DS allergic to new kittens (asthma?)

[Filiboom]

We got two kittens on Saturday, who are very sweet and are settling in beautifully. Unfortunately, DS1, 7 (just), seems to be allergic to them and is wheezing when he spends any time with them. It started on the first day but seems to be getting worse. At the moment, they’re kept in one room and he has to wash his hands and face after going near them. I’ve also today applied Petal cleanse to their fur and sprayed the room with something that is apparently endorsed by Allergy UK and I’m waiting to see if that works. Ive looked online and advice seems to range from people can build up a tolerance in a week or so (which, of course, is exactly what I want to hear!) to others saying that the wheezing is a sign he now has asthma and he could have an asthma attack if we don’t rehome them straight away. We are very keen not to do that (we’ve been preparing for the kittens for a while and we’re all a bit smitten), but if it comes to a choice between his health and rehoming them, then it isn’t really a choice at all. We’ve already mentioned this to him as a possibility. His reaction has taken us a bit by surprise as he’s been around animals before and our neighbours and his cousins (who we see a lot) have cats. I’m not really sure quite what I’m asking for, but if anyone has any experience of this, I’d welcome any stories - positive or otherwise! Thank you. (PS apologies for the lack of paragraphs - my return button is not working.)

We had the same but with a puppy, unfortunately we had to give it back to sil (who gave it to us).
My son (unknown then) has terrible allergies to any animals with fur.
He gets a wheeze,hives and his eyes swell up quite bad.
He was fine with his grandfathers dog so was like you a bit of a shock.
We had ds tested and was told by the paeditriction that it's very unlikely to grow out of these type of allergies.

Please get rid of ypur kittens before ypu do permanent damage to your son. My parents tried to perserve with a pet when I was little and I developed life-threatening allergied to this type of animal. Still allergic 43 years later, no improvement at all.

Get rid of the pets.
A friend kept a pet despite a terrible allergy and she became so unwell she couldn’t work. It ruined her life.

I'm afraid it's a similar story here: ds, although seemingly fine with our first cat who died when he was 4, has now developed an allergy to fur. He already has asthma and so we can't risk it. His eyes swell up though, he doesn't tend to wheeze (but might do if he was exposed long enough I suppose).

I really wanted another cat

Are you giving antihistamine? Piriteze is droswy-making so not recommended long term but you can buy an alternative over the counter.

I am so sorry because this is not what you want to hear but. I got cats as an adult, struggled for the first couple of weeks with an allergic reaction, then was totally fine. 5 years later I developed allergy-induced asthma completely out of the blue and was extremely ill, as in calling an ambulance ill. I now can't be in a house with cats, which means I can't go to my best friend's house. It's horrendous and I wish I'd rehomed the cats immediately rather than persevering. Sorry.

I am asthmatic, we had cats when I was a kid.

I did develop some tolerance - but I still had episodes of severe wheezing that improved significantly when I left home and wasn't around cats any more.

I know this isn't what you want to hear but I wouldn't keep them.

Thanks all - it does sound a bit gloomy! We’ve actually now been to see the doctor as he was properly ill and the poor boy has picked up a viral infection (high fever etc) as well (going around his class) so it’s hard to tell what is cats and what’s bug. The doctor listened to his chest and whilst he doesn’t have what she called a “wheeze” he definitely sounds a bit wheezey so she’s given him ventalin and we’ve been told to go back in two weeks to reassess. In the meantime, he isn’t going into the cats’ room and he seems fine (now he’s shaking off the bug). Anyway, we will try controlled exposure in a different room once he’s properly over it and see how he is. In the meantime, one of my colleagues thinks he may be able to take the kittens if we can’t keep them so whilst we are still hoping it doesn’t come to it, we do have good alternative options.

My dd is allergic to many furry animals ( tested by paediatrician) and we got rid of our cat which broke all our hearts. We got chickens instead. Why she's not allergic to them is beyond me. Since then she seems to be okay/ desensitised to Cats enough for us to have Cats again ( discussed with paediatrician first). She has to wash hands/ face etc and doesn't stroke them much or it is harder. She is still allergic I would say

She is very allergic to tons of stuff though still. At present she is supposed to use antihistamine and ventolin but she doesn't ( she is now 19, was diagnosed at 14 months and has had severe asthma and eczema, really really bad all her life). Weirdly stuff like new bedding sets off her asthma but not the cat.

Asthma is very serious. It kills. So do take it seriously but also see if it is possible for you to have pets. They are very good for kids,