Pet Allergy

[Rose1999]

There’s a chance that my baby is allergic to my cats. I have three cats and I love them all. My partner wants me to get rid of them now which has really upset me. Has anyone else had experience of a child allergic to a pet and has it worked out ok?

One of my DDs has recently developed an allergy to our cat. She (and her siblings) would be devastated if we got rid of the cat, so we are managing it by keeping DCat out of her room and some of the tips below:

https://www.purina.co.uk/articles/cats/health/skin-fur-ears/managing-cat-allergens

I'm planning to start my cat on the cat food mentioned in the article too.

Thank you. That food is so expensive isn't it! But I'll definitely consider it as I love my cats. May I ask what your daughter's symptoms were?

She developed asthma in response to a viral infection, and now always gets wheezy when she has a cough/cold. We noticed she also became wheezy when she was around my mum's cat, but not with our own cat. However, she does tend to get a bit of a blocked nose and, occasionally, watery eyes at home, but not at school apparently, so I think she might have a slight reaction to our cat too - but thankfully no asthma symptoms. I should get her tested, but it's a long wait in our area unless you have a life-threatening allergy. So I thought I'd try the catfood- it is super pricy, but our cat is small and doesn't eat that much.

I do know other people who are allergic to other people's cats but develop a tolerance to their own cat after a little while. I also know somebody who developed an allergy to his own cat, but couldn't bear to rehome her so took daily antihistamines. Hopefully you (and I) can avoid this with our own DC!

Thank you. Honestly, the thought of rehoming them makes me incredibly upset as they've been my family for years x

I'm allergic to cats. It only became clear when I moved to uni and I stopped sneezing and having an itchy face. Once I went back home it was now super obvious as I had lost the bit of tolerance. I can't tell you how miserable it is to be sneezy and itchy all the time. I had cats all my life but wasn't fussed by them until we got a long hair cat which I didn't react too. I probably unconsciously avoided the cats because I sneezed and itched more around them without consciously making that connection.
My parents have kept on top of cleaning when I stay and keep them out of my room but I can always tell when they are in the room. I stayed with them part time when I relocated to start a new job a year before my partner was able to relocate too. It was horrible and i had to take antihistamines permanently and took refuge at my sister's and grandparents 2 of the 4 evenings I was there. My car allergy probably is categories as mild to moderate

As a child I developed an allergy to dogs, I can’t say when it happened but I had a runny nose since I was 3-4yrs old at least. I lived with two dogs, although we didn’t actually realise it was a dog allergy until I was an adult. So I would constantly have a runny nose, occasionally itchy eyes but not always, essentially I would have cold like symptoms throughout the year. It didn’t help that I also had hayfever so I just spent my childhood with tissues and forever sneezing. A slight reprieve in the winter but I spent a lot of time indoors by the time I was a teenager. I suppose because I lived with them daily it was fairly mild. My other family members and some friends also had dogs. I suppose school was the main reprieve. It was manageable and fairly mild. I had a great childhood and loved my dogs. I just remember always having tissues and a runny nose.

As an adult and since I moved into my own house (without a dog) I have definitely noticed the allergy and it’s a lot worse now when I go into homes with dogs or if I’m in a room with one. Antihistamines don’t help me. It takes about 10 minutes to feel it in my sinuses and even when I have left the house it can take quite a while to feel ok.

Oddly enough I’m not allergic to cats (visiting friends with cats and I would be fine after visiting). So we now have a cat, I would have loved a dog but I really don’t want the symptoms on a daily basis.

Sorry all of that is just to say that I had it in my childhood and it was mild for me and I loved living with dogs.

I suppose it depends how much it affects your dc and try your best to keep the cat hair to a minimum? Buy a very good hoover if you haven’t already? Keep the cat out of the dc room or limit them to half of the house? I hope you come up with a solution that works for you all.

do a blood test and a skin prick test if you're making decisions.

Allergies can be mild for a long time until for no reason they're not.

I saw something on TikTok about adding egg powder to cat food to prevent allergies. Sounds mad but maybe it's what is in the expensive stuff? Haven't checked as don't have a cat. But read about it as I am allergic and wouldn't mind having a cat one day. Apols for daily mail link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wellness-us/body/article-13236191/cat-allergy-cure-protein-powder-pet-food.html

I will say feeling allergic every day is miserable and you don't realise how bad it is until you have a day without it, then return to the 'norm'!

Skin pricks and blood tests are inaccurate in babies and young children. I have friends who's young ones anaphylactic allergies didn't show up reliably on blood tests and skin prick tests until aged 5

My cat allergy doesn't show up when I have skin prick tests either

@Superscientist maybe but I wouldn't rule them out. Both my children have allergies. A horse allergy was unearthed in a blood test when my daughter was about 18 months old.

When she randomly went into anaphylactic shock and was unconscious, at 4 years old, for "no obvious reason" I mentioned the mild allergy. She was then retested (skin and blood) and her heightened sensitivity was through the roof. It changed the course of her life for the next two years (a horse allergy) and went on to have immunotherapy for three years to reduce the risk from critical to manageable.

I would take any help I can get - inconsistent or not, when it comes to allergies. There is no room for messing about.

What makes you think your baby is allergic to cats?

Oh absolutely and they are worth testing for! Just wanted to make sure that people know with little ones that negative doesn't necessarily mean no allergies

That must have been terrifying. I randomly went into anaphylaxis at 21 having previously never had a food allergy.