Asthma and Pets

Hi, I have had asthma since I was 3 months old. Doctors told my parents to get rid of all pets. my parents refused to do that since people told them, it was better to keep them so that my immune system could get used to it. I am glad they did. I did get used to them and now I love all animals and dont have any asthma attacks due to them anymore.

I can remember when I was diagnosed with asthma. The first thing that they told me was what the triggers were that induced my attacks. I have had cats in my house as well as dogs and have had no problems with my asthma. One of the biggest things that I have found that triggers my asthma is dust and aerosoles (sp) sprays like cleaners, air freshners, spray deodrants, perfumes and colognes. I would recommend going to a pulmonologist.

While I understand the love of pets, and the great things that they bring to the home, at the end of the day they are just that, pets. They are animals, in my opinion they come a far second in my family. If I even thought a pet that I might have could have a serious affect on one of my children, I would have no second thoughts rehoming them. You aren't putting the animals down, they can still have a loving caring family, just a different family.

Good luck! For me this decision is black and white but I can see how this could be difficult for you.

Morning R.;

Your cats probably are not the triggers! I had asthma as
a kid, medical doctors do not understand asthma!
My mother was told to move to Arizona by a medical doctor.

Asthma is an "Allergy"! But, also there are nerves that cause
the closing of that little tube that blocks the airwave. A
good chiropractor can strengthen those nerves to make the
attacks less frequent and also show you where to rub when
he has an attack.
Just a personal note, my mother took me to a chiropractor
when I was in the 7th grade. Medical doctors said that I
should never play any type of sports. After just a few months
of treatment I started playing football in the 7th grade,
I played football, ran track, played basketball from then on
all the way thru the Army where I won regional meets in
track and played football on the Artillery team. I set a
track record in the High Hurdles in high school and went to
the state meet.
Talk to a chiropractor, but make sure it is one that learned
the Palmer Method!
B. C.

Hi R.,
Im a mother of three,none of my children have asthma but i do.In our home we have a chihuahua we adore.I love cats too.I've heard the same thing that cats will trigger asthma attacks.A couple of months ago someone in our neighborhood was giving kittens away and we decided to bring one home.I tested the thoery on cats triggering asthma.The cat was only in our home for 4 days.I started to feel my chest get tight shortness of breath all the symtoms that feel that come along before an asthma attack.Soooo i took the kitten back were i picked it up at.cleaned the house as best as i could to eliminate cat hair that was left behind and used Lysol spray were the cat layed the most and through out the house,soon after i was back to normal in my breathing.
Maybe if you decide to get your cats another home you can get a small dogs.Dogs don't have the same affect,why who knows?Chihuahuas are know to be good with people who have asthma.My dog is so attached to me.My children say "i think he thinks your his mama".lol.If you do decide to get a chihuahua make sure when you get him to introduce him to your son first.Its known that whoever the dog meets first and gives him the attention the dog will become attach to more.Also chihuahuas are known to beable to sense when things are not right in humans such as when i would get symtoms of an attack {asthma}he would feel it and become real protective and would'nt leave my side.Old wives tale i've heard to is that chihuahuas prevent asthma attacks.I know i havn't had one since i've had my dog these last 3 years.So possibly could be true.I still do my inhaler as before once a day as directed.
I thinks getting rid of the cats will be harder for you than your son.Children that age can easly be comforted w/a substitue.So if you do decide to get your cats a new home maybe consider getting a small dog possibly a chihuahua.They are also VERY smart and easy to train.Good Luck and if possible let me know your outcome.Thanks
T.

I would temperaly relocate the cats. Give the enitre house a really good scrub down, change air filters, everything. If your son seems to be doing better then you have to permantly leave the cats else where. Its the right thing to do for your son. He comes first above pets. You might be able to get a hairless cat or I suggest a different type of pet all together. Also I think its the dander on the cats that actually trigger the allergies. Try bathing the cats too...it can be done with warm water I had a cat that I bathed alot when I was in my teens. Good luck.

You should talk to a pediatric pulmonologist there are a couple good one's in Austin my son was diagnosed with asthma at two also he had a lot of allergy's and is doing much better now good luck
Jacki

Hi, I have read that if you give your cats a bath at least once a week, it will help to keep the dander down & help with the breathing problems. Hopefully that will help if you try it, tho maybe some others will have other suggestions. W.

