Allergy problems to my kitties.

My daughter from out of town and her hubby visited recently and her hubby was allergic to my kitties. Poor guy. Another daughter of mine's hubby also is highly allergic to cats. He can't come into my house at all.

I wonder how common this is? Do any of you have problems with family members or friends being allergic to your fur babies?

I know it's the dander. Socks and Mittens have sort of long fur. I wonder if that makes it worse? No matter how much I cleaned, it didn't help.

 

It helps if I keep the windows open but obviously that's not possible in the winter time. Friends and family will use Claritin or Benadryl. Lynnhaz used to swear by the ionic filters (very costly) and wiping down the kitties with kitty wipes/wash cloths before guests arrive.

 

my SIL is highly allergic to cats. It's not just sneezy itchy eyes and nose for her but also hives.
A few years ago she and her hubby came across a kitten that had been left behind when its owners moved (gee honey we forgot the cat - goatlickers). Anyway SIL and her hubby took the kitten home with the intentions that her sister was going to take it in a week or so (they were moving into a new home). SIL fell in love with the kitten and after spending $160 at PetCo (needed kitten supplies you know) they took her to the vet where her litter was aborted (6 months old!!! and pregnant) and got up to date on all along with deworming, etc.
Jilly is now 5 years old and my SIL did conqueor her allergies to Jilly by wiping Jilly down 2x/daily with a damp washcloth and taking Benadyrl. She weaned herself off the Benadyrl and was eventually able to stop washing Jilly down. She is fine with Jilly now - has built up an immunity. She comes here and it's hive city all over again.

 

He did take Claritin while they were here and it helped a little. I had the air conditioning on but did tell him he could open the windows in the bedroom he was sleeping in and that helped some, too. He still had trouble, though.

I never thought of using kitty wipes or a wash cloth to wipe down the kitties. Good suggestion. The ionic filter sounds like a good suggestion, too. I know they are expensive.

That's wonderful Mary that your SIL was able to conquer her allergy problems at least with her kitty.

 

I am allergic to my fur babies especially the kitties...... it is the dander and I try to get short haired if I get additions to the family.... I thought Harley was going to be short hair but he turned out to have med to long hair...... he had short hair as a kitten. I used to have a meezer and I was really allergic to her!!! I couldn't just pet her and go on with things I would have to wash my hands and make sure that I didn't touch my eyes!!!! I would take benadril but also claritin works well too. I did get "over" my allergies for the most part over many years. I did try the wipes and kept them regularly bathed and brushed. that helps. I do have to keep the house clean with the hair and I am now used to when I really handle them alot I automatically wash my hands.

good luck

 

That must be tough, HDrydr, living with kitties when you have an allergy yourself. I'l glad you were able to manage it. Sounds like the allergies can lessen if a person lives with the kitty for awhile. Maybe at least some people.

My one son in law's reaction is really bad. His throat starts to close up. He's the one who can't come into my house at all. When he and my daughter got married, my daughter had to give up her kitties. Sad.

 

that would be so hard for me to give up my fur babies!!! I really don't know that I could do that they are such a big part of my life..... Call me strange but when I date someone I make sure that they pass the "Buster" test and are good with the cats..... they have to get along with Buster and Buster needs to be ok with them. I have told the BF that when one passes they will be a new addition to the family that's just the way it is. I will always have 2 cats (any more than 2 my allergies act up) and a big dog preferably 2 big dogs if space is good. I guess that is kinda of closed minded but they are part of my family so when I look for a relationship I look for one that adds to my family not removes family. Guess I've been lucky!! Not everyone gets that lucky I guess and I know people become allergic and things change. I would have to see if medically things could be done to live with them, before giving up my family member(s).

that just would be soo hard!!! :cry: sorry for those of you who have had to make sacrifices like that. I guess your all bigger people than me.

 

My mother has allergies to some cats, and not to some others. She says she swears the dander is different in different breeds? Who knows. We do have some friends that have problems with cats, but take a Clariton if they know they will be hanging out at our house for hours on end. What I will never get though, is when people come over to visit knowing full-well we have cats and complain the whole time about them being around. Hello! The cats LIVE here, I am not locking them up for the night just because you don’t want to take allergy medication. We even have one friend who is afraid of cats (yes, afraid - and for no reason, no childhood trauma or anything). One time she insisted on coming over and then spending most of the time with her knees pulled up to her chest, terrified the cat would rub against her leg. It made me laugh because, of course, the cats only hung around her more! Needless to say, she now agreed we will all go over her house instead for game night! :lol:

 

I agree that dander is different on different breeds. I have different level allergies to my cats, lol. It is so true that cats will go directly to the person that is afraid of them and hang out with them more making them more terrified. One of our friends is deathly afraid of cats and when she visited, Milo and Vene went immediately to her freaking her out even though we had plenty of other guests around. :mrgreen:

 

they do want to spend time with the people that ignore them for the reason of just finding out why they are not petting them and to bug them until they do pet them..... Or I guess dart out of the room and then it is to chase them...... :mrgreen:

 

I don't think it's different breeds so much as the cat.
I say this cause fostering a specific breed I can have one Siamese cat come in that kicks my allergies up big time (until I adjust to that particular cat) and then next one might not bother me at all.
I've had various point Siamese, long haired (that one didn't bother me at all), short haired, obvious purebreeds, mixed Siamese, etc. There's been no pattern in how any cat will bother me.
Zeus bothers me and he's a DSH but with a really thick coat. Dixie doesn't bother me at all and she's a DSH.
It's supposedly the proteins in the cat's saliva (per my allergist who I used to see back in the day). The protein particles get airborne when the saliva dries and that's what causes the reaction. The more protein in the cat's system the more allergens in the air where the cat lives.
I did once read that sometimes control the amount of protein in a cat's diet can help that - but they do need lots of protein due to the way their are.

 

That's really interesting about the proteins in cats saliva. I didn't know that.

Your response, Mary, made me think of how different my cats are with fleas. Mittens seems to have more trouble with fleas than Socks. I don't know why. Socks' fur is thicker than Mittens so maybe the fleas can't get in their as easily or maybe it has to do with proteins in the saliva, or maybe even the cat's scent. I don't know.