Advice on hepa air purifiers for cat allergy issues please.

[BigButtons]

My kids ( young adults) have developed really bad allergies to our three kittens. This has come as a big shock because they had no issues with our old cat. All domestic shorthair . One has come back from university and within a couple of hours couldn’t breathe. She has had to have a course of steroids!
we desperately want to keep the kittens. I have heard positive things about the hepa air purifiers. They might be able to get rid of the dander.
I have been looking online but feel bamboozled by the choice and the factor of expensive filter replacements.
we live in a 1960s, quiet small three bed house.
any thoughts or advice very very gratefully received 🙏🏻🙏🏻

We've got a Philips one in the bedroom which does a brilliant job with cat, dust and pollen - cost about £120, I linked it to my phone, set the schedule and it just trundles away happily doing its thing.

You get a reminder on the app to clean the filter, one to clean the sensor and then one much, much later to replace the filter.

Standard anti-allergy cleaning - damp dusting, hard floors, washing soft furnishings - deals with the rest (along with antihistamines as it's tree pollen season - which could also be contributing towards your DD's issues).

I can’t help with the air filter but damp dust. Keep out of bedrooms. Some people use petal cleanse. Groom cat outside. Obvs use a decent hoover. Wash hands after touching cats.
I was really badly allergic to one of our cats as a kitten. But weirdly as she’s grown up I’m fine now. Still take antihistamine for other issues. Fexofenadine used to be prescription only but is now OTC and is brill.

@NeverDropYourMooncup how often do you run your purifier?
@Wolfiefan thanks- we tried benadryl which sort of works. I will get the one you recommended and will make sure to damp dust-
There are only rugs in the house- no carpets.

https://amzn.eu/d/1xHvueg

we have this one. It’s astonishing how much the filter collects. Per pp I take Fexofenadine daily too - you can get 180mg on prescription, if you buy it otc it’s 120.

It's low energy consumption, so it's going all of the time - it's set to increase just before waking up and whilst we're faffing around in the morning, potentially kicking up dust or cat fluff and the pollen count increases, then ticks over on low through the day, goes at higher for the two hours before bedtime before switching to near enough silent running at 10pm.

It's definitely kept the allergens down as much as possible in the room - the only real peaks are when it picks up the smell of cooking (similarly sized particles), if DP opens a window for more pollen/pollution to come in or when the bed's being stripped. And once the blasted trees are finished doing their tree reproduction for the year, it'll hopefully be even better.

The idea is to concentrate upon one room and keep that air cleaner - the bedroom's likely to have the highest concentration of dust, dander and suchlike and you're sleeping in there, so you're right up against some of the most likely reservoirs of allergens.

We've also got anti allergen pillows with covers, along with the mattress and quilt. But the cleaning is non negotiable - a purifier can't cope with a house that is full of clutter and a vacuum cleaner that doesn't come out more than once a fortnight (that's a Miele with HEPA filter, too).

https://www.petsathome.com/product/pro-plan-liveclear-allergen-reducing-dry-kitten-food-turkey/7137687P

Not a purifier, but this kitten food (there is a similar formulation for adult cats) reduces the amount of allergen produced by cats. One of my DC developed an allergy to our cat, and this food has helped a lot. It's expensive but it doesn't have to be the only thing your cat eats (our cat eats normal wet food too).

OMG just get rid of the kittens or your risk damaging your relationship with your kids.

signed, someone with a severe cat allergy.

I used to live on a very busy, London road with lots of air pollution. I did a huge amount of research into different filters. We bought this brand, but I can see they do allergy versions too. When we turned our on, you could actually smell the difference in the room with an hour. This brand is expensive, but very efficient.

Do the cats have fleas? I suddenly developed a cat allergy at 9 and that cat had fleas. It might have just be co-incidence, because I've since learnt that the cat saliva is often the cause. We re-homed the cat too. I'm surprised that you are choosing the cats over your children!

https://www.iqair.com/gb/air-purifiers

My kids absolutely adore the kittens. They were the ones who persuaded me to get them after our old cat had to be PTS. I have of course suggested we rehome them but they are all adamant they want to find a way round the issue.

We are in the same situation! I don't think my kids woukd ever speak to me again if I rehomed our cat, allergy or no allergy! Luckily it's quite manageable with this cat food and a few other common sense precautions (cat kept out of affected DC's bedroom, frequent damp dusting and vacuuming).

I will try that cat food. Mine are so bloody fussy. I wonder how it works?

@Judystilldreamsofhorses I ordered 2 of those in the end , but of the smaller size so that I can have one upstairs and one down. They are coming tomorrow so I can’t wait to see the difference they make- hoping they make the air smell better too🙂

luckily the steroids worked well on dd and she hasn’t needed anything since nor is she showing any allergy symptoms. ( yet)

@BigButtons we have ours in our bedroom on constant - it has a night mode so it is very quiet and that also puts its lights out. Hopefully it helps you!

I have allergies and have to very occasionally take anti histamines, maybe once every couple of months. Long term use has been linked to dementia. If she is at the stage of steroids as much as they do not want to get rid of the kittens they need to fully understand heath risks, that’s not a mild reaction.

@BigButtons I know you posted that few months ago but I was wondering what you thought of the purifiers you bought? Do you think they've been effective in reducing the allergens from your cats?
I'm looking at buying the same ones, for the same reason so I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks

Petal cleanse is good to wipe over the cats fur to reduce the allergen.