All the studies that are out there are showing that children actually have better long term results with Asthma going away if they DO have pets at home. You can read about the medical reasons why this works. Good luck with everything, I know it's really scary ending up in the ER.

Been there.....done that!
Pet dander (whether cats or dogs) WILL show up on a prick test.
My "baby" (now 17) also had childhood asthma and we had,at the time, 7 cats. (We were even turned into CPS for failure to get rid of the cats.)

Questions you need to ask yourself are:
Is there a problem that lasts YEAR ROUND or is it SEASONAL?

At this time of year you have to consider molds (highest probability), ragweed (just starting), grasses, oak & elm pollens.

My son has successfully "outgrown" his asthma. He will (usually during the spring) have a few problems that are now considered "allergy related" but his asthma is now
considered "controlled". After we took him off of his meds, he has come home from school, describing symptoms of an asthma attack but he managed to cope with the problem on his own. (Mom, I don't know what was going on but, after gym, I was in my next class & it was really hard to breathe. Felt like there was a really large weight on my chest so I just concentrated on taking deep breaths slowly. HE MANAGED TO CONTROL IT ON HIS OWN without even knowing that he was suffering an asthma attack!)

What you need to do (on your own and ignoring doctor's opinions.......know it sounds rash but childhood asthma requires patience) look at the pollen reports on your local news station when your child is suffering. This will help you determine the "triggers".
What I did was keep a journal of:
all activities
all foods eaten
AND
pollen report (ROFL at memories........used to have neighbors calling me to see if he was having problems before they planned overnight campouts!)

You can see and understand much more than a doctor, that only sees a patient when there are problems, because you are with them 24/7.

Start a journal!

I would have him tested for environmental and food allergies because at least you can then tell if there is an allergy that will set off the asthma (icluding cat dander), which is the case with me. And think about this, please. I know you all love your cats, and yes, there are allergy shots or pills that can be taken and such, but is putting unnecessary drugs into your child's body every month day of his life worth it? I would think the welfare of the child would outweigh that of having the cats in the house.

Have a grandson with same problem his trigger is pollen. So you will just need to hang in there. Mark on the calendar when he has the attacks and see if there is a food, pet, pollen etc. You may be able to find it fairly quickly yourself. You will never know. Giving away a family pet would be hard but you also never no. Try keep them away from each other for awhile this again will be hard but it may be worth the try. Again keep a calendar of foods, weather etc. and see.. Good luck

Just adding my 2 cents. My sister and mother both have asthma and we've had cats our whole lives. If your sons case is severe, you may want to consider re-homing the cats, but if it is a mild case then you can help things by vacuuming a lot and not allowing your son to put his face near the cats or pet them (for now.)

Growing up we had a large basement and the cats stayed in the basement instead of having free run of the house. (It was a finished basement.) Is there a room that can be the cats room? Just a thought.

Make sure to change your AC filter often, and you may want to get an air filtering machine similar to the Ionic Breeze. It helps keep pet dander out of the air.

good luck!

It's upsetting to the entire family to have a child who has severe asthma attacks. The cats may well be contributing to that, so find them another home. Ideally grandparents or close friends could take the cats so the kids can still see them and know they're close by.

R., I am just about to send out the same request for help. I haven't had asthma since childhood. I've have really bad allergies since moving to austin 4 years ago. I have had frequent sinus infections. The mold is very high this summer but we have also gotten a new indoor pet; never had an indoor pet before. "Molly" is a maltipoo(half maltese and half toy poodle). She is not supposed to cause asthma. My Husband and my 21 yr. old daughter have also had this horrible croupy cough for about a month now. I'm seeing an allergy/spec. I can't get off all my meds for the 2 wk. period in order to take the skin tests; i've been too sick. Does your daughter have excess thick mucus coming out of her chest? How long have u had the cats and how long has the asthma gone on? If I get answers I'll let you know.

H.

I used to work for an allergist, and one thing you can try is keeping the animals out of the bedroom. This should help greatly. Cats have two allergens. One is their dander and then their saliva. But if you can limit them from the sleeping areas of your children, this should help. I would try everything to keep from having to lose the cats.

