allergy to cats - please help

[Guest guest]

Please help!

 

My boyfriend Oz and I just friday took in a cat that was a stray. Oz

has always been allergic to cat/dog dander and has been pretty good

around my sister in law's cat, so figured he would be as well with the one

we just got. We took the cat for all his shots and suprisingly enough,

he is healthy, no fleas...just has hook worm which were giving the cat

meds for. Our daughter fell in love with this cat(Niko) and Oz has been

struggling breathing since Sunday night now. We haven't had any pets

before but knew this might happen when we did. Niko is the best pet

anyone could ask for, hasn't tried to scratch(has nails) or bite at all!

This is exactly what we wanted as we have a 4year old and you just don't

know how an animal will react to your children/child. I hate to have to

get rid of him, but I don't know what else can be done. Oz had to go to

the er just today to just be able to breathe! He has taken his inhaler,

we have bought numerous air filters throughout the house and it doesn't

seem to be working. I thought you all might have some suggestions on

what we can do that maybe we hadn't thought of. Like i said, we want to

keep Niko, but not at the expense of Oz's health. As a last resort, I

also checked with some friends/family and no one can take him in. I

don't want to see this rescued little guy (6mo) in a bad home. Please

help me !

 

Thanks so much!

Lisa

 

 

 

Brings words and photos together (easily) with

PhotoMail - it's free and works with Mail.

 

 

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry to say that I have the same allergy. Breathing is very

important, so I do recommend calling a rescue organization to take

the cat, or make him an outdoor cat. I'm really surprised that Oz

agreed to take the cat in the first place! I don't mean to sound

harsh at all, it's just that I know what it feels like to have asthma

and it's not fun and not healthy. Using the drugs long-term has got

to be a bad idea, I would think.

 

On a side note, I've heard that eliminating dairy can help asthma. I

haven't had dairy for around 15 years and I can say that I'm better,

but I'm still allergic to cats. The allergy is not as extreme, that's

for sure! But I still have to avoid cats and I wouldn't want to live

with one. My allergy is usually more hay fever now, rather than

asthma. It really depends upon the cleanliness of the place, and the

cat, and perhaps the season, and also perhaps how I'm feeling in

general at the time! It all seems to be inter-related.

 

Can the cat be an outside cat, perhaps? If you do end up getting a

dog, you might have to be selective about breeds. I know this is not

usually going to fit into a rescue situation (unfortunately). We

rescued a lhasa apso and she does not shed. Her name is Veggie! You

may have to be selective in choosing your next inside pet.

 

Good luck!

 

Tracy

 

 

 

On Mar 8, 2006, at 5:53 PM, lisa castillo wrote:

 

>

> Please help!

>

> My boyfriend Oz and I just friday took in a cat that was a stray. Oz

> has always been allergic to cat/dog dander and has been pretty good

> around my sister in law's cat, so figured he would be as well with

> the one

> we just got. We took the cat for all his shots and suprisingly enough,

> he is healthy, no fleas...just has hook worm which were giving the cat

> meds for. Our daughter fell in love with this cat(Niko) and Oz has

> been

> struggling breathing since Sunday night now. We haven't had any pets

> before but knew this might happen when we did. Niko is the best pet

> anyone could ask for, hasn't tried to scratch(has nails) or bite at

> all!

> This is exactly what we wanted as we have a 4year old and you just

> don't

> know how an animal will react to your children/child. I hate to

> have to

> get rid of him, but I don't know what else can be done. Oz had to

> go to

> the er just today to just be able to breathe! He has taken his

> inhaler,

> we have bought numerous air filters throughout the house and it

> doesn't

> seem to be working. I thought you all might have some suggestions on

> what we can do that maybe we hadn't thought of. Like i said, we

> want to

> keep Niko, but not at the expense of Oz's health. As a last resort, I

> also checked with some friends/family and no one can take him in. :

> ( I

> don't want to see this rescued little guy (6mo) in a bad home. Please

> help me !

>

> Thanks so much!

> Lisa

>

>

>

> Brings words and photos together (easily) with

> PhotoMail - it's free and works with Mail.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, Lisa,

 

I, too, had cat allergies. I say ³had² because I now live with 8 cats,

worked in an animal shelter for years and am a foster parent to kittens

(this is how we ended up with so many cats). I used to have full blown

responses ‹ itchy eyes, breathing problems, etc. ‹ since childhood. I lived

without cats for years. I came home from college to move back home. They had

taken in a big, male Coon cat. I was so upset (I laugh at that now.). Then,

the longer I lived with him, the less my allergies bothered me. I took a

Clortrimetron (later Claritin) daily, my mother bathed him every week, and

he stayed out of my room. I eventually became desensitized to him as time

went on. (Note: Male cats produce more of this allergen. It¹s in their

saliva and when they groom themselves, it transfers to their fur.) There are

still some cats out there that will set me off, but I just make sure to wash

my hands and avoid my face if I notice something with them. I can¹t imagine

myself without cats now.

