then that may help too (the litter tray one would be a bonus as they are so vile!)
I can't think of anything else at the moment. I know that this all sounds like an awful lot of trouble, but perhaps if it means you are able to enjoy owning your cat it may be worth it?
If it's not too uncomfortable, give him a cuddle from me
Take care,
Piglet x
as far as i know, they don't do this yet, but my friend who is allergic to cats but absolutely love them said there was some kind of jab to help people be less allergic to cats, but i think if anything it was still being developed (or just her being mad) but may be worth asking your GP. i also saw some kind of allergy immersion therapy, where they stopped a kid being alergic to dogs, i know this was real but it was in america so might not be available here! sorry if neither are do-able but may be worth asking your GP
Have you tired a ioniser they can redice airborn allergies so might make is easier
Oh yes i know it well,
i have always had cats and i have built up immunity to cat we have at mo, but gp/ cons getting out of their trees about me having a cat in the house. I have bought stuff called nilergen; theres a treatment set of sofa and bed, air cleanse and petal cleanse. Its a system of removing the dander that your react to, by putting the solution on cat, spray in the air and the furniture and furnishings. You start by doing it i think every 2 wks then reduce it down to monthly. The solutions are not harful in any way and use essential oils etc.You can buy it off the healthy house site healthy-house.co.uk or phone 0845 450 5950. I spoke to an allergist on helpline and they had never heard of it, but in independent tests results proved 90% of pet owners were able to keep their pets. As i said i'm being pressurised to get rid of the cat, but im not giving her up without a fight, so i bought the nillergen. Also if you have a partner try to get them to do the litter tray also get them to hoover and treat the cat with nilergen , brush them, that way you can cut down contact.
Keep cat off your bed and out of the bedroom is important and damp dusting will help keep the dander down.Also make sure if you touch the cat was your hands before touching face etc as this might make you react. Do you take antihistamines? you need to take them every day, not just when your bad as this helps protect your chest. Try these first before getting rid of the cat, i'm very allergic to cats and dogs. but nurse agrees that cat not causing prob as i have probs wheni go out. Im ok when im indoors with the cat. I would be interested to hear how you get on as i'm in the same boat as you and i don't know anyone else who has used it. Or if anyone else has used it, we can compare notes lol
I have two cats & am lucky not to be allergic to them but, I know I need to keep my home dust free and particle free where possible. When my cats were kittens, I used bio-catolet cat litter, it is dust free and 100% natural. It is recommended to gradually introduce new cat litters over time so that the cat can get used to the different texture. One of my cats has slightly longer fur, although not true longhair and I brush him daily outside. Also, I have a really good vacuum cleaner that has several filters etc (although there are even better ones with HEPA filters that are good for allergy sufferers which I shall be getting next time). I also use the damp polish or dettol wipes on all of the surfaces regularly. Good luck!
Jac
Thankyou everyone for your ideas,
Going try all the suggestions and hope with all my heart to be able
to keep my cat Mason.love him to bits.
Started a strong antihistamine today and going the pet shop in the
morning to get anything I can,
He gets bathed regularly,
He""s very spoilt,micro chipped and insured and will try every thing to keep him first.
will ask my doc about allergy injections and allergy tests also.
thanks from me and Mason xxxxxx
Hi Glynis, we had 2 cats and a dog when Bernadette was here and like yourself I re-homed them. Bernadette's symptoms didn't get any better and about 4 years later we got another dog. I hope this helps. The re-homing caused big problems between my 2 girls but at the time it had to be done. LIZ x
hi, i have terrible reaction to cats. my mothers cat is long haired and i dont even have to be in the same room as it now to have an attack. one thing that does help though is if she dusts and cleans before i go together with wiping the cat down with babywipes to collect the hair and dander (the only ones that are suitable to use though are the likes of johnsons as they test their products on animals), so maybe you could try that in the mean time. i really feel for you having to find your cat a new home xxxx
Hmm, I know how you feel, my asthma didn't seem to start until we got our dog at the end of last year.
You quite clearly adore your cat, and people have offerred some good suggestions so hopefully you'll find something that'll let you keep him.
