WWYD - DS diagnosed with cat allergy, doctor says we must rehome cat, but DS' symptoms seem very mild (almost non-existent?)

[TheBronzeHorsewoman]

DS1 turned 4 this August. He never displayed any allergies to anything apart from the odd few patches of dry skin when I started to wean him at 6 months, and which I could never link to a particular food. They cleared up completely when he turned one.

This May, however, he suddenly came over all hay-feverish - had a permanent runny nose and dark circles under his eyes. After a month or so of this, I took him to the doctor's and we were referred to an allergy specialist who did blood tests which revealed high levels of allergy to tree pollen, cats and meadow grasses. The allergy specialist told us to get rid of our cat immediately and keep all windows etc. closed during the pollen season.

I was pretty devastated about the cat (who pre-dates DS) but started making enquiries about what I would need to do to send him to the UK to my mum's (we live abroad, Eastern Europe). While I was making these enquiries, however, DS's symptoms sort of cleared up and had pretty much disappeared completely by the end of June - despite the cat continuing to live with us.

Five months on and I still monitor DS1 daily for any signs of a reaction, but apart from the first 10 minutes after he wakes up in the morning, when his nose does seem a bit blocked, he is showing no other signs. His nose is usually completely clear by the time he has had breakfast and washed his face.

Today I saw the doctor again for a routine check-up of DS2. She asked specifically about whether we had rehomed the cat, and when I said that we hadn't, and told her about DS1's lack of symptoms, she intimated that we were being irresponsible and that DS1 could become asthmatic if we didn't.

Obviously, the LAST thing I would do would be to endanger DS1's health in any way, but OTOH I don't want to have to rehome the cat (at huge cost, both financial and emotional) if DS genuinely doesn't have any reaction to him at all.

WWYD? Would be grateful for the views of anyone who has been through something similar.

I'm allergic to my cat. Have been for ten years. My cat is 10 btw. I didn't just suddenly wake up allergic to him ten years ago

The first two weeks of living with him were hellish. After that not so much. I find when I've been on holiday I am more allergic to him. My allergy around long haired cats is much better and I no longer want to gouge out my own eyes when I visit my mum, who has three cats.

Keeping my cat has actually helped my allergy. I've sort of built up an immunity to it. It's not uncommon I know a few people who have similar experiences. This is probably what happened with DS. I have asthma but it is hereditary. All my family have it, even those with no cats/allergies. It is no worse around the cat than when I am on holiday away from cats. It is worse for a few days after I get back from holiday.

There is a product you can get (petal ease?) that reduces the amount of dander (allergen) that your cat sheds. Also be vigilant with vacuuming inc soft furnishings and keep the cat out of your son's room.

Here you go, it was petal cleanse

My husband had a cat when he was younger and lived at home. He was allergic to it throughout his childhood, and asthmatic. He would not however have ever given the cat up even though it made his symptoms worse, because they were still manageable and that is the key issue, are the symptoms manageable.

I had a cat when I was younger. We got her when I was 7. When I was about 12 I was diagnosed with asthma and the doctor told us we should rehome our cat. I resisted strongly and my parents decided to keep her. The cat was not allowed in my bedroom or to sleep on my bed (although I got round this now and again). I had a snotty nose occasionally but honestly nothing worse than this and it was easily controlled with antihistamine. If your son's symptoms are not bad, I don't think you are doing him any real harm. But I would suggest keeping the cat well away from his sleeping area. Also, get him into the habit of washing his hands after he touches the cat - this can make a big difference IME.

I am allergic to our cat(s) [there used to be 2, now there's only 1]. We have had these cats for 14 years and I didn't know I was allergic until we had had them for 4 years. It is nowhere near as bad now as it used to be, I say if he isn't experiencing symptoms then I would keep the cat! But that's me.

DooinMeCleanin, thanks for your message. Actually we bought some Petal Cleanse last time we were in the UK, we must get into a routine of using it weekly. I have noticed, like you said, that DS gets a runny nose for the first day or so after we get back from holiday which is him presumably building up an immunity to the cat again.

Hildathebuilder, yes, the symptoms are perfectly manageable as they stand at the moment - it's literally just a blocked nose for 10 minutes in the mornings. What worries me, though, is the doctor saying this afternoon that we are setting ourselves up for future problems by keeping the cat.

Can you put the cat into a cattery or something for a couple of weeks?

Then, once the cat is away from the home you will be able to tell if your DS is indeed allergic to the cat? He may well have those early morning symptoms regardless of the cat.

Dooinmecleanin Thank you so much for that Petal Cleanse link. My DH is mildly allergic to most cats - main symptoms are sneezing and watering eyes if he cuddles a cat too closely or if he doesn't wash his hands after stroking one. We have a cat of our own and she sits on his lap with no problems, it's only if she tries to rub near his face or if he doesn't wash his hands that she sets him off.

