cat allergy ? help asap

I used to be alergic to cats, but I have not been around one for a few years up until I got Meko back in October. While I was only slightly allergic to her as a kitten, she sleeps next to me & I would wake up with stlightly red/itchy eyes. It was nothing serious & I could deal w/ it. However now she has her adult coat & I am having breathing problems ever since (about 2 months). The Dr's say it may be allergies as they can not find anything else wrong. But I have not had any tests yet. I can tell that her adult fur is thinner as well as she sheds a lot more. Is it possible that they release more dander or something with their adult coats?

This is pretty urgent as my breathing is getting worse & allergy meds are not working. I really do not want to get rid of her, but unfortunatly without medical insurance I really can't afford the allergy tests, I have spent thousands upon thousands on this already. Not that I want to get rid of her at all it's just that this is draining me physically & financially & is a major problem & unfortunatly I am not made of money & now I would like to try the cheaper route first. The tests cost thousands of dollars too. I just do not have any more money to spend.

Although even when I am away from her I still have problems but they do however get a bit better, I have not gone more than one day away from her yet though.

I have been asking friends & family if they could watch her temporarily (for a couple months) to see if I get better without her, but just in case it was not related to her I would still be able to take her back as I really do not want to get rid of her. Unfortunatly no one is able to. I am at my witts end at trying to figure what is wrong with me as well as keeping my sweetie.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Or know if a cats adult hair is different than their baby hair? Or maybe since I have had her so long it just took myhouse a while to "collect" the dander?

Do you know when you take a deep breath of really cold air & it hurts your throat & lungs, making it impossible to take a deep breath, and almost loosing your breath for a minute? Well that is the symptom I have but it is like that 24/7. Litterally I have not been able to take a full breath, let alone a deap breath in a couple months. It is absolutely terrible & it hurts.

I understand the allergy thing - I am allergic to my guys, but my meds do a good job so that i'm only slightly congested and itchy ;)

One thing most people don't know is that dander isn't skin flakes or anything from shedding - it is actually dried up saliva from when they groom themselves! So with that said, I gotta go "yuck" when I think about it. I don;t know if bathing them more often would help - its not something I ever wanted to try. I'll just take my nasal spray at night and allergy tabs in the morning.

What medications are you on currently? Right now I take Zyrtec and I highly reccomend it. Also try flushing out your sinuses a few times a day with a saline spray it will help to remove any allergens that are stuck to your mucus. I also love Nasacort as a daily allergy nasal spray. Try washing your sheets in hot water at least once a week that should help. While it sounds mean, it might also be helpful if the kitty doesn't go into your bedroom. I use wet cloths on my cats once a week to help wipe up some of the dander off their fur. I hope these suggestions help.

I am very allergic as well, but my meds work pretty well for me too. I would DEFINITELY NOT let your kitty in your bedroom at all! I know it is hard to resist a cozy kitty at bedtime, but you have to think of your health too. Wash your bed sheets really well, and keep your bedroom carpet vacuumed. Maybe some over the counter allergy medication will help you enough, and keeping the kitty out of your bedroom completely!

GOOD LUCK!!! ;)

Quote from http://www.catchat.org/rehome.html

Allergies: If a member of the household becomes allergic to cats, or if a new partner is allergic, many people assume the only solution is to rehome the cat. This is not necessarily so. Some people may develop allergic symptoms when living with a cat for the first time, but find that after a few weeks their symptoms subside, and often disappear altogether once their system is used to being in contact with the particles of allergen. Reduce risk of reaction by making sure the cat is regularly de-flea’d, don't groom puss inside the house, and it can even help if you wipe a damp cloth over the carpet after vacuuming, and even over the cat! There is also a pet cleanser on the market, called 'PetalCleanse', which neutralises the allergen. This product is approved by the British Allergy Foundation and is available in larger Tesco stores, or for more information, call the Pet Allergy Helpline: 01608 686626 or visit: www.bio-life.co.uk

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I would also recommend keeping kitty out of your bedroom at all times, which is sad as it is lovely sleeping with cats but breathing is more important ;)

You can have airfilters in the house, plus vaccuming constantly to keep up with pet dander. Try taking over the counter allergy meds. You might consider keeping kitty in one room of the house only. Like others have said, keep kitty out of your bed. Thats breeding allergy problems in the sheets and blankets.
Good Luck.

Thanks everyone. I will keep her out of my room (if I can sleep w/ her meowing LOL)

It is very bad right now, I think I am about ready to head to the hospital in a few minutes if it doesn't get better. It is always here just sometimes it gets so bad I can barely breathe like now

maybe the hospital can find what is wrong as no doc can yet (besides the allergy test has not been done) everything else came out okay

Everyone else has given you very good advice, so here is a little more...

