Please talk to me about your cat allergy

[Beeebabababom]

Is it obvious that you're allergic to them? Like as soon as they are around are you sneezing etc?

If it's less obvious how did you work out it was that?

Thanks

If I sit next to a cat owner in a public place (plane, bus, restaurant, pub, even a pub garden) I start wheezing within a few minutes.
If I visit a friend who has a cat, I take antihistamines before hand and we walk straight through the hall to sit in the back garden.
In that time, it feels as if the air is thick with cat hair as the available air to my lungs is reduced.
The itchy eyes take a bit longer, 20 minutes or so.
With some breeds of cat I get a sore throat too.

Thank you @Towerofsong . What antihistamines work for you?

I sometimes start sneezing after our cat has been on my lap for 10 minutes or so, and sometimes don't. I think she probably sheds more cat dander sometimes than others.

I also have a dust allergy, and rhinitis sensitivity to some chemicals and foods, so it's hard to tell the exact impact of the cat.

My son's eczema worsened after we got the cat. He also gets rhinitis symptoms. Now that he is at uni he says that his symptoms noticeably worsen when he comes home.

My DH has symptoms too.

None of us want to get rid of the cat, but we won't be getting another.

I get an itchy face and after a few minutes I get wheezy and my eyes puff up.
If I still don't take the hint, or don't have antihistamines with me, my throat and inside my ears starts itching.
I usually find a way to leave by this point, and the streaming eyes/blocked nose/sneezing type symptoms don't kick in until later.

If you own or want a cat,then try Purina LiveClear which reduces allergy impact

Incidentally some cats trigger more than others and that is random apparently !

We have always had cats and DH is allergic. He has some rules like they don't sleep in his bed, and he is careful not to touch his face after stroking them, but he loves them dearly. Some have been way worse than others. One cat we had to give away after a couple of months, as DH got severe asthma the minute he walked in the house. Others he has had to take the odd Benadryl. Our current cat he can bury his face in!!

He was also worse when we had a short break once. I think you do build up an immunity if you keep going. So a life with cats is guaranteed for us, makes me very happy.

I spent weekend after weekend at my aunt's without realising it was their cats making me allergic, for years! Like a PP I also have a dust allergy and my aunt thought my sneezing probably wasn't the cats because the cats didn't spend time in the rooms I was in but looking back, that made no sense. They thought it was from houseplants etc - which annoyingly do also affect me.

It did take ages to put it together but when I visit friends with cats it's obvious. It's low-level enough that I can handle it with an antihistamine and can escape to the spare room for a bit if staying over. But it's scratchy throat, runny nose, sneezing etc. Usually starts after around half an hour.

I have short haired Ocicats which are meant to have a very low level of what is responsible for allergy. However for a person with a very low allergy threshold I wouldn't be confident. My mum has asthma triggered by cat hair but is fine with them.

Not wanting to derail your thread, OP, but has anyone noticed their cat allergy suddenly flaring up this month? I certainly have.

To answer your question, my reaction is sneezing almost constantly. It’s awful. Antihistamines work (any), but it takes a while to kick in.

But it comes and goes, and I’m wondering why that is. If I knew maybe I could avoid it?

Like others, I also have a dust allergy.

Most of my friends seem to have cats. I take an antihistamine before going (I never socialise at their houses) but within minutes, my eyes start itching and my chest gets tight and I start to wheeze.

Mine kick in anywhere from 10 mins to an hour of being with one. Largely depends on how much the cat sheds and how well the owner hoovers up if I'm being honest. Usually, itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose and scratchy throat then asthma attack.

That being said I live with a cat who we've fed purina live clear from the day we got her and I've never had any symptoms with her. I don't obsessively clean and she's not a special bread. It's just the food, its amazing.

It starts a few minutes after I'm near a cat, or fabric that a cat has sat on. It seems to be female cats more than males.
I feel like my face is being smothered by an itchy blanket, and start wiping the imaginary hairs off. Then it gets itchy, my eyes start to water, and the breathing problems start. Its like trying to breath through steam. If I can't wash my hands and face and get an anti histamine, my chest gets tight. I try not to let it get to that stage.
Its a lot worse now than it was 20 years ago, and I don't have any similar allergies, its just cats.

How does this Purina food work?!

I just get a scratchy throat but also have a dust allergy, so it’s hard to pinpoint which it is when we visit people! Saying that we’ve had cats and in my experience you can become immune to your own. I’d never heard of that food, what an invention!

Thanks everyone.

Those with dust allergies...again how did you determine it was that?

I get all the usual allergy symptoms apart from sneezing but I also get awful sinus inflammation under my cheek and near my jaws accompanied by a sinus headache.

I have had a cat for 7 years. My sinus and allergy symptoms have been for the last 2 years. I just don't understand it.

I don't let the cat in my bedroom at all anymore which seems to have helped but I still get glare ups and I don't know if it's because I've been contact with material that the cat has touched or if its not even the cat in the first place.

Antihistamines don't seem to work either.

I'm so sick of it 😱

The allergen that cats produce is in their saliva. It gets spread when they lick themselves and leave their hair around but it isn't the hair itself that people are allergic to. The food contains a protein that binds to the allergen and neutralises it. So even when they shed the allergic reaction is vastly reduced.

I take 2 x piriton at night and 1 x Telfast 180 in the morning.

For years I didn't need the antihistamines then suddenly after a few years of being perimenopausal all my old symptoms erupted.

I'm gutted.

Your sinus symptoms might be caused by something else, like a fungal infection.

"Those with dust allergies...again how did you determine it was that?"

I did have a skin prick test when I lived in Oz many years ago.

When I stick my head in my wardrobe and rummage about, or under my bed, etc, I start sneezing. I've read that it is dust mite droppings, rather than the dust itself that triggers it.

I also start sneezing if I spend more than 10 minutes in a charity shop. That could be dust, or possibly mould spores.

I think that allergies/sensitivities do seem to get worse over time.

I have perfume/chemical sensitivity/allergy - e.g. I sneeze when my cleaner uses viakal spray, but not when she uses Tesco's own brand equivalent.

Plus, certain foods make me sneeze - e.g. anything with mint, & red onions. But I think that is definitely a sensitivity rather than an allergy.

It's all the same symptoms - collectively known as rhinitis.

I've had skin prick tests too. I always used to wake up with sinus pressure/pain and sniffly thanks to dust mites.

The list of allergies just continues to grow!

If I sit on the sofa when the cat has been on it and I haven't hoovered it first then I get itchy hives. If the cat sits next to me I start to itch. She's on the live clear allergy food and it's not helped sadly. I tried antihistime but they had negative side effects for me that I'm not willing to tolerate long term. So we are in limbo at the moment and I'm miserable and no idea what to do.

If you are in the UK, could it be birch pollen allergy? That is "in pollen" at the moment and a lot of people with general allergies are allergic to that

Antihistamines only work for me for the runny nose, not for the asthma. I take a medication called montelukast that gradually builds up and reduces lung sensitivity.
If I take that for several days I can go and meet my friends in a pub to chat etc and wheeze a lot less. Its not enough to be in close contact with anyone wearing a cat hairy jumper though.

I'm unusually allergic but its actually very problematic for a social life.

Silver birch is the thing I was most allergic to when tested 30 years ago. Moving away from Woking and its famous birch tree woods helped!

Ooh thanks @Towerofsong , I’ll have a think as to whether it might be that… instinct says no as I’m usually in my home when it starts (no birch trees in the immediate area) and it does seem to be triggered by sofa / bed … places my two cats like to be.