Cat Allergies? How can you be allergic to 1 cat and Not Another???

[Anikaca77]

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthr...28&page=2&pp=15

Well the link above is from my last post about these 2 special boy cats. My husband and I rescued these 2 boy cats from Bellefonte and we had them for a few days and we were able to adopt them out to my husband's one friend.

Well as it turns out she is very allergic to the one cat and not the other but we are not sure if it's the other one as well. She has other medical issues where she has to be able to take her meds on Fridays and today because her allergies were so bad she couldn't take her cancer meds.

So she called us and said she really hates to do it but for her own health she just can't keep them. It's weird her one cat doesn't cause this but these guys seem to. I just don't understand either because she had them for 2 weeks and everything was fine and now it's not. The boys are now both fixed and their shots are up-to-date. They have also tested negative for FIV/FELV.


Thanks,
Melissa

[jennielynn1970]

I get more itchy and watery eyes up at my mom and dad's house with their cats than I do down here. Same at the house where I tutor after school. I think it's because my immune system is not used to the dander/saliva of their cats. I've built up an immunity, I guess, to my guys cause I'm here with them all the time. That's the only thing I can think of. Maybe the same thing goes for her??

The pics of those two are so sweet! Big, lovey orangies!!! I hope they can get rehomed easily!

[Karen]

Every cat's protein in their dander and saliva is a little bit different. I have a very strong cat allergy, and have since I was 12 years old. But when we were first married, Paul "borrowed" one of the cats from his mother's house to be a mouser for the apartment for a few days. He was too lonely to bother with any mouse-hunting, as he had lived in a house with other cats since birth, so he glued himself to me for a couple days, and I had no allergic reaction to him. He was the only cat I have ever encountered that didn't trigger my allergies, usually I can tell if a cat has been in a place before I ever see the cat itself, from respiratory and skin reactions.

[Medusa]

I used to get my hackles up whenever someone used the allergy "excuse" until I petted a cat in a bookstore one day and immediately began to itch. I developed hives almost instantly. It was a short hair and I have mostly short hair cats, so I'm not sure what the problem was but I won't be so quick to judge again, that's for sure.

[Anikaca77]

Those are all interesting. I guess I've had all different kinds of cats so nothing has ever bothered me so far. She said it's hard for her to breath in the house and I feel bad but I already have 7 cats and now to take back 2 more is just way too much especially in a small one bedroom apartment. We are trying to get her to contact PAWS because they are a no-kill shelter and they screen people really well.

[Taz_Zoee]

Most people who are allergic to cats are not allergic to Taz. My roommate from many years ago has severe allergies. But Taz used to sleep with her.
Bruce's brother is highly allergic to their other brothers cats, but he's fine when he comes to our house, unless he sits in one of Taz's chairs.

I hope these two adorable orangies can find a good home.

[Craftlady]

The boys are so cute, I hope they get adopted together. I'm sorry it's didnt work for the gal that took both of them. With her immune system being compromised with the cancer it's very possible that certain dander etc can cause problems and have for her it's one of those "trial and error" type situations when she finds what works and doesnt with her allergies.

[Grace]

My former sister-in-law was allergic to Siamese cats, and only Siamese.

[Emeraldgreen]

I'm actually mildly allergic to my two girls, Teenie and Tiny. They are short haired tabby cats and and I have no clue why I react to them when I don't react to my other short haired tabby cats. But because the reaction is mild and only causes sniffles and itchy skin, I don't let it stop me. They are so scrumptious I just couldn't keep away if I tried.
It sounds like her reaction is a stronger one and she's only known them for a short time so I can kind of see how she is able to make the decision. But it sad for the orangies. They are so cute. I too hope that they will be adopted out together. There isn't any chance that she will turn them out onto the street is there? It would be awful if they ended up back where they started.
Hopefully she uses the shelter that you suggested and that they have wonderful futures ahead of them with their forever homes.

[Anikaca77]

No we told her we would take them back but it's just so hard because we still have Athena we haven't found a home for and she's been here for 3 weeks as well and now to take 2 more cats that would mean we would have 9 in a one bedroom apartment which for my cats seem a little too unfair especially as it is now we don't have enough space for the cats we have.

Hopefully she will be able to take them to paws.



E=Emeraldgreen]I'm actually mildly allergic to my two girls, Teenie and Tiny. They are short haired tabby cats and and I have no clue why I react to them when I don't react to my other short haired tabby cats. But because the reaction is mild and only causes sniffles and itchy skin, I don't let it stop me. They are so scrumptious I just couldn't keep away if I tried.
It sounds like her reaction is a stronger one and she's only known them for a short time so I can kind of see how she is able to make the decision. But it sad for the orangies. They are so cute. I too hope that they will be adopted out together. There isn't any chance that she will turn them out onto the street is there? It would be awful if they ended up back where they started.
Hopefully she uses the shelter that you suggested and that they have wonderful futures ahead of them with their forever homes. [/QUOTE]

[catmandu]

Thank God I am not allergic to Cats as we would be in a tough spot.
I was reading that for some reason the generation coming up has more allergies than the previous ones as they are cocooned more, and dont build up thier immunity systems.