Good luck xxx
Good luck guys - hope you are able to find ways of dealing with the problem. I had many years of having doctors tell me i was allergic to cats - but me knowing in reality that i wasn't. I'd had a one-off skin prick test that was positive... but had never reacted in real life to our cats since being a young child - like you desensitive yourself over time.... I stood my ground and my 23yr old cat eventually died... and it made no difference to my asthma having no cat for 18 months.... so I decided to take on two adult cats from a friend!
I'm luckily not allergic to the new cats themselves either -was fine after they moved in, but found that as soon as they started going outside (after several weeks of captivity indoors)- i got increasing problems with my hayfever - presumably they started bringing in pollen on their fur - so now have to wipe them down with pet-wipes, when they come in from outside during anytime of particularly high pollen counts etc.
I know this probably doesn't help the writer of the opening post much, given their cat is an indoor cat - but the petwipes may simply help reduce the dander and loose fur load too.
The pet-specific wipes are tolerated better by the cats than human wipes because the odour is more acceptable to their noses - although they are slightly more expensive.
Cat-san and the clumping litters seemed to be the easiest on my chest and for reducing odours, when our cats were using trays...
Good luck!
KSD
Is ur cat neutered Glynis. This may reduce the smell of it's wee....
hi,
i think you de sensitize over time, but i was told long hair cats are more likely to cause allergies.
But i would ask for allergy tests to make sure it is mason thats causing the problem, my tests for cats and dogs came up as soon as she put the allergen on my skin. I would try the other solutions first before resorting to evicting mason, gps/cons seem to have no tolerance about pets and wont accept that things can be done to cut the problem down. I dont think the de sensitizing treatment is used much as i was told its not certain to work and its fallen out of favour, but you still might be able to get it done as everything seems to be a lottery depending where you live. Also as others have suggested try experimenting with different cat litter as this can affect the smell of wee.
sj
RSPCA have aranged to collect Mason in about 2 weeks or so,
said can back out anytime.
cried alot over it.
Had a big attack today,not sue if was a apple I had eaten but
lungs still full of mucus and the constant swollowing mucus is making me sick.
no sooner the mucus shifts its back constantly .
Apples start me off big time with excess mucus and just borrowing a friends puppy cage when Claude wasn't well last year was enough to start me sneezing and getting that elephant visiting again.
Would be sad if it really is Mason but sounds as if it might be if started around the same time. How's Mason doing by the way? Still being sick? Claude has always been sick on and off cos he gulps his food too quick. Brought up with a load of cats in his earlier years we suspect, and though big at 8 kg, can be very timid.
I hope this is resolved for both parties and you and mason feel better a.s.a.p. Will be hard to part company but take solace from fact may help you both.
Grannymo.
Mason is fine thanks bigger than ever catching up with claud.
dont want him to go and will be heartbroken so not sure if will let them take him.
the thick mucus in my throat is 24/7 and every swallow I take is so hard and sickly.
wont cough up and realy bad causing me a major problem.
got see asthma nurse a week on monday ,she said singulair could help but its not ,
so will go see her or doc asap xxx
Prob best to try and keep him out of your bedroom. I do a daily vac roun with pet hoover to get shut of fur (I find fur up our curtains!!). I came across some research on internet that says bathing helps as its usually the dander not fur that causes problems BUT have you ever bathed a cat?! Ours went crazy but she's not too bad now, rather than a full bath, more rub with damp flannel does the trick, if you do a search on internet there's even a shampoos to help and guidelines on best way to try this. One thing I did read was not to blow dry them, towel dry them and keep room warm as they can get bronchitis. I'd have a chat with your vet for advice.
Litter tray sounds like our cat's, does it have filters, rarely smell ours (unless I'm used to it!) until filter needs changing. Also, when I do the 'poop scoop' job I wear a couple of dust masks. Plus I've been getting a better cat litter - wood based, fairly cheap from 'Home Bargains', no dust.
Luckily, unless I'm having a bad asthma time, I'm OK with cats, hope you manage to keep him, I'd hate to re-home ours : (
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