I need to find out if we're allergic to our kittens before I make a heart breaking decision.

[Spiderhammer]

According to tests at the doctors a decade or so ago I have a scattering of allergies which include pollen, dust mites and dogs, but I'm not supposed to be allergic to cats. That's why I got kittens.

Now I'm begining to wonder. At least two out of my four kids are showing symptoms (including shortness of breath, itchy eyes, red eyes and blocked noses) so I'm wondering how I can be sure this is down to the kittens.

I don't want to get rid of our beautiful kittens as we've had them for weeks now and they've really become part of the family but obviously if the kids are allergic they'll have to go.

How do I find out for sure? I understand that our NHS is particularly bad in this area so I'd rather not have to pay but if I have to I will.

I'd be greatful for any advice.

ask your GP for a referral to allwergy clinic.

i am torn as well, as would love a kitten/cat but dd1 reacts to cats sometimes. she seems to be ok with long haired cats but not short haired. i got rid of our cat when she was about 8months old as dd1 had terrible eczema. i had a trial period with a kitten 4 years ago and dd1+2 reacted the same as your children.

The annoying thing is I convinced myself it would be ok because of all these stories about how it's great for the immune system to be around animals and how children brought up on farms never get allergies etc.

My brother and I endured horrible breathing problems and itching throughout our childhood because of the cats so I don't want to inflict the same on my kids.

Spiderhammer just wanted to add that I always used to get itchy eyes, sneezing when we got new kittens as a child, and it would settle down as the kitten got older. I think I used to react to the 'kitten' fur, the sort of fuzzy fur they have before they get the sleeker adult fur growing in. But I don't want to get your hopes up as it might just have been something peculiar only to me. The only other allergies I have is hayfever. You would be best to go down the route suggested by LadyVictoria. I hope it works out.

Because cats are clean animals as in always grooming they create a lot of dust so you can have reaction to them if you have dust allergies.

I have a dust allery (can't spell the name of it ) and only found out i was allergic to cats when my dad got some. My throat, mouth and ears all itch. My eyes swell shut.

I'm afraid i adore cats but have now given up having them because they give me such bad asthma and rhinitis. Cat hair dander is one of the most allergic things around - and i grew up with loads of animals, didn't stop me getting serious asthma! If the symptoms have started at the same time as getting the kittens i would have thought that was fairly self explanatory. You could just be very strict and keep them only in the kitchen and in the garden, but it is hard to do that - especially if they are already used to the house.

Unless the allergies are extreme or you think the kids are not too attached to the cats at the moment, I think you should give it a bit longer as you can get used to cats and you might find the allergies fade gradually.

I am allergic to strange cats, despite having a cat of my own, and when I was at university living away from home I could barely be in the same room as the cat during the holidays even though I grew up with it. Anyway after I returned home it was bad for a few months but got less and less of a problem.

As I say, we have a cat now and it took a few months for my system to get used to him but he now sleeps on our bed, lies on my lap, no problems at all.

I was allergic to cats and horses but it never stopped me having them, I have also had hayfever since teens. The following may help:

medinose has been life changing

I find I never get allergies when it's raining, so I bought a couple of plant sprays - the kind you get in a garden centre for a pound, fill with water and set on fine mist setting and spray all around room on yourself, furniture and kittens (hopefully they will think of it as a game). Do this as many times as you need to during day, maybe limit kittens to a certain part of house, say downstairs only?

vasaline or balm spread over eyes, eyelashes, and inside of nostrils will act as a barrier. you could also mix with a bit of water,rub on hands and stroke down on kittens fur.

If you have a really bad attack have shower, wash out nostrils (there is something callled a neti pot you can use seperately) wash hair and change clothes.

hope it helps, this must be so hard for you.

i don't miss cat hair lining the inside of the curtains from top to toe I have to say...

Thanks. Some useful tips here. The medinose thing looks interesting barking. Presumably you put those two pink things in your nostrils? I've never come across it before.

Ruty you are expressing the scenario I fear. Do you think there's any point in asking the GP to refer us to an allergy clinic. I'm led to beleive they're szo over subscribed that I'd probably wait years and have a bigger fight on my hands to re-home my girls.

Only read OP but wanted to share. I am allergic to cats but we always had them at home and my body got used to them. It was very noticable when I went to Uni as when I was home in the holidays I would be very wheezy and have red itchy eyes etc. I was prescribed Clarytin which I took daily for the first week I suppose until my immunity kicked in again. So don't give up yet. They may build up a tolerance like I did. The cats had to be banned from my bedroom though. Even now I have to remember my inhaler if I visit my Mum, even though I was fine when I was living there.

Spiderhammer - yep I'm afraid you do stick them up your nose, it's only for 5 mins twice a day, though I don't need to use it out of the hayfever season and over the summer I sometimes only used it once a day. My 4 year old gets hayfever too and he used it with no problem.
I hadn't heard of it until I read a piece in one of the papers, when they first bought it out it was incredibly expensive, I think it cost me £70 but there was a money back guarantee with it so I bought one. The science from what I can remember talks about how infared light desensitises the nasal membranes, I don't know how it does it, just that it works for us.
I'm sure I saw on mumsnet over the summer a thread that said you can get a similar machine in Lloyds chemist for £15, it maybe worth a search on archives, though I don't know if its the same technology.

Thanks Barking. I think it may well be worth a go for our family since dh, and least two of the kids and I all seem to suffer.

Allergies are such a pain aren't they?

I also often wonder if cutting out dietary intolerances would make us more tolerant to the cats as the immune system won't be so over loaded.

It's frustrating that this is all based on guess work because the medical profession has ignored allergies and has a poor record on diet at the best of times. There's so much conflicting information out there and it's really hard to work out how to proceed.

Thanks for all your help.

i really wouldn't let them on the beds though [know that's hard!] i think the body needs some time away from the allergy overload.

hi not read all posts but expierence as an ex childminder i had two kids that had an allergy to cats, the little boy i looked after was really bad with sore eyes and streaming nose seemed as if he had a constant cold. The parents never thought anything of it as he only had it at my house (no cats) and he was particuarly bad during the night all choked up so it was a while before i realsied they had 3 cats, when i said it could be the cats they were shocked they never thought it could be connected until the doctor confirmed that in some kids the allergy to cats can flare up most of the time when away from the home and later i also found out they let the cats sleep in his pram, the parents got rid of the cats and 3 weeks later it was like having a new little boy to look after