We would love to get a cat but teen DD is allergic. Any experiences?

[OccamsLadyshaveToo]

She is desperate to get a cat. I'd love to get one too. I had two surrogate babies cats before she was born, but when she was 3 she developed asthma and had one quite scary episode that resulted in a hospital stay. Her Granny offered to take the cats to see if the asthma improved, and it did so they stayed with her and were visited by us until they died.

DD has researched it and is convinced that now she's older and can take antihistamine, that she will build up tolerance and be fine. She didn't have allergic reactions as a baby / toddler, so must have built up immunity, but now when she visits houses with cats she does have a runny nose, puffy eyes etc (no wheezing though). She has pretty much grown out of the asthma too, just occasionally uses an inhaler when she has a bad chest infection.

I am really reluctant to risk giving a cat a home, only for it to turn out that her asthma comes back or she doesn't get over the allergy.

Has anyone done this? What are the chances of her getting used to it?

I developed a cat allergy as a child (we had a cat) and I haven't grown out of it more than 30 years later. If I visit homes with cats, antihistamines make it bearable but I still get breakthrough symptoms. If your daughter still gets symptoms she would need daily antihistamines to cope with a cat in the house, and that is really not a good idea. Have you thought about other pets? I am fine with dogs, for example.

Thanks yes I thought that might be the case. She isn't allergic to dogs. It's just that we're out of the house all day so I'm not sure a dog would be a good idea.

We had cats before DD and she did develop asthma and eczema from about 2 but I never connected it to the cats.
Her asthma was pretty mild, although she did have one trip to hospital age 4.
We came to realise slowly when she got better when we stayed at in laws or on holiday. Dd is now 10 and has virtually grown out of her asthma and doesn't really react to our cats unless they sleep on her bed (not allowed)
Other people's cats can affect her a but but not badly and a bit of Piriton sorts it out.
I think in your case though I wouldn't risk it, it would be awful to have to rehome a cat not long after you got it

Allergy sufferers are less likely to react to Devon Rex, Cornish Rex and Sphynx breeds. I've got a little Devon, and he's certainly been a shining light in my life. They're also very tolerant with children and pretty much anything else. He has such a sweet and happy go lucky nature that I'm going to see how he gets on becoming a therapy cat.

A good breeder will let your DD spend some time with their cats to see if she has a reaction.

I was allergic to our cats when DH got them. We'd only been together 3 months so I joke he wasn't sure whether to keep me or the cats

I didn't know until this point that I was allergic - we must have visited people with cats but I'd never reacted.

I took antihistamines for 2 weeks, DH (then DP) ummed and ahed about which of us to keep, and then suddenly my eyes stopped running. I would have been miserable to live like that though.

Definitely a good idea to foster/visit before committing, and a good rescue centre will work with you on that as well.

It's a tough one, do you have a plan for what you'd do if she is very allergic to it? I was mildly allergic to our cats growing up but when I moved away to uni going home for visits meant I needed asthma inhalers and daily antihistamines so you definitely do build up a tolerance.

We now have two Siberian cats which are often touted as being 'hypoallergenic' I wouldn't say that but I've never had any reaction to them at all and DH only when he insists on sticking his face right into the bloomin cat . If you are set on it I would set firm ground rules regarding no cat upstairs / in bedroom, plenty of hoovering with hepa filter Hoover and possibly getting an air filter. It could also be helpful to get a kitten as they are smaller / produce less allergens but could be more heartbreaking to re home

I would worry about what the constant assault on the immune system is doing to the rest of her bodily functions. My son has a number of allergies and if we remove as many of the triggers as possible, he can cope with coming into contact with things we cannot easily avoid plus he seems less susceptible to other illnesses.

I do know that some research shows that minimal exposures to allergens seems to reduce reactions, however, I would also like to see how that impacts overall and long term health compared to avoidance.

We have recently acquired a Siberian kitten, DH having had moderate allergic reactions to cats most of his life. So far, he had some reaction which appears to have settled fully over the first week or two. Fingers crossed in this household.

They are utterly gorgeous cats and most breeders will let you have an 'allergy sitting' where you cuddle a Siberian for a few hours and assess your reaction. Not fool proof but gives you an idea.

Additional advantage of a Siberian is that I think most breeders would readily be able to find a new home in the awful event that you did have to go down that road. Ours was certainly clear she could easily re home our kitten if the worst came to the worst.

This is what they look like

Omg bog. How gorgeous!

We are visiting family this weekend and in the past dd has been very allergic when here. They have gone from 4 cats to one over the past year and so far she's fine. Actually their cat looks a bit like yours but I don't know what breed he is.

Anotherday i agree with you that the constant assault of allergens is not good plus in 5 years if she leaves home she will then have a reaction every time she visits. Her dad is like that at his mum's and hardly ever visits as a result.

We are still considering it but thanks for all your help.

DH had a mild allergy that got worse as he got older. We had cats at the time, it was awful. I would only risk it with a special breed. He has a violent reaction to all cats now.

I wouldn't. I was ill with asthma all my childhood. It wasn't until I left home and the symptoms disappeared virtually overnight that it was evident it was an allergy to cats. I had repeated chest infections that have left me with recurrent chest problems. Allergies are not to be trifled with! You can seem to have mild signs and then suddenly get critically ill.
I had de-sensitising injections that did bugger all. As an adult the allergy comes and goes I have noticed. I took on a second hand 'hypoallergenic' Devon Rex as a favour for someone and it put me in hospital (only time I had been in hospital - wasn't even born in one) . Cats that are lazy and don't wash themselves so much, I am not so sensitive to. It's the saliva on the hair (from where they wash themselves) that dries and becomes an inhaled allergen that sets me off. I think this is why cats are a common allergen.
You may be lucky but I could have had a 'test visit' with the cat and have shown little or no signs but the build up over the following few weeks would make me very ill.

I wish my cat allergy had been diagnosed when I was a kid, my life would have been so much better!

don't.
even if the symptoms are only mild now, it would be miserable for her.
and it would be unfair on the cat if you would have to rehome it because of an (known) allergy.

You could try fostering cats (mother and kittens for example) to see what happens. You would typically only have them for around 8 weeks, so it would be a good test.