First of all, don't let the doctors blow smoke up your backside. Although an allergy test may not be able to give you specific triggers of his asthma, they are VERY good indicators of what will upset his system or not. If CATS are very much a part of your family and he has only had 4 attacks this year, I would hesitate to up and get rid of the cats because of a CAT HATING doctor! LOL From personal experience, when I moved from one location to another and got a pet bird as well, my breathing went downhill FAST. It also didn't recover! My doctor sent me for allergy testing and I was allergic to a couple things in my surroundings (environmentally) as well as birds. Now, I knew birds could in fact be a trigger because when I got home I would get a tight chest. If I spent the weekend at my mom's house I would breathe just fine, so, in my case they were the trigger. I gave the bird to my mom! So, if your son is constantly around the cats, it would only make sense that if he were allergic and the cats were the trigger, he would have CONSTANT difficulties with breathing.
Now, as a two year old with his new found freedom of being a toddler and not a baby anymore, he is going to be into several new things almost on a daily basis. I would start documenting the things he is in contact with just before (if possible), durring and after his attacks and see if you can find something that may in fact be a trigger. Sometimes its just the increase in daily activities (exercise induced asthma), if he's outside more because he's older (a pollen related trigger), etc.
My whole family has asthma to different degrees, including my son who is now 4 (his started at 8 weeks). I have exercise and weather induced and can also have an attack just walking into the frozen food isle at the grocery store on a hot day (drastic temperature changes). My son is a seasonal thing.
Singulair has helped both my son and I control our asthma VERY well, compared to no meds at all. he went from having 8-10 big attacks a year now to only 2 or 3 a year. For me, the only time I had any trouble was training for the Austin marathon.
Hope this info helps a bit. I hate to see you get rid of a great family friend if you don't have to. Good luck.

Does your 2 year old drink cow's milk or eat dairy? If so, you might want to check out www.notmilk.com. Milk is mucous producing. I would have to guess that your Dr. did not mention any food alergies as relation. If you want to know if your child is allergic, try an elimination diet, eliminate dairy for 1 week, then reintroduce to see what happens. You may also want to try "green" cleaning products. I use Melaleuca cleaning products, 7th generation, no bleach, no scents or aerosols. I used to have asthma (no more). He may just be more chemical sensitive than your other children. Good reads...Is my house killing me and toxic overload. I hope this helps.
C.

R.,
I am a new mom and have lived with asthma my whole life. Please see a specialist that deals exclusively with asthma and allergy problems. They can work out a plan with you to minimize triggers and try to get the attacks under control. Watching your child struggle to breath is so scary. I am an adult and my father still freaks out when I have an occasional attack. Both my husband and I see Dr. Vaughn at Austin Allergy Associates at 2222 and MoPac. I would highly recommend him.

Hi, R.. I would NOT get rid of your cats just yet. Have you thought of seeking a second opinion? Seek out a very good doctor (a specialist) in your area and take your child there. I really don't think the asthma is caused by your cats. You didn't say, but are the cats long-haired or short-haired cats? Chances are, since your child is so young, that your child will outgrow the asthma as time passes. I've heard of that happening, and I know two of my sister's children outgrew the asthma. However, another of my relatives sons has had asthma his entire life. I think he has to give himself an injection if he's having a real hard time. First, I would seek the second opinion, do your own research online, and go from there. I hope that helps. Good luck!
Take care, A. N.

I have had asthma for several years and am allergic to all kinds of stuff including cats and dogs. I have both. I just don't put my head in their fur, keep my house clean, and wash my hands after handling them. Any time my allergies is acting up I end up I have trouble breathing and cough. So I can vouch from experience that that the allergies (that the skin test indicated I was allergic to) occur in my life such as pollen or eating something I shouldn't I react with trouble breathing and having a bark-like cough. I don't react with sneezing and itchy eyes.

I would suggest finding an allergist that also treats asthma and seeing them for the care of your son's asthma. I saw a pulmonologist this last pregnancy my asthma was out of control the last 3 months. The pulmonologist did a great job controling the attacks but couldn't help me with the trigger. It wasn't until I saw my allergist who also treats asthma for the allergy portion, that my asthma finally was controled again because the trigger was under control with allergy medicine. Normally when I'm not pregnant, I only see my allergist because he handles all of it and I feel pretty good. I only more trouble when the allergens start growing again.

