My pet loving friends, maybe you can give me some advice.

[Paper Roses]

Late last spring, I adopted a shelter kitty. She is wonderful, no bad habits, nothing to make me upset with her.
She, until 2 weeks ago, has had the run of the house.

Two weeks ago, because of the cold weather, I closed up most of the rooms and now live in the bedroom, kitchen and den. It has been like this for years. I have a old house, difficult to heat. I have had kitties before, never this kind of a problem. Both my other kitties were short haired. This beastie has semi-long hair. In years past, in the winter, we closed the downstairs. My new kitty follows me everywhere , talks to me a mile a minute and seems to want to be wherever I am. She calls me to go to bed in the evening too. Well, here is the problem.

I seem to have an allergy to my kitty. As I type this, she is walking all over the desk. She is now sitting on my printer. She is on my lap as I relax on the couch in then evening. I think I am allergic to her.
I have developed what seems like a cold but I know it is not. Itchy, puffy eyes, itchy and runny nose.

I took a Benedryl this am and it helps with the symptoms but put me to sleep on the couch.
I have just bough, on-line, an new vacuum cleaner with a hepa filter. I hope this will work.
I have a Dyson that I do not use because it is too heavy for me to lug up and down. It works great but I hesitate to use it because of a prior injury. The one I ordered is far lighter.

Do you all have any helpful hints that might help with this situation.?
I have checked on-line and am told that I must wash everything the kitty has come in contact with and keep her isolated. I feel like a scrooge.
Don't mind the washing but the isolation makes me feel cruel.

If you think of anything that may help, I'd love to hear from you.
Thanks,
PR

[cyberswede]

1. We used a dander reducer

Years ago, we inherited a cat. My husband had always been allergic, but he was willing to try it.

I bought a dander control liquid of some sort (sorry - can't remember the brand), and I religiously applied it to the cat. It worked great, until I got lazy. I skipped a few applications, my husband got the sniffles again, and then after a few days, his symptoms went away. We figured he built up a resistance during the time we used the dander controller.

As I said, this was years ago (we lost the kitty last year at age 18). Now we have two "new" cats (about 1.5 years); one is short-haired and one is long-haired. No allergic reaction for hubby at all.

There might be something at this link:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=1424

[ginnyinWI]

2. maybe try a liquid solution...

Pet stores have products that might help. The one I have here at home is called "Simple Solution" brand "Allergy Relief from Cats". You put it on a washcloth and wipe down your cat with it and it is supposed to keep the dander from getting all over everything. The back of the bottle says, "a special formulation of proteins and natural conditioners that help reduce the effects of cat dander." To me that means a solution that prevents it from going airborne.

It's probably because you are in a more confined space now. In the summer with windows open it isn't as much of a problem. I've heard of being allergic to some but not all cats, especially a new cat to your environment. My son-in-law is habituated to their own two cats, but then reacts to mine when he visits here.

So that might mean that eventually you will get habituated to the new kitty too. Just don't know how long it will take.

I remember something called "Allerpet" which you spray on carpets and furniture--same principle.

[Curmudgeoness]

3. I feel for you. Been there.

I seem to be allergic to long-hair cats. I had a long-hair for 17 years that I was allergic to, then got another one (how dumb am I!). I realized it was long-hairs when I got the second one. I have had short-hairs without problems, and (I did learn) have one now.

I found that my biggest problems occurred if I petted him, then my hands got anywhere near my face. Because of that, I had to wash my hands all the time. If I was petting him, I would wash my hands. If I didn't, I would have stinging, runny eyes and congestion. You will also have to dust a lot----that dust is a lot of dander, and they say that is what we are allergic to.

And you will not want to hear this, but I also just had to live with it to an extent. Benedryl works for nights (yes, it is a great sleep aid), but not for days. I used Zyrtec-D (12 hour) when it was particularly bad during the day. You may have to find what works for you, but Zyrtec-D gives me insomnia, so it worked only during the day and only when I took it early in the day. And if it isn't too bad, tolerate it. Sadly, I never got immune to it, but I would do anything to have my kitties back with me even with the allergies.

Good luck with finding answers.

[ceile]

9. What she said.

I had to just live with my allergy. Wash hands and DO NOT touch face. Most allergy meds are like speed for me so I rarely take them- I would just make sure she was brushed and wiped down. And it was only the one cat- never before and not since have I had a problem.

[glinda]

4. Also ask your Vet. He probably knows of a safe solution to use on her. You can also get a shot.

I understand they have developed something for humans to deal with this. Another thing is to wipe her down with a damp cloth. Not soaking but slightly damp and then dry her. Indeed it is the dander.
Check out the shots.......

[Irishonly]

5. Best of luck

I didn't know until after my cats went to the Bridge I was allergic to cat dander. My Sammie always slept around my head and Charlie was always on my chest. After we lost both of them within a couple of months I was amazed at how much better I could breathe. I would ask your vet and also your doctor.

[TorchTheWitch]

6. Are you sure it's an allergy and it's the cat?

I developed a cat allergy, but it doesn't happen overnight. You'd also be allergic to all cats, not just this one, unless kitty got into something that you have an allergy to and it's on her fur.

I'm not sure this is a cat allergy at all. Have you gotten tested? I'd find out for certain whether or not it's a cat allergy first becaue it may very well be something else entirely. Did this suddenly coincide with your closing up a lot of the house for winter? In that case, I'd be more inclined to think it had something to do with that. Maybe drier air or something like that.

[uppityperson]

7. Try wiping her down with a damp cloth. She may have gotten into something that you are reacting to.

This happened to me with one of my cats. Never did figure out what she got into, but it sure was unpleasant for me. She didn't like baths but was ok with a damp cloth wipe down. Figure it also held down the dander.

[yellerpup]

8. Change her food.

I once developed an allergy to my kitty that I'd had for years. I'd been feeding him too much kitty tuna and it changed the balance in his saliva. I was having an allergic reaction to the dried saliva left over from his self grooming. I too took Benadryl for a week while his system adjusted to the new food and then we were okay again.

[TygrBright]

10. I have a mild allergy and two things really help:

First, I use dander-reducing pet wipes at the end of the weekly grooming session.

Second, I taught Louie to love being hoovered. He now jumps up on "the hoovering chair" every morning as soon as I get the stick vac out to hoover up around his box. It's a convertible vac (stick to hand) so I just pull off the floor nozzle and hoover him.

It was difficult at first because I think he didn't like the loud roaring, but treats helped overcome that, and once he realized what it felt like to be rubbed and petted and hoovered all over, he more than cooperated.

I hoover the fur the wrong way and then pet it back the right way, and vice versa.

When that's done I wash my hands and we're good.

I still get a little sniffly when he cuddles right up to my face for long periods, but otherwise it's all good.

helpfully,
Bright