New kittens but ds seems to be allergic

[Storm12]

Hi all we've just adopted 2 gorgeous kittens from a rescue centre. We've since discovered that our son seems to be allergic when he's in close contact - itchy eyes, sneezing etc. We thought he'd be fine as he's been in friends houses with cats etc but I guess he wasn't in that close to the cats in these situations.

Just wondered if anyone had any experience of this - is it likely to get better over time - will his body adjust? or do we need to rehome the kittens?

It may get better as he adjusts. Myself and dd both have slight allergies to cats and dogs. We've always had cats, every time we've had new ones we sneeze more and have itchy eyes, but after a few weeks of being in close proximity it goes away. I think sometimes it's just getting your body used to 'new fur'.

Oh dear.
I'd give it a few days and see if he adjusts. I'm not allergic to my cats but can be reactive to other people's.

Please don't wait too long - I'm allergic to cats and it's miserable.

Mine and my child’s allergy seemed to not be so bad over time. And we just took anti allergy tablet when necessary. I wouldn’t have rehomed the cats just for itchy eyes and sneezing.

How long has it been? We got a cat and my son and I both started wheezing within hours, eyes streaming, etc.
Turns out we had covid! I was never so pleased to see a positive test.

I think you're minimising how horrific a severe allergy can be to live with. "Sneezing" is a vague description that can vary in severity, but if it's severe it'll massively hamper his life.

OP - I find that I eventually get less allergic to cats over time, but it takes months, and the intervening period is hell on earth, so I've resigned myself to not having one. A pet is not worth several months of feeling awful.

It can go either way. We have cats and a dog. Im allergic to both. I have adjusted fully to the cats, but not the dog. My allergies arent bad enough to get rid of the dog though 😃
My kids were both sneezing for a few weeks when we got a new kitten. After a while it went away.

My dd (11) was like this when he got our cat. She needed anti histamine almost daily initially, it did get better over time and now she only gets irritated eyes and nose if she’s literally put her face into d cat’s fur.
In the beginning I obviously didn’t know if it was going to get better and felt guilty but dd loved the cat and said she still wanted to have her.

DD has a cat allergy. We only found out when the cat we had before she was born died and we got 2 new ones. She adjusted very quickly and we didn’t allow them in bedrooms, plus having no carpets and leather sofas probably helped.
DD is fine now but can react to cats at other peoples houses.
No guarantee this will be the case for you though

People who don't have allergies have a hard time understanding just how awful allergies are. My parents dismissed my allergies and I spent most of my childhood being unable to breathe properly. It was hideous. If you son is allergic, you need to get rid of the cats and don't get any more animals.

I’m allergic to cats, and have always had cats. I definitely adjust over time, with the occasional odd flare up (maybe once or twice a month) - I just take antihistamines, and have a shower, then use eyewash. I always have to do this when I get back from holiday, but sometimes it’s just random.

I wouldn’t be without the cats, they are definitely worth a bit of discomfort, but as an adult it’s a choice I can make. Though as a child I would have been devastated if the family cat had been rehomed just because I was allergic, so I’m glad that never happened.

Not at all. My child has a severe allergy to something else. So calm down.

From OPs description of symptoms only being when in ‘close contact‘, it doesn’t seem severe and likelihood is it will improve or will be manageable if the child doesn’t get too close. She also didn’t mention trying anti allergy meds etc. I was giving my experience that I wouldn’t personally rehome any animal due to what she’s described.

Rehome, while kittens are still young
your Ds will be so much more comfortable & can’t be around them
My sister is allergic to cats and really suffers

It’s far better to remove the allergen source than end up constantly medicating your child with antihistamines

I’m allergic to cats and it really is miserable to live with one (we had one when I was growing up and it aggravated my asthma & excema no end). Now I avoid them. I seem to be ok going into a house where someone has a cat as long as I don’t touch them at all but when you live with a cat that’s hard plus the cat hair can spread onto sofas etc.

My friends DD was like this, she gave her antihistamines & time & don’t know how but she doesn’t react at all now, no itchy eyes or anything.

DH is allergic to cats. We have always had cats, as I refuse to live life without them, and he does actually love them.

It can be very variable to specific cats. We have even had two together, and one he couldn't touch, but the other was fine. One cat we did have to rehome, as he developed full blown asthma. Others he just had to be careful to wash his hands, and keep the cat off the bed. Occassionally take an anti-histamine, but he does that for other issues too.

Our current cat is perfect. He even sleeps on DH's bed!

So, my advice, give it time, say 3 months, and see how you get on. He may well get used to them by exposure.

We thought the same with my DH, but after two weeks he was fine

Im allergic to cats, my allergy consultant confirmed it with bloods but I live with four including a Maine coon. I've only ever had issues with one of them and over time I have become desensitized to her so I no longer have any issues

My dh had to rehome his dogs and his cat when I moved in I felt dreadful but I’m severely allergic it doesn’t always get better

No it doesn't in fact sometimes it gets worse so no way of knowing which way it will go unfortunately

Thanks everyone for your advice it's really helpful to hear of different experiences. It's only been a few days so think we've decided to reassess the situation after the weekend!

We have an air purifier upstairs and downstairs.
Feed cat proplan live clear dry food which reduces the allergy in the saliva for when cat licks it's self.
Also use petal cleanse on cat once a week, I sprinkle on my hands and wipe over the cats fur to reduce the allergen.

I’m allergic to cats with same symptoms. We got a rabbit my eyes starting closing up. Advice from hospital was to regime as next reaction could be anaphylactic. Seek medical advice or a specialist.