Just adopted cat but DD showing signs of allergy...!

[smallgreyelephant]

Hello,
We've adopted a lovely cat. She is 2 years old and very sweet. The whole family met her and no one seemed to react. After half a day DD (13) has itchy eyes and nose, "fluffy" throat, and skin reaction like a nettle sting where the cat caught her on her arm. We have given DD an antihistamine.
DD is beside herself as she loves that cat and desperately wants her to stay.
I don't know much about allergies. Does anyone have experience of this? Do allergies go away (please forgive my ignorance/ desperation) or is it an impossible situation?
Any help appreciated!

My cat allergy did go away, then it came back around 5 years later in the form of serious asthma! But we had 5 good years together before that. Give it a couple of weeks, give DD a daily anti-histamine, hoover throughly at least once a day, and see how it goes. It will either decrease, stay the same, or get worse - and then you'll have to make a decision accordingly.

Thanks Lonny, we'll see how it goes...
Terrible that you have serious asthma now!

I am allergic to cats amongst many other things. First 3 weeks of getting a cat in between cats are horrific. Thereafter it's only if I touch my eyes after stroking them, the touch my skin with their claws etc.

Very important note in this, I do NOT have asthma.

Give it a month if she doesn't adapt sadly cat will have to go

If she has asthma the cat has to go

I would contact the rescue place now to give then the heads up that it may not work out and see if they have any ideas. Such a shame

Petal cleanse is supposed to help.
We adopted two kittens and I’m allergic to one of the two.
Keep the cat out of her bedroom, damp dust only, washable throws on soft furnishings. (Laminate is better than carpet!) Regular grooming.
Wash hands after touching cat.
Presumably the cat is stuck in ATM so allergies will be exacerbated. Will you eventually let her out.

Sadly, you may have to let the cat go.

Some great thoughts there, thanks guys,
DD doesn't have asthma so fingers crossed that she may adapt. We haev wooden floors downstairs and I can whip round with the vac daily.
I'll see if I can find the Petal Cleanse when I go to Pets@home tomorrow.

Good luck OP. I hope it works out.

My DD has a cat allergy and asthma but is fine with our cats.
They aren’t allowed in her bedroom though and we don’t have any carpets at all

Hello everyone,
I'm checking in after nearly 2 weeks because... we had to self-isolate due to my other DD (DD2) having Covid-like symptoms!
Then of course schools have closed their doors and suddenly life is so different.
DD1, who reacted to the cat is still having allergic symptoms: itchy eyes, streaming nose at night and so on.
DD2 with Covid- like symptoms was our top priority and she is fine now.

We are following the advice here, re the cat. We have the wipes and vacuum daily. She's not allowed in DD1's room etc. We all love the cat very much but we are considering re-homing her once the lockdown is over. The cat is beautiful and sweet and everyone adores her but I have to put DD1's health first. :-(

it does sound like you will have to rehome, how very sad for you all

It takes my husband a good month or so to adjust to a new cat. Once he's over that initial reaction he seems to cope fine but if we go to someone house with a cat he reacts badly

I’m allergic to my rescue cat but i just put up with it and keep her out of my bedroom. Also, Always wash hands after touching the cat.

I had a really bad allergic reaction when we got our dog when I was about 8 years old . After about two months the allergy settled down and we had 11 amazing years with the doggy before he passed away. Since not having a dog I do get the odd reaction to one if I fuss them but it did go away when living with him. See how she gets on after lock down but you’re right you do need to put her first xx

Consider damp mopping rather than vacuuming, and damp dust surfaces. I always avoid vacuuming before my very allergic mum visits because she thinks vacuuming pumps the allergens back into the air. HEPA filters should avoid this with the right vacuum but make sure they don't need changing.

We used an air filter machine in the room (from Argos) with HEPA filter running continuously for the first month or so, and limited cats to downstairs wooden floors. I took an antihistamine daily for a while and kept them completely out of the upstairs. 15 years on they're still with us.

Please don't give up yet! 2 weeks is nothing.

My partner took about 2 months of daily antihistamines and wet wiping the cats down twice a day (just a damp cloth) for his allergy to clear up when he first moved in.

I have wooden floors so wet clean every other day.

Now we have an air filter thing that also works wonders (one in living room and one in bedroom) and for the past 6 years he has not needed any meds and no reaction, even when we got a new kitten!

He does however go all streamy eyed and sneezy when he used to go see his mum before lockdown who has about 4 pugs so goes to prove it is all to do with building up a resistance.

Thank you all for your responses. We are a period of lockdown so we can't do much anyway!
We all love the cat and my daughter is experiencing less eye irritation. If she does get an itch, she does an eye rinse with fresh water and it helps. Fingers crossed...

Similar here with dp when we introduce a new cat, have to run an ioniser, take antihistamines and use allergy wipes for a while, then once the cat starts going outdoors it all eases off. I would say it's worth waiting a bit longer but being ready to hand back if it doesn't work out

If you can get to a pharmacy, see if they can give you Phenergan for allergies for your DD. It's an older antihistamine and it's absolutely transformed my life, I have always been allergic to animals and just put up with it in order to have my cats. And now I have no symptoms and it's like being a different person!!

I was horribly allergic to one of our kitties. It has definitely lessened over time.
But allergies can get worse too.
Hope it works out.