Cats and human dust allergy

[ally90]

I would like recommendations and advice on anyone who has a cat and has a dust allergy. My dh has the dust allergy and it leads to setting off his asthma. So, has this caused huge problems for you? How have you gone about resolving it? And if you don't have an allergy, any advice on dust free cat litter that does what it says on the tin/bag

TIA

I have mild dust and cat allergies. I find that getting someone else to do the hoovering helps (when I do it it makes me physically sick).
Do not let the cats in the bedroom, AT ALL, nothing worse than climbing into bed, starting to feel fruity and you start sneezing because the cat has been sleeping on your bed.
If you ever do a major re-decorate think of getting rid of any cloth soft furnishings, replace with a leather sofa, and have hard flooring instead of carpets.
Giving your cats a rub down with a damp cloth every couple of days to keep down the dander will help (the cats may not like it though). Hoovering your matress ones a week helps, so does buying the pillows with the special covering to stops the dust mites getting out.

You can also get the cat litter trays that are covered over to keep the dust in.

Thank you, just been reading up about it all, but so many articles disagree!

My dh has lived with cats all his life at his parents, and he goes there everyday even now and shares a room with their cat with no problem. Dust does get to him, hence like you he doesn't hoover either.

So, it looks like special pillows (where do I buy them?) and washing the cat will have to do for now (only just got carpet and furnishings!).

How many cats do you have? And do you find the cat litter dust an issue?

We have 2 cats, and I have the clay pellets (Fullers earth) for cat litter, I don't find that they have dust as such. I didn't like the ones made out of paper or wood dust/shavings as they did get dusty. To empty the tray I just shove the whole tray in a carrier bag and tip the entire contents out in one go, then quickly tie closed the top/handles (after taking out the tray).
I think Argos have the pillows.
pillow protectors
pillows

Thanks for that...I was looking at some pillow protectors at £12 each!!

Thank you so much for the litter recommendation. Good to know what works for another allergy sufferer. And that it is possible to have cats.

Have you suffered much since getting them? How often would you vacuum house/furnishings/wash walls?

I don't think I do that much housework compared to some on here, more than others but definatly less than some.
I don't do anything that is likely to set the dust flying, so brushing is out, I hoover the kitchen floor. (Hoover has a micro filter, blast Ive forgotton the name of them). I don't polish or use a feather duster, I wipe everything down with a damp/soapy cloth (and buffed where needed with a shammy or dry clean teatowel) so that the dust is picked up rather than just flicked into the air and redistributed around the house.
I have to get someone else to empty the tumble drier and clean the filter as that is a sneeze attack in a box.
If I am already bad with the pollen season I just leave it lie until I can cope.

What I really want is a 'Roomba' and a 'Scooba' to do my cleaning for me. Bliss I don't even need to be in the same room. I would just empty the collection bin bit.

roomba and scooba home page

Don't underestimate the difference mattress and duvet protectors can make in addition to pillow ones. Second banishing the cat from the bedroom. He might not think it will make a difference but that is because he is so used to how he feels now. It really does. Damp dust every 2 or 3 days (dust sticks tp cloth rather than flying around) and air main rooms for half an hour to an hour a day. Agree with gtting rid of carpets. Blinds are also better than curtains.

Forgot the duvet and mattress covers, so used to them. You just bung them in the wash when needed at a hot wash to kill the little beggers.

Oh and don't forget freezing soft toys! Not that I'm suggesting that your dh has a soft toy collection but if he spends much time in dcs' rooms reading bedtime stories etc then he may have a fair amount of contact with them.

BTW, just in case it wasn't mentioned in the books you have read. Most people with Dust Mite Allergies are NOT allergic to the dust mites, just their poo.

Thanks ladies, your very helpful! Are the duvet/mattress covers from argos too?

I do damp dust (occasionally!!) and am looking to remove pretty much all the ornaments in the house! Too much to dust and too much chance my dd or a kitten would knock them off...