Posted by Racer on May 12, 2007, at 14:32:22
In reply to Re: Siamese... » Racer, posted by saturn on May 6, 2007, at 18:36:30
I am allergic to cats. I am looking for a cat, because I just lost one and the other cat is lonely. (Humans are just not quite good enough company for her...) Here's what I've learned after having cats nearly all my life:
I never knew I was allergic to cats, until I'd lived without one for a few years. Whether I developed the allergy during that time, or had had it before, I can't say. The allergy was dx'd when I got the cat I just lost, nearly 20 years ago.
For a while, after getting him, I was pretty miserable. Coughing, swollen eyes, stuffy-runny nose, itchy face, I don't remember what all. Just -- miserable. That lasted maybe a couple of months, as I recall? It got a LOT better very fast when I started giving the cat baths every four weeks. That gave my system a chance to ease into having him around.
After a while, I just didn't react to him anymore. I still reacted to other cats, but not to him -- selective immunity, I guess. My doctor said that what happens is that your allergy is flooded by allergen, and either goes into hyperdrive and makes you sicker and sicker, or -- more commonly -- your body basically says, "well, heck -- I'm just not gonna bother with this allergen anymore. Too much trouble." The baths reduced the allergens, so that I could adjust faster, too.
Since then, I have had reactions to my own cats. (At one point, I had three.) What generally happens is that during the season when my other allergies kick up, I will get much more sensitive to EVERYTHING around me, and that includes the cats. At that point, depending on how bad it is, I may give them baths, which helps, or may not have to do anything. Otherwise, I'm fine with my own cats, but do react to most other cats. (Cat hunting at the pounds has not been fun...)
One thing that has also helped A LOT with new cats, is to get kittens. Kittens don't seem as allergenic, for some reason. By the time they're grown, I'm used to them, and don't react any more than I do to my other cats.
Also, the cat allergen isn't in their fur -- it's in their saliva. The baths help, because it washes the salivary residue off their fur. Another option I've read about, but haven't used, is to wipe them down with dryer sheets. I haven't ever used it, so I can't say it helps or not, but it's one of the suggestions listed on a lot of cat sites.
My guess is that you would be fine, getting any cat, if you did something similar -- get a kitten, think about baths, maybe try dryer sheets, etc. It might not be fun to go through the adjustment phase, but then again -- you go through that once, and are set for another couple of decades...
For what it's worth, though, there is something else I've learned: for some reason, black cats, and black and white cats, seem to set off my reactions far more frequently than others. I can't say why. Also, avoid cats who drool. Droolers ALWAYS send me into a little corner of Hell. (And they always seem to like me...)
Good luck. I'm strongly in favor of cats. Then again, my cat says it's in my contract to be in favor of her kind...
poster:Racer
thread:747650
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20070227/msgs/758142.html