Since you do not have health insurance you can try Clariten. This is a non-drowsy (for most people) antihistamine that is available over the counter in any pharmacy. They should be able to give you a Ventolin inhaler. This will help your breathing and is available in a generic form, so it is not as expensive. (Not to start a fight here), but since you live in NY state you might want to consider ordering your drugs from Canada.

I am not sure if you can do this, but if you have rugs can they be replaced with hard wood or tile (that will help alot).

Maybe some of the problem is that it is now spring time and all the pollen is starting to come out again. (I know I am just starting to suffer from it again...)

Good luck and I hope that things work out for you and Meko

I too am an allergy sufferer, I have quite a few allergies, one being to cats, however I have found it has actually improved now that I have literally put myself amongst them, no fussing and lexie sleeps on my bed everynight at the bottom of the bed.

I don't do anything special at all, but I take antihistimanes now and then,especially in hayfever season. I must admit sometimes my allergy is quite bad , other times it is fine, it depends on the season, and it is not just the cats in my case for sure.

However I would recommend following everyone's advice and keeping kitty out of your bedroom, as much as I would hate to do that, if it came to it l would, rehoming my cats just is not an option for me at all.

It sounds like you are suffering from Asthma to me, do you have a puffer at all? which of course cats can trigger, get some medical advice there and see if that helps, good luck and I hope you improve soon.:)

I responded to your thread in General. There is a great shampoo you can use on your kitty. My son had horrible allergies and asthma. Once we figured out the steps to take, we were able to get it under control. He rarely has flareups now.

Another thought: whenever my cats come in from outside, they want to be petted - and that's when whatever they touched outside (pollen,etc.) makes my eyes get all itchy.

If I had a brain, I wouldn't pet them until later, or at least wash my hands after touching them. But instead, I usually just have to go get Visine and antihistimines!

I am an allergic asthmatic, and know the feeling. From your description at the end, it sounds like asthma, but I am not a doctor. Please take care of your breathing, it is very important, trust me. There are many different strengths of allergy medications, if it is allergies, they can work with you to find out what works best for you.

This right now is the a bad season for people with pollen allergies, and if you've developed those, is could well be exacerbating the cat allergy. It could save you money in the long run to get this taken care of now.

No kitty in the bedroom for now, vaccuum the whole room, too. Wash all pillows and bedclothes, just in case.

I was wondering about the higher pollen count as well. Do the allergy medications make any difference, however small? Do you have any other allergy-like symptoms?

Have you seen a doctor for asthma? Are you getting oxygen when you breathe or is that at a low level when you fee like this?

I, too have about a million allergies. I have allergy induced asthma as well and take Alegra and Cingulair and they help a lot. I get that shortness of breath thing too...but my doctors figured out it was triggered by stress. Could that be something with you?

Do you have sypmtoms only at home? If so, its most likely the kitty and whatever else you're allergic to. If you feel the same way elsewhere, like work/school, its most likely not just the cat.

I went to the docs again last night, I could barley breath. He thinks it may be allergy induced asthma. He gave me a couple new meds to try for a couple weeks. And said if there is no improvement then to get some allergy tests done. But pretty sure it is asthma. I also bought a large hepa filteration system & new filter for my vaccum. Meko got a bath & tonight I'm washing everything in my house. I'm hoping this will work as I really do not want to give up kitty (even though doc told me last night it would be a good idea to look for a home for her). I have to give it at least one more shot though.

Unfortunatly if it does not improve at all within a few days or so I may have to give her up. Because when it gets bad (about 2-3 times a day) I can barely breath at all. It is scary & painful. I may have someone that can foster her or find a foster home for her (long term cat-sitting) just to see if it is the cat that is causing it.
He thinks that it may be the cat.

I did some research & got some advice and went over some of this with my doc & the vet & found out Kitten fur has no guard hairs, but it's not the guard hairs that's the reactant, it's the skin & saliva. A kitten has the antibodies of it's mom till it reaches 9 months of age and it's own immune system kicks in, which may be enough of a change inside the cat to alter it's chemical output somewhat (?I'm not a vet, just going by what I found out on the FIV cat list). Meko could have 'shifted' enough to cause a larger reaction in me. The allergens are all in the saliva or coming off the skin. As an adult cat, I can see a possible change in my ability to not fight off the new stuff. OR I reached tolerance overload & it's just the gradual over time reaction from me being around her so long it just got built up.


I'm hoping for the best, execting the worse... what else can I do?

Thanks everyone for all the help & feel free to share any mor info or suggestions if you have it!

Your doing everything humanly possible to make things better. Good luck.