 

For your boyfriend and the sake of your daughter and her new friendship, I¹d

try to see if you can follow some advice I found on the web to help him. I

did a simple Google search that came up with lots of resources that should

help you.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari & rls=en & q=living+with+cat+allergie

s & ie=UTF-8 & oe=UTF-8

 

The first one had lots of good tips:

http://www.petfinder.com/journalindex.cgi?path=/public/livingwithyourpets/al

lergies/1.40.3.txt

 

Good luck,

Tracy in MN

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Lisa,

I do a lot of rescue work and have come across many people with allergies. I

also have been working in the holistic health field for many yrs.

I'd suggest seeking out a NAET or a TBM practitioner in your area. Both

these modalities work with allergy elimination.

Please feel free to email me and I can give you more info. Also let me know

the general area where you live so that I can help to find someone who can

help.

There are also homeopathics for allergies that work very well.

Peace,

Laura

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Have you tried taking him to a groomer(cats can be bathed-although they hate

it).Sometimes the allergic reactions are due to outside allergins attaching to

their fur, so your boyfriend may be reacting to something other than the cat

itself.(I have heard of situations where this has eliminated the problem.) As an

animal lover with a dog & several cat's...also a daughter who is now 15yrs

old...I know how important they are to the family. I wish you all the best...

Dawn

 

lisa castillo <lisarcastillo wrote:

 

Please help!

 

My boyfriend Oz and I just friday took in a cat that was a stray. Oz

has always been allergic to cat/dog dander and has been pretty good

around my sister in law's cat, so figured he would be as well with the one

we just got. We took the cat for all his shots and suprisingly enough,

he is healthy, no fleas...just has hook worm which were giving the cat

meds for. Our daughter fell in love with this cat(Niko) and Oz has been

struggling breathing since Sunday night now. We haven't had any pets

before but knew this might happen when we did. Niko is the best pet

anyone could ask for, hasn't tried to scratch(has nails) or bite at all!

This is exactly what we wanted as we have a 4year old and you just don't

know how an animal will react to your children/child. I hate to have to

get rid of him, but I don't know what else can be done. Oz had to go to

the er just today to just be able to breathe! He has taken his inhaler,

we have bought numerous air filters throughout the house and it doesn't

seem to be working. I thought you all might have some suggestions on

what we can do that maybe we hadn't thought of. Like i said, we want to

keep Niko, but not at the expense of Oz's health. As a last resort, I

also checked with some friends/family and no one can take him in. I

don't want to see this rescued little guy (6mo) in a bad home. Please

help me !

 

Thanks so much!

Lisa

 

 

 

Brings words and photos together (easily) with

PhotoMail - it's free and works with Mail.

 

 

[Guest guest]

I know this is not something that can be changed easily, but wood

floors instead of carpets are also good for helping allergies. Plus we

vacuum every day. A friend of mine with cat allergies has no problem

coming to my house with hardwood floors and cats, but can't stay more

than 1/2 hour in another friends house with carpets and cats. My hubby

is allergic to cats, but he only has reactions now when he lets one of

them sit on his chest near his face. Another friend of mine outgrew

her allergy. Good luck! It sounds like a very severe reaction. I hope

you can keep your new pal.

[Guest guest]

Hi Lisa,

 

I am a veterinarian. I was pursuing becoming feline board certified

before becoming disabled. I read the link Tracy recommended and have to

say it is loaded with really good advice!! One of my technicians was

very allergic to cats (in a dog/cat clinic). Our clinic was very open

with good air cleaning devices and no fabrics to trap allergens. At

home she followed all of the advice in the link and she did very well.

Oh, she still had to take her meds and would have itchy eyes but she

didn't have to give up her four cats. **She said that for her, the safe

room was the most important thing in her house.**

 

I know the article said that bathing isn't thought to be as effective

as it once was. However, we had good luck with a shampoo made

especially for the allergens. There was also a spray for in between

baths. I think the article mentioned this. I would consider the baths

for a regular time until you are able to address all the other issues.

Then you could increase the intervals between baths. I would continue

with the spray.

 

You can pursue the homeopathic route (which has very good results) but

don't worry if you can't find a homepath in your area. An allergist can

help (even though it is less natural). About 10 -15 years ago, a

company was about to release a vaccine, not an allergy shot, but an

actual vaccine against cat allergies. I have never seen a follow up on

this ( and do not know its vegan status). If you find any information

on this, please post as I am very interested in knowing what happened

to it.

 

Cats are creatures of habit. They like to lie in the same place or two.

Put out some of those white cat beds/blankets or some other fabric the

cat likes. It will help to contain the allergens (help keep them off

the furniture) and they can be washed frequently.

 

A tip to protect your window screens from clawing:

Get the flouresecnt light covers that they use in offices. You can get

this material at Home Depot. It has many little open squares - it looks

like cross-hatching or checks. This can be cut to size and placed in

your window. A more time consuming but better method is to build a

thin frame and cover it with a heavy duty mesh from the home supply

store.

 

 

 

> The first one had lots of good tips:

> http://www.petfinder.com/journalindex.cgi?

path=/public/livingwithyourpets/al

> lergies/1.40.3.txt

 

(Thanks for the link Tracy. I'm adding it to my database.)

 

 

 

Good luck,

Carrol