I'm allergic. Should I get a cat anyway?

[ewchoc]

I've always loved cats more than anything and everyone in my family has at least one or two. We had a family cat when I was little but found out I was allergic and had to give her away (to my grandparents who lived round the corner, so I saw her all the time). I've never had any pets as an adult, partly because of work & holidays, having no one nearby to watch them if we went away. But now I find myself at home full time, with DH too ill to travel (so we're never away at the same time). I have two autistic children who I know would benefit hugely from having a pet. I am considering a dog but I'm really not a dog person. I love cats! And a cat would fit into our lives so perfectly. The only problem is my allergy. I've just been googling and have found that there's a pet food that supposedly makes your cat less allergenic. Is it true? Are there any other options? I'm just really hoping that somehow science has moved on in the last 40 years and there's something I can do to make it work?

I'm allergic to my cat, it triggered my asthma. It's well controlled with a preventer/reliever daily and I take a daily oral antihistamine (citirizine works best for me). I wouldn't be without my beautiful boy, he's a bengal and stunning. He's 12, nearly 13 and I'll be devastated when his time comes.

When I had my first c-section the consultant anaesthetist asked about my asthma and when I explained the situation she asked if I had got rid of my cat. I told her no and she said "I wouldn't have either!"

Get a cat and be happy! ☺️

Please don't get an animal when you know full well you suffer with an allergy.

It's not fair on them. What happens when your allergy triggers an asthma attack or severe reaction and you end up having to re-home it?

There are loads of other animals out there that could benefit your children without triggering an allergic response.

But anti histamines don’t always work. They worked when l was younger, but as I’ve got older my allergies have got worse.

Cat dander IS a major allergen.

There are numerous references to suppprt this e.g. this one in the journal Allergy

This is why people react without touching a cat - the dander protein is in the air.

I can understand that you are tempted -some peeps do discover a breed/individual that they are ok with however it is risky for you and the cat. I wouldn't do it op.

Allergy Volume 73, Issue 6 p. 1206-1222

DH and DS are both allergic to cats, but invariably acclimatise within a few days when we get a new cat. We have 3 at the moment.

I can see that some PPs have said their asthma was initially triggered when they got a cat, and I can't comment on how common that is, but for us, the opposite happened.

One idea would be to see if you could foster for a cat rescue centre. If you found that the allergy resolved itself, as it did for my DH and DS, you could become "failed" foster carers ( ie keep the cat!).

I've had cats for years and even though I'm not allergic to them, I have to be very careful that I don't touch my eyes after stroking them or let them close to my eyes, as they swell and itch, and that's bad enough. If I was allergic, no, I wouldn't have cats😞

Your symptoms seem pretty serious.

Would you consider a bunny or hamsters or guinea pigs?