My son had his annual allergist visit this morning. Good news- eggs is off the allergy list -yay!. Bad news- peanut allergy is worse, and two new allergens were picked up- cat dander and grass. In the past, he has tested negative for the latter two. His allergies have been far worse this spring than usual, so I had already suspected something was new. Poor little guy has been absolutely miserable, and his allergy meds were not helping as much as in the past. :(
I have two cats- at 14 year old mainly outdoor cat, and a 10 year old exclusively indoor cat. The 10 year old cat is skittish, and will not go out. We have tried, and she just cries loudly until we let her in. Getting rid of them is not an option. My 14 year cat old has been sickly lately, and no one wants to take in a 10 year old cat. My son absolutely loves our two cats (and the dog too), and there is no way I can tell him not to touch them or play with them, esp when he has been fine up until recently. He just won't understand, and he wouldn't listen anyway.
So I guess my questions are these: Who has a kid with a cat allergy and a cat? Did you use special wipes to clean the cat? If so, did you buy the wipes, or use some other method to control dander? We do have hardwoods, so cleaning will be better than with carpet. The cats are well trained and do not get on the furniture, nor are they allowed in the kids bedrooms. Other than wipes, I am not sure what else to do to make this work!
Thanks for the advice.
So...While initially I was determined to keep the cats, a lot of soul searching has led me to try and minimize any cat contact for my son no matter what it takes. I have already found a wonderful new home for my 10 year old indoor cat. I couldn't be more thrilled. The 14 year old cat is a different story. His health is failing, and since he is an primarily outdoor cat, we are just going to make the best of the situation by wiping him down and keeping him well groomed until he leaves us. :( It's a horrible predicament, but we are just going to see it out to the end. After this- no more cats. Thanks for all the wonderful responses. I really appreciate it!
I've heard that increasing vitamin C works well for reducing allergies. I use it for a number of things for myself and my family, and it seems to make all sorts of things better, including seasonal allergies. Doing things like supporting his immune system (which includes getting plenty of vitamin C and other antioxidants) helps to make one healthier, which reduces allergic responses.
well, you're not going to like my answer: the cats have to go.
What's more important: keeping those cats or putting your own child at risk? It doesn't matter whether or not the cats are well-trained or how old they are....what matters is that your son is now allergic to them & his overall general health is in jeopardy the longer he is in contact with them.
No matter how much you clean, no matter how clean you keep them....they shed their allergens just as we shed our dead skin cells. It's a part of them & you cannot control this.
As you have now seen with the egg allergy, conditions do change & perhaps later in life he will be able to enjoy cats once again. BUT for now, he needs to be kept safe. Allergic reactions are not fun to live with & can be life-threatening....why even consider running the risk of losing your son?
All of this said, I would like to mention one more thing: our allergist told us that our son's peanut allergy was the result of over-exposure to peanut since our son liked to eat it almost daily. After the 1st 2 years that our son was peanut-free, the allergist told us to try to re-introduce it on a yearly basis. We are now 10 years later.....& he can tolerate small, widely-spaced samplings of P.B As you've seen with the egg allergy, maybe there is hope.....once the over-exposure to the cats is eliminated. Peace.
... we're friends now... :)
Honestly, I know that you don't want to get rid of your cats, but that really will be the only way that he won't have problems. No matter how much you clean your floors or them, it will never be enough and your son will constantly be suffering. You could try and desensitize him by giving him a weekly allergy shot, but honestly, I wouldn't put my child through that just so I could keep two older cats. Good luck!
I have known adults that were allergic to cats and had very good success with wiping the cat down once a day. Try to remind him to wash his hands after playing with the cats. Air purifers can help a lot too. We have three cats and a dog. My father in law is allergic to both has not had any problems since we added the purifers. Glad to hear his doctor recommended keeping the cats.
Because of my really bad seasonal allergies to grass and pollens, my cats are both indoor cats. Otherwise they would track in a ton of things I'm allergic to. My cat allergies have improved since getting them, although I'm still allergic to Siamese cats pretty badly (I've always been allergic to them the worst).
So I make sure that my cats are kept indoors, no exceptions, and I brush them frequently from loose hair. I also get those pet wipes and wash off dander. I have this nifty cleaning tool from, uh, Pledge? that's handheld and has a roller on one end and you rub it wherever you find lint or pet hair on couches or beds or wherever and it captures it inside a container.
Also don't let the cats in your son's room, especially his bedding, nor in his laundry. You can get an air filter for the house too.
As a Mom and a person with severe allergies to cats I can't imagine that you would even risk the health of your child just to keep an animal in the house. Don't get me wrong, I love animals, but there is no choice in this case, your child should be the highest priority! Even if it means getting rid of an old pet. I know what it feels like to have a reaction to an allergen and, believe me, the amount of affection you get from the cat it is not worth the pain and risk that you are putting your child through. It will be hard, but there is no other option.
You don't need special wipes... just a plain wrung out wet washcloth is fine. Also, make sure he washes his hands after petting the cats. He can take claritin or allegra as well - to help with his environmental allergies. I'm allergic to any animal with fur... I have 13 cats. I shave them every 3 months until it gets cold, and I don't bother wiping them down. I am happy to hear you are keeping the cats and dealing with his mild allergy with logic and love!
I have an allergy to cats and so does my son, my parents had a cat when we were living there (we didn't know at the time that we had the cat allergy) and we were fine with it, it was when we would go to another house where the cat was an outdoor cat is when it got bad.
If your allergist said that you don't have to get rid of the cat then don't worry about it, enjoy your cats until they pass and then probably not get another one until the allergy goes away or until he moves out. I know that part is hard but well we gotta do what we gotta do!!