Which is more important, your child or your pets? Get rid of the cats and thoroughly clean your house - carpets, upholstery, air vents, etc. Believe me, asthma is nothing to ignore - my youngest brother died from an asthma attack.

I don't know if there is way for you to try a temporary separation from the cats to see if his symptoms are milder or affected in anyway.

I myself am horribly allergic to cats. As a young child my eyes would water and itch and I would break out in welts and have slight difficulty breathing anytime I was around them. However, as I got older being around cats or some dogs resulted in full on asthma attacks. After my first visit to the ER I was told I had allergy realted asthma. He said I probably had had it in some mild form all my life, but because I was not around cats that often it did not manifest itself. When I went to the ER I had been visiting my then boyfriends family that had three cats and two dogs. When I arrived at the ER they said I was minutes away from full respitory failure. I can not tell you how scary it is to not be able to breathe.

Of course, there are all of the other suggestions to help lessen allergy/asthma realted symptoms...swithcing to non-toxic cleaning products, washing bedding and towels regulary, using allergen protectors on pillows and mattresses, getting rid of carpet, using air purifiers, etc. Of course, you probably have heard all of this before. These are things that have worked for me and my family.

It is a scary situation, I know. Hopefully, you are already seeing a specialist. If not, please do right away. Seeing an allergist has made all the difference not only in managing my asthma, but in my every day allergies.

Good luck to you and your son.

I would be sure it was the cats before getting rid of them. I also knew an OT therapist who was very allergic to cats and had 3 of them herself. She got some medication for them. Check out with vets about this. I thought it was amazing and hadn't heard of it myself, but she said it was something you actually give the cats. I have three cats and when she would come over to see my son, she got the running nose and ichy eyes but said she had no trouble at her house.

Good luck. Hang onto the cats for now until you have more info.

J.
www.livetotalwellness.com/janislanz
www.workathomeunited.com/janislanz

My son has the same problem...what I suggest is that you house the cats for about a week with someone else. Clean everything from the beds to the walls...ANYTHING that has hair or dander on it...even the air vents. And wait, bring the cats back in as see if he starts having more trouble. If he is having trouble with the cats then you will have to get rid of them...sad I know, we had the same thing happen. Our one dog is outdoors and we cannot own cats or birds because of the alergy issues. I hope it isn't the cats, but you should be prepared...

You might try changing your cat food to a more natural food. My husband is allergic to cats and we have two of them. I put the cats on a recommended cat food from a company called Flint R. and it has seemed to help. You can order it from Street Cat Rescue here in Austin. A portion of the proceeds goes to help homeless cats too! Better food in their body means better coats and less shedding. There are too many additives and dyes in other cat foods. www.streetcatrescue.com

Do you have carpet in your house? Might consider removing it. The dust and dander trapped in it can be horrible for people with allergies. Another suggestion is to keep an eye on the food your child eats. Their own food allergies can trigger asthma. Common allergies to wheat, dairy, yeast etc.. can cause this. Check out this website on that. www.betterhealthusa.com
Please email me with questions you might have! I am a cat person too!!
Good Luck,

I know how a pet can be a member of the family and you don't want to do anything drastic. The problem is that even if you get rid of the cats and clean really well, the dander can still be in the beds furniture and carpet. If you remove your son to a different location he can get a trigger from something else. I have no cat "allergy" but the worst asthma attacks of my life were triggered by specific cats and I would know right away, so I would think that if it were the cats, the attacks would be more frequent. I would say to keep the cats a while and keep a journal to focus on the triggers. That will at least narrow down the problem. I an really sensitive to a few things: any kind of air fresheners ( sprays and the outlet kind), scented candles (the combination of scent and burning parafin) and Lysol spray. Make a note of these kinds of things too in your journal. Oh, since Texas has so much dust/dirt, keep an eye on your air filters. We had to change our sox month filter every two months it was so bad. Good luck with everything.

Might be common house dust or mold allergy. I'd have him tested on everything before getting rid of your precious cats! If it were me (and this is just me) I'd keep my cat & suffer thru then when it's their time to cross that rainbow bridge then don't get anymore cats if that indeed is the problem but I'm not allergic to pets so my suggestion is to go to an actual allergist & get tested on everything, that's the only way you'll know for sure what he may be allergic to, if anything. Good luck!!

