Am re-posting this from Chat in the hope that somebody can help..
I hope I am allowed to post this here. Am so upset, and at my wits end with where to turn. The Cat's Protection League can't help, and we need to find somewhere else for our beautiful black and white cat to live - as quickly as possible!
We took her in as a stray about seven years ago, and promised her a home for life, but it turns out that our 5 year old son is allergic to her. I realised some weeks ago that his breathing is affected by her, and that she makes his asthma far worse (he takes strong preventative inhalers every day for asthma). Today he said that he is always itchy all over his body when she is near him, and that his eyelids are itchy. He said he thinks she should go to live somewhere else.
Our son has severe food allergies, and this morning I called the Anaphylaxis Campaign to ask what I should do about the cat. They suggested that laminate floors, frequent dusting etc. might help, but also said that if DS's immune system is fighting the cat all the time, this could be very dangerous for him and make his other allergies worse. I know that I have to find a new home for the cat, anything else is just not fair to our son.
The cat is gorgeous, honestly she is. She is sleek and healthy, has a beautiful disposition, will be stroked by anybody and will sit on absolutely anybody's lap. I know she would miss us a lot to start with, but we will miss her far more! She is ridiculously affectionate, and would soon adore anybody who fed her regularly and made a bit of a fuss of her.
She would probably be happier with somebody older as, although she has got used to the children and is very gentle around them, she does prefer people to stay put so that she can sit on them.
I rang the Cat Protection League this morning, but they can't take on any more cats at the moment, and in any case I know that she would absolutely hate being in a cage while she was waiting for a home.
Sorry this is such a long post. I am rather upset about this.
Please, can anybody help?