Cat allergy

[Hidinge]

My dd's dad is apparently going to get a cat very soon.
I believe my DD to be allergic to cats as she spent a week at my mum's itching and sneezing (mum has a cat). I gave her antihistamines which seemed to help.
He tells her she'll 'get used to it'.

I don't know why I'm doubting myself as it seems very anti-science but 'getting used to it' isn't a thing is it?

She stays two nights a week at his.

Getting used to it is a thing if only the allergy is mild. Some cats release more allergens than others. Males release more than females, and entire cats more than spayed/neutered cats. The allergy is usually to dander not hair, so hair length makes no difference.

It isn't fair to expect your DD to put up with allergic reactions when she stays there. It's also not fair on the cat, as potentially it will have to be rehomed if your daughter can't cope. Your DD's dad needs to research this a bit more, rather than relying on 'she'll get used to it' as a solution.

Thank you that's useful info. Not that he listens to me but I'll suggest he does some research

My dd has an allergy to cats.

It used to trigger her asthma too but touch wood we think she’s grown out of it.

We also have a cat.

The cat isn’t allowed in dd’s bedroom, and dd isn’t allowed in my room where the cat spends most of her time.

We hoover everyday to reduce dander, and dd is allowed to stroke her, but she isn’t allowed to have the cat on her lap or in her face.

It’s worked well. We never had an asthma attack with her cat allergy at home. She used to get it coming back from her aunts (who has multiple cats, let them sleep on the bed dd would sleep in AND wouldn’t vacuum enough) and from her nans (who again had multiple cats that moulted everywhere and didn’t clean properly).

She no longer goes round their houses and we haven’t had a proper since.

That's interesting @Soubriquet I think she has a bit of asthma too - seeing Dr next week - the type that's brought on by exercise, hopefully not brought on by cats too! There's no way he's gonna hoover every day so I guess we'll have to see how it goes and if he's actually going to take the risk of having her be unable to stay.

She might indeed get desensitised to the cat but she may not. FWIW my DD is very allergic to cats so much so that at age 2 we had to rehire our much loved family cat. But since age 15 we have slowly reintroduced cats ( at her instigation) and she can manage the allergy using antihistamine and washing face, hands frequently and making sure she uses her inhalers properly. On the other hand DS can't go into the home of someone who's so much as stroked a cat and when he visits us we keep a room cat free for him! He uses so many antihistamine etc and his inhalers when he visits ( which is infrequent as he's an adult). DD is chronically sick and bed bound so we do prioritise her needs over his as she's stuck with us and her paediatric consultant suggested a cat companion would do her good