Cat allergy- any hope?

[HamishDent]

DH is allergic to cats. He gets sneezy when he’s in a house where there’s a cat and can get itchy eyes, but no wheezing or respiratory problems. His symptoms are relieved by an otc antihistamine. He can also get a similar reaction to very dusty environments. He doesn’t have asthma.

I would love a cat, but not at the expense of DH’s comfort. I also wouldn’t want to risk getting one and then having to rehome. I couldn’t live with the guilt.

I have heard some cat breeds are more allergy friendly than others? Has anyone any experience of these breeds? Can someone acclimatise when living with a cat? I’m allergic to horses, but had several during my childhood. My symptoms seemed to reduce and eventually disappear the more time I spent with them, but of course they weren’t in my house.

Doing the right thing by an animal is very important to me. I don’t want to make a selfish and reckless choice at the expense of the animal. Do I have any options or should I just forget the idea of a cat altogether?

I grew up with cats and had no problems. As an adult though I have had reactions similar to your husband with indoor cats. I read somewhere that indoor cats can cause allergic reactions. We rehomed a British short hair who goes outside and so far I ’ve had no issues. He is quite fluffy at the moment with his winter fur. Could you foster a cat to test the water?

I have the exact same allergy as your DH, cats cause me to itch and dust or perfume will set me off sneezing. I've had 3 cats and don't react to them at all, if anything I think I now react less to other people's cats. I do have to make sure I wash my hands if I spend a while stroking a cat but not every single time I touch one.

That’s interesting @Ladyface. Fostering does sound like an option, although I’m not sure if I would be allowed not being an experienced cat owner. I had one as a child, but not since then.

@happinnessischocolate - I have friends who have had similar experiences. If it was just me I wouldn’t hesitate as I know I could put up with it, but I don’t want to make DH feel uncomfortable in his own home (always sneezing would be miserable). Looking after a cat in the short term would be a good way to test the water, but I’m not sure how to go about it. I would happily foster ( I work from home and always have done, so I’m here during the day), but we do have 2 children which might count against us. I will need to look into it and see what’s possible.

I had no reaction to dpets as a dc. Left home and revisited my old dcats and was ill!!
Now had numerous dcats and ddogs and use hand-wash after stroking and take anti histamines just now and again. Have less reactions now to ours but visiting another house can set me off.
I know a woman who paid £££ for non allergy dcats. Her dh was ill! GP prescribed 3 months of anti histamines and he was OK to live with the dcats.y ds has asthma but no reaction to our dpets or anyone's...

How old is he? I have the same allergies and mine have lessened with age (am now early 40s). The doctor told me this might happen but I didn't believe him!

He’s in his late 40’s and has never had pets, even as a child. We just noticed he gets sneezy in houses where people have cats. He’s a bit sneezy around dogs too, but not so much.

I've had a lifelong allergy to dogs, cats, rabbits etc. Most of my family members growing up had dogs which was unpleasant for me. Itchy eyes, streaming nose, hives etc.
However, we wanted a family pet and researched for months on different options.
We decided on a Siberian cat. This breed has shown to produce less dander and less of a particular hormone in their saliva which generally causes allergies.
The first 5 days were tricky as I had a mild reaction to the kitten and took an antihistamine but after that, no problems since.
I make sure I wash my hands after stroking and avoid touching my face, remove any fur on my clothes and keep him downstairs but this is tricky at the moment as the cat has other ideas!

They are expensive but worth it

DH has always had a cat allergy but we got one 18 months ago.

He suffered early on, needed antihistamines and occasional use of an inhaler. It got much better once the cat started going outside and only really affects him if the cat has been sleeping on his side of the bed for a long time.

Both myself and DH are allergic to cats. We used to have to take an antihistamine when we visited our friends that had 2 cats and one Christmas at the in-laws we had to come home early because we couldn’t cope being in their house with a cat and dog! I have always been desperate for a pet cat but DH had always said no because he didn’t want us to struggle to breathe because of an animal so we had always stuck to things like hamsters. Unfortunately our youngest DC would get so upset when they died that he refused to have anymore when the last one passed away. He gave in a year and a half ago and we got a little kitten who had been abandoned with a severe flea infestation and eye infection. We sneezed and had itchy eyes and had to take antihistamines for the first week or 2 but the reactions seemed to get less as time went on and the allergies eased. I occasionally get a bit itchy when cleaning the litter tray but other than that I’m fine. I’m still allergic to other cats but not in the same way that I was. Lots of people that have pets will tell you that they’re not allergic to their own animals. Obviously it’s a risk (although I’d never have gotten rid of him) and both of us had pets as children that we had coped with. Have you got any friends with pets that you could look after when they go on holiday? Or as a PP said, have a look at fostering 😊

Cat is an indoor cat btw- he’s a bit stupid and gets stuck in places if we let him out 😂😂

Purina now do a cat food to reduce allergy reaction.
Petal cleanse on the cat coat helps.
We also have an air purifer up and downstairs.

My wife is barmy about cats, and I'm allergic so obviously we have two. We don't allow them upstairs, they're outside during the day and I keep bottles of anti-allergic eyedrops everywhere (sodium cromoglicate eyedrops are my lifesaver).

I seldom have issues. I don't know if this is just all in my head, but I find that I'm not bothered by our cats but I am bothered in other people's houses if they have cats.

British Short hairs and Ragdolls aren't so bad for allergies as they lack the underfloof. Also lighter coloured cats have less allergenic dander