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Original poster

People with dog and cat allergies: talk to me!

39 replies

margaritasbythesea · 04/08/2019 18:30

I'll spare you the backstory as it is probably not interesting to you but I would really like to know if there is any leeway at all that would mean you could visit a familt member with a cat or a dog?

Would having a hypoallergenic breed help? Would putting the animal in a kennel or cattery for the duration of the stay and having the carpets steamed make it doable?

I would be really interested to know as just as I finally have the house to welcome both pets and family members, as I have dreamed of for years, a family member has developed asthma triggered by cats, dogs and horses.

Is there any hope for me to have a cat or dog?

OP posts:

Yearinyearout · 04/08/2019 20:59

I have a cat allergy. I could get away with visiting someone with a cat in the house if I took an antihistamine beforehand, but still wouldn't be able to stay very long. Definitely couldn't stay overnight, even if the cat was removed/house vacuumed top to bottom.

MyRaGaiaStarFishPieA · 04/08/2019 21:04

Go on amazon and get some petal cleanse. A thorough hoover, deep clean and a regular use of petal cleanse should really help. Also piriton is always an option. I'm allergic to cats and dogs, so is my son. We have two cats, two hairless dogs and two short haired dogs. With petal cleanse and through cleaning it's reduced by about 80-95%. We only use oral allergy meds in the summer as hay fever makes it more sensitive.

thatwouldbeanecumenicalmatter · 04/08/2019 21:16

I love my cats but fully understand people just either don't like cats or are allergic to them. Hell I have asthma too and occasionally get itchy eyes if my asthma is bad from pollen/dust/cold weather and the cat sits behind my head on the sofa. Dsis has a cat and is fine with her but after 15 mins at ours she's suffering with sniffles. We noticed she was loads better when I knew she was coming so I could open the windows to air the room and have the hepa air purifier on for the entire time shes here. But she's never needed to stay the night so I couldn't recommend that working for overnight guests. And I'd not be comfortable with guests having to take medication to come and stay. Sorry.

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EugenesAxe · 04/08/2019 21:26

This is my DS. We visited relatives with a cat staying at least 7 days, and though he started wheezing by day 2 (!) I then started a fairly maniacal daily hoovering regime of all carpets and rugs shared by both cat and DS. They had been cleaned before we came but still gathered a lot of hair in the course of a day. I rigorously monitored closure of his bedroom door, dusted and hoovered everything in there, and ensured regular administrations of Piriton.

This worked to keep his asthma at bay. Plus we went out most days and didn’t hang about the house; only in the evenings.

ChiaraRimini · 04/08/2019 21:26

As a long term cat allergy sufferer, Piriton really helps.
Houses with hard floors and leather sofas also much better, if animals are downstairs only, even better.
I struggled terribly to visit my parents, even with Piriton and Ventolin, when they had 4 cats in a rarely hoovered, carpeted house

bathorshower · 04/08/2019 21:32

I'm allergic to cats, and don't stay overnight in houses that have them after one really frightening experience (when I should have gone to hospital) - that time I didn't get as far as sleep; other times (with fewer cats) I've woken up unable to breathe properly, which isn't much fun.

Having visited a variety of homes with cats, these things help:

Keeping the cat out of the room for as long as possible beforehand - I'm talking days or weeks
Minimal soft furnishings
Cleaning the soft furnishings that you do have - definitely including sofas and curtains.

Anti histamines don't do much for me; taking the right asthma medication for a few days beforehand does help (but not eradicate).

Could you ask your SIL how badly allergic she is and what helps her? As you'll have seen from the replies here, there's quite a range of what 'allergic' means for different people.

CharityConundrum · 04/08/2019 21:35

I wish my family would have your attitude Annie oh, but there's a snowball's chance in hell.

It's not really a question of attitude - you can become tolerant of animals that you live with in a way that you simply can't when visiting.

The allergies aren't that hard to deal with when you are used to it.

That is clearly true of your allergies, but it is not the case with everyone, particularly those who have asthma as well - you can't just 'deal with' not being able to breathe or coming out in body-covering hives which is often the case with more severe allergic reactions.

sonjadog · 04/08/2019 21:42

I have asthma as well. I wrote my whole post about having asthma and you quote me saying that I wouldn't say what I said if I had asthma. I also mentioned that I have to be careful about touching animals with bare skin. Ok, I didn't actually mention the word "hives" but I thought it was obvious why I couldn't touch them. FFS, can nobody actually read before posting on MN any more?

CharityConundrum · 04/08/2019 22:24

My post wasn't intended to imply that you don't have asthma or hives. I was simply pointing out that your ability to manage your allergies to your own pets doesn't mean that the OP's SIL will be able to - you said she could deal with it as though that was definitive and I was just pointing out that it might not be possible. Sorry to have made you so angry - I was just trying to help the OP with her question.

CharityConundrum · 04/08/2019 22:26

Sorry. It was stupid of me to quote you. I didn't mean to annoy you. What a dick I am.

MustBeAWeasly · 04/08/2019 22:29

Both myself and dh have a terrible cat allergy. My brother has two, when we visit we ask them to air out our room and keep the cats out for a day or two. Not had an issue, we take anti hystamines and stay clear of them.
Your house your choice!

Jsmith99 · 04/08/2019 22:31

I’m allergic to cats and very allergic to horses.

Yes, of course I visit households who have cats. I always take an antihistamine first, I try not to sit on furniture which the cats are allowed on and I obviously don’t touch the animals or their bedding etc. If the cats approach me, I politely ask that they be removed. It’s fine, in small doses, but sleeping in a room in which the cats are allowed would be a real problem for me.

Jsmith99 · 04/08/2019 22:41

Contd...

If you want relatives who are allergic to cats to stay with you, by far the best method is to restrict the parts of the house in which the cats are allowed. In particular, the guest bedroom and any bathrooms which the guests use need to be 100% cat-free environments in which the cats, or anything which has been in contact with them or their bedding is never allowed. That way, your guests have a safe environment to escape to when they need to and will not have to worry about allergy attacks in the night.

Original poster

margaritasbythesea · 04/08/2019 22:48

Thank you for your replies and ideas on how to manage the problem.

In order to convince dh and wider family (none of whom have ever been pet owners) I think I would need to offer a much more clear cut case, and I was hoping there might be one, but it seems not. It isn't just my house though, it is also DHs, and I think I will just have to live with my disappointment however unpleasant that seems right now.

OP posts:

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