But he is for some reason severely allergic to my mum's cat and gets terrible asthma from just being in the same house - it's the only cat he reacts to like this. My mum lives alone and we don't want her to get rid of the poor cat, but need ways of dealing with visits there. The Petal Cleanse is a great tip!

Thanks, Haberdashery and momnipotent, I feel better having read your replies. Ironically, the cat HATES DS with a passion and won't go anywhere near him so I don't have any problem with DS stroking him or touching him at all.

Deux, I don't think putting the cat in a cattery would tell us much, unfortunately. The allergy doctor we saw in the summer said that cat allergens are everywhere and it can take over six months of not having a cat in your house before you start to see a difference.

your son is the typical age when allergies like hay fever first appear.

I would go to a specialist to get a skin prick test done, to see what he is allergic to.

if it is cat, unfortunately you really should rehome your cat and deep clean your house from top to bottom.

Deux that wouldn't work, as the allergens (cat dander and saliva) are all over the house, a deep clean would be neccessary before doing a test like that.

I realised I was allergic to cats when I was about 13, and we'd already had a cat for at least 6 or 7 years. I used to sneeze etc when coming downstairs in the morning (cat didn't go upstairs), but thought I was in some way allergic to mornings...

It only clicked when I was at someone else's house with two cats, and one sat on my lap (our cat was a bit stand-offish) and within a few minutes I was sneezing, eyes streaming etc. But I managed to carry on living quite happily with the cat until I left home, and never became asthmatic.

I'm still allergic to cats, but am generally OK with them as long as I don't touch them or go too close, and take an antihistamine if I know I'm going to a friend's house where the cats will have been sitting on the sofas and so on.

Getting rid of cat now sounds a bit drastic if your DS has no/minor symptoms and is not getting any worse.

Sounds to me like your DS is majorly allergic to tree/grass pollen from the timing, and just a bit allergic to the cat.

Seems a bit drastic to get rid of the cat, when you can't get rid of trees and grass.

GrimmatheNome, that's exactly what I think. I wondered if perhaps the tree pollen allergy could perhaps have "activated" the cat allergy in some way, and now that the pollen season is over, the cat allergy has gone back to being pretty much dormant again?

Mousymous, we did the blood test rather than the skin prick test as this was what the allergy specialist recommended. The results came back that he had high allergic reactions (in this order) to tree pollen, cats, meadow grasses.

Get rid of it. DS tested allergic to cats, but never seemed to have any symptoms. I will never know if DS wouldn't have developed serious asthma if I had got rid of the cats sooner, but I will regret for the rest of my life not doing as soon as we found out. It's not very nice seeing your DC in hospital with multiple canulas and an oxygen mask on. It's really not worth taking the chance.

My sister is allergic to cats. My mum was told to get rid of them. GP said that would distress her more and cause asthma. We kept cats out of her room, wash hands after touching etc. She seemed to develop an immunity. Can't see how you would be allergic and then it would suddenly ease off. Could it be pollen?
Hard flooring you can wet wipe and blinds rather than curtains can help.

Have you got hard floors or carpet? Also...do you use any cleaning things that the cat could be rolling in. When we first had our kittens years ago my husband became very wheezy.....almost got rid of them until we realised they were covered in 'shake and vac' that we had been using. Got rid of the 'shake and vac' and the wheezing went.

DH always had cats and was allergic to them, but as long as he washed his hands before touching his face he was fine, although it would take a few weeks to get used to new ones.

When DS now 16 was 12 he had food allergy tests and they decided to test him for cat and guinea pig. He turned out positive to cat, we had been going to feed next doors cat at the time. The only reason they decided to test was because the consultant saw scratches on DS's chest and decided to add the animal tests as well as hayfever.

We have now just got a cat and had her since feb and he has no reaction to her at all. He does have hayfever and various food allergies, but she sleeps in his room etc and he never shows any reaction to her. DH has had no problems with her either.

Trixymalixy, that is what absolutely terrifies me. I would never forgive myself if DS were to suddenly develop asthma.

Thanks everyone for your replies - has been very interesting to hear all your experiences.

Anecdotes about allergic people keeping their cats and not suffering any consequences are all very well, but they have no bearing on whether your DC will suffer any consequences. Not worth the risk IMO.

Well said trixymalixy

I think I would want tests repeating before I made any major decisions.

I would rehome the cat without even having to ask the question.

I remember childhood allergies and even when mild they made me miserable.

I would have more tests. I'm allergic to my cat, but only if I shove m,y face in her fur. I'm not getting rid of her!