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Hello all. I need feed back from parents who have cats and their children are allergic. When I say allergic I don't mean in a severe way. When my kids are around cats they are fine. However, if they pet them and then touch their eyes, their eyes will water and turn red.
So, I need to know if you ended up getting rid of the cat or cats. If you kept them, did the kids "adapt" to them, i.e., their symptoms reduced or went away?
Background: my kids have been begging for kittens. We tested our kids by spending time with the breeder and kittens. No symptoms. So we got 2 kittens. Well, now as stated above, their eyes get red after touching the kittens and then their face. If they never touch them, there are no symptoms.
We have hepa air purifiers, a hepa vacuum, hardwood floors, and cat-free bedrooms. Only I tend to the cats (e.g., clean litter, feed, clip, etc.)
FYI, My husband has tested positive for a cat allergy but he grew up with 16 cats (don't ask). Also, before we had kids, we had bengal cats. He never had symptoms unless he heavily played with them for an extended time.
That sounds like me when I was a child. My allergies got better decades later with several series of allergy shots (I am allergic to several other things besides cats) over that period.
My gut says your children's allergies will not improve in months or weeks time. Of course, that is just a guess.
One other thing I will point out as someone who is involved in animal rescue is that it's usually pretty easy to find young kittens a home. If you keep them for months and they get older it may be very hard to place them. Unless you have someone who can give them a good home or the breeder is willing to take them back, it's much better for the kittens if you rehome them while they are young.
Please do not make them outdoor cats. Outdoor cats usually live much shorter lives and are exposed to diseases and predators. If they can't stay indoors the responsible thing to do is rehome them.
Hello all. I need feed back from parents who have cats and their children are allergic. When I say allergic I don't mean in a severe way. When my kids are around cats they are fine. However, if they pet them and then touch their eyes, their eyes will water and turn red.
So, I need to know if you ended up getting rid of the cat or cats. If you kept them, did the kids "adapt" to them, i.e., their symptoms reduced or went away?
Background: my kids have been begging for kittens. We tested our kids by spending time with the breeder and kittens. No symptoms. So we got 2 kittens. Well, now as stated above, their eyes get red after touching the kittens and then their face. If they never touch them, there are no symptoms.
We have hepa air purifiers, a hepa vacuum, hardwood floors, and cat-free bedrooms. Only I tend to the cats (e.g., clean litter, feed, clip, etc.)
FYI, My husband has tested positive for a cat allergy but he grew up with 16 cats (don't ask). Also, before we had kids, we had bengal cats. He never had symptoms unless he heavily played with them for an extended time.
Help!
If that's the only reaction, then teach the kids to wash their hands immediately after playing with/touching the kittens . I have the same exact reaction to my cat. It depends on the dander or if they're long haired. Sometimes I don't have to touch a cat and I immediately sneeze. With my cat, I get itchy red eyes if I touch my eyes after handling her.
If the reactions are not life threatening or cause further discomfort then I would keep the cats and keep doing what you're doing. I used to let her stay on my bed but the hair was just too much lol
Please do not make them outdoor cats. Outdoor cats usually live much shorter lives and are exposed to diseases and predators. If they can't stay indoors the responsible thing to do is rehome them.
I agree 100% and vet bills can be much costlier for outdoor cats if they suffer from being hit by a car or bitten by another animal, etc.
I grew up with cat allergies and cats. I didn't know that was the cause of my asthma attacks. My mom told me the asthma attacks were because I was fat (I wasn't, back then). I had at least six bad colds a year during my childhood. When I grew up and moved out and didn't have cats, the asthma attacks stopped for a long time. I told my mom it turned out to be a cat issue and she acted surprised and said she was glad she didn't know back then because it would have been hard to decide who to keep, me or the cats.
I was able to visit my parents' house as long as I took antihistamines and a decongestant until recently, and the only symptoms I had were red, sore eyes, a sore throat and coughing up yellow junk for a week after I visited. I just planned out my visits for times when I had time to be sick afterwards. The last time I went, I had an asthma attack and my face swelled up and I had to go to urgent care for a steroid shot. The doctor said if I had several years of allergy shots I might be able to go back into their house but for now I can't go to their house at all. My dad is dying and I can't visit because I can't breathe in their house. I also can't go help her clean or move furniture or all the other things I used to do to help them now that they're older.
So that's my experience with a mom who put her cats ahead of my health.
My nephew tested mildly allergic to cats, and my sister kept her two cats. They just weren't allowed in his bedroom. He did exhibit some allergy and asthma symptoms as a child, and was on meds, but he was also allergic to pollen, grass, and a bunch of other environmental things. It wasn't just the cats.
He's now 20, still lives at home with cats, and seems to have outgrown most of his allergies. I was just talking to my sister last night and she said it's been months since he took any allergy meds or used his inhaler. So in his case, keeping the cats around didn't seem to affect him negatively in the long run.
That is not an option. Worst case is that I eat the cost and rehome them.
Sorry to hear about the allergies. That's hard for a family.
I'm wondering if you can give it a test period of time, say 3-mos, with everyone knowing if there's no improvement, the rehoming process will begin? This way the kids won't be traumatized if there's no choice & who knows why, but when my youngest sister knew our dog would be given away if her severe allergic reaction didn't improve, coincidence or not, she did improve & we kept Snoopy.
BTW, I have allergy induced asthma attacks around cats or dogs. But, I didn't know about my allergy 'til I had kitties for 6-mos & I wasn't going to return them to the shelter. I stopped leaning over in a chair to brush the cats, since I was breathing in all that dander & after 1-yr, my body adjusted, as my respiratory doctor predicted... & unless I did the former, I had no problem.
As another suggested, I also learned to pat the kitties, wash the hands. They lived lovely lives 'til 14 & 19. And, the short haired kitty bothered me more than the long haired kitty, since her dander wasn't lost in all that fur & upon patting or brushing, it floated up & into my nostrils.
I hope it works out. Good luck!
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. I have the same exact reaction to my cat. It depends on the dander or if they're long haired. Sometimes I don't have to touch a cat and I immediately sneeze. With my cat, I get itchy red eyes if I touch my eyes after handling her.