There are air purifiers you can buy. Now mind you, some of them are expensive--especially if they work really well---but it's better than removing parts of your family.
My little girl has allergies that the doc thinks are the cats fault. She now takes Allegra once a day and is fine now.
Good luck!

Hi,

I don't know much about asthma, but i do know a bit about allergies. even if you rehome the cats it could take years before all of their dander is out of the house so you would still have the triggers if they are the culprits. My inlaws have asthma and they have had to remove all the carpet in their home and replaced it with either wood or tile. my mother in law gets bad asthma from dust, my husband has asthma attacks when there is alot of mold in the air. at one stage i had 4 cats in the house and this did not affect my husband or other-in-laws asthma. Granted I do bath my cats once a month to make sure they are clean.

Hope this helps
C.

Speaking from experience - as a child I had alergies / asthma AND 4 cats! The big difference is to make sure that the cats never go into your childs bedroom. Also hardwood floors help and if you have carpet vacuming frequently with a hepa filter machine. They weren't around when I was a kid but you could try one of those hepa air purifiers for his room and using the more expensive A/C filters as well.. Just some thoughts and good luck!

We did two things in our house---chiropractic and NAET. Google N.A.E.T. It stands for Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique. It's based on acupuncture principles. It seemed strange to me at first, and I was very skeptical. However, after being told by a friend who is into alternative medicine that this worked for her in getting rid of her severe cat allergy, I wanted to try this for my family---myself w/ lifelong allergies that years of allergy shots did not fix (I was allergic to my 4 dogs, but no way will I live w/out dogs, and I had many other allergies, even after 8 years of allergy shots), my two sons with asthma, and my 1 year old w/ major skin allergies. My husband thought I was crazy to try it, but I did try it anyway, starting on myself. (I didn't want to waste money doing our kids if it didn't work on me.) I personally had phenomenal results with it, so I've done all of the children now, and had phenomenal results with them, also! My two sons are off all asthma medications, and have been for 2 1/2 years without one single asthmatic episode. No more drugs, no more breathing treatments with every single runny nose or viral cold. We are completely done with that stuff! My youngest son's skin is now completely normal, and we no longer have allergy issues. The only time someone gets sick is when viral colds are going around, fever, or stomach stuff. Allergy reactions are a thing in the past for us. My husband has seen our results and now wants to do NAET on himself to rid himself of seasonal allergies. We see a naturopath,N.D., for our NAET treatments, but have several friends who see a chiropractor for the same treatments. We see a separate chiropractor, who is trained in Palmer techniques. He adjusted everyone's cervical (upper) spines for a few months, and I know that had a huge impact on everyone getting well. The nerves going to your lungs come from your neck, and when those neural pathways are open and functioning properly, your lungs work 100%. Good luck to you!

Wow tough choice. Im allergic to cats n dogs n gets asthma attacks. Ask the family which one would they really rather have around if they had to choose..your child or the cats. Have to explain how important it is to the childs health...asthma is really a serious condition n very very uncomfortable n life threatening also...Its not worth it..I rather have my child over a pet anyday....u shouldnt take no chances...just think suppose ur child sleep n suffers asthma attack...I would get rid of animals. I understand not upseting the fam....but what about how upset u all would be if something happens...just a serious thought...the bible says children are an inheritance from the Lord...not those animals. I wouldnt take the chance. Not worth child suffering..and that er doc right..i don't itch our another thing can b allergy shots...mayb talk to doc about seeing allergists...hope this is helpful

Hi. I don't think you should turn away your cats just yet. I've had asthma my whole life since I was 6 months old. Many many things can trigger it but i'm putting my bet someplace else than your cats as far as your son goes. I say this only because he's had 4 attacks in a year. Obviously you live with the cats and he's around them all the time. If he was allergic to the cats then he'd show other signs (red puffy eyes, itchy skin, rashes, sneezing a lot etc.) Also, the attacks would come much more frequently if it's because of the cats, he would not be able to live with them in the house without being miserable so much so that you'd see it. I am allergic to cats but I have to be around the house for a few hours to have a reaction and more than that to trