Cat Allergy

Santa Claus

My girlfriend adopted a cat from the DSPCA a week and a half ago and appears to have developed an allergy to it.
She had cats while growing up without any problems and up to about 2 years ago used to volunteer in the DSPCA, working mostly in the cattery and never had any reaction to cats before.

She gets sneezing, blocked nose, wheezing, headaches and small rashes on her body when she spends any time with the cat.

I got her some sterimar (salt water spray for hay fever sufferers) to help clear her sinuses and this is helping a bit but she still gets the rashes.

She really doesn't want to have to bring the cat back to the DSPCA as it was an abused cat and very fearful of human contact when she first got it but the cat is now happy to be stroked and seems to be coming out of herself, but the alergy is driving my girlfriend mad.

Anyone got any suggestions or personal experience of ways to help alleviate the symptoms of a pet allergy ? (the cat had the full vet check up before the DSPCA gave her to the girlfriend so fairly sure the cat doesn't have any peculiar allergy causing ailment)

Broad

As far as I know the cat allergy is to the dried cat saliva on the hair from the cat cleaning itself rather than to the har itself. Not that that this piece of information matters either way! Many allergies develop later in life not just in childhood, I first got hayfever in my thirties. Badly. Antihistamines such as "Clarityn" or "Pirotin" will relieve the symptoms, but really these are best not taken long term if not absolutely necessary. They may prove useful though in the short tem to show whether or not her symptoms are the result of allergy or something else such a sinus infection which the antihistamines will not help. If it is cat allergy then it may be worth asking the GP if she can desensitise in some way. But perhaps cat ownership is not the best idea if it is proved to be cat allergy. Heartbreaking I know.

The Sweeper

• Hoover every day or every second day.
• Restrict access to certain rooms in the house - absolutely no cats in the bedroom at any time.
• Buy two small cotton pet or baby blankets, and throw them on the sofa where the cat sits - interchange and wash them regularly.
• Dust daily.
• Ensure cat litter trays are never allowed to build up and use a low-dust litter like paper pellets.
• Sponge the cat weekly - in a restricted area like your bathroom with the door closed, fill a sink with pleasantly warm water. (Don't fill the sink with the cat in the room.) Leave the cat on the floor on a towel, and then sponge the cat down with the wet sponge - working against the direction of the fur helps. Soothe and stroke the cat while you're doing this, because very few cats like it. (Do the head last - like washing a dog, a cat will react most dramatically if its head gets wet.) Doing this once a week helps reduce the dander and saliva the cat will distribute around the house.
• Use an over the counter antihistamine or nasal spray from the chemist to minimise your own discomfort.
• Use an over the counter cortisone cream to treat allergic rashes.
• Look into acupuncture as a treatment for hayfever - takes six sessions, can greatly reduce the symptoms of hayfever.
• Be patient. The severity of a cat allergy will lessen with continued exposure to the same cats. Trust me, I'm allergic to cats, and I own five indoor-only cats with minimal discomfort.

Santa Claus

Cat is an indoor cat and is confined to the kitchen at the moment as DSPCA recommended she be kept in 1 room for first 2 weeks to let her acclimatise.

Kitchen is hoovered regularly and litter tray is cleaned daily.

Thanks for advice about accupuncture, will look into that !

The Sweeper

I've just started acupuncture myself because I suffer with streaming nose and eyes caused by a lot of things - but it's self perpetuating, in that once it starts, it's the very irritation itself that keeps it going.

I've had three acupuncture sessions and some chinese herbs - and while I admit I can't shake the feeling some charlatan is fleecing me to use me as a voodoo doll and feed me rabbit food, I also have to admit it's working. It's not a miracle cure, but my symptoms are lessening in severity and frequency. Am interested to see how I feel after three more sessions.

Keeping cat dander - fur and skin - down is a must in any allergic household. I'm lucky, because I have timber floors most of the way through my house, and I can take a floor duster around them once a day with minimal effort, but I hoover the room the cats are centred in once a day - doesn't take a minute when you get used to doing it, and it makes a HUGE difference. I remove any litter that's been kicked out of trays, give their beds a quick once-over and replace their dinner dishes at every meal (I have about 20 dishes that are "cat food bowls").

The cats are completely banished from our bedroom, but they do spend time on the couch with us every evening, and sitting, covered in cats, for an hour or two in the evening doesn't set my allergies off. (Initially, it would have sent me into a sneeze-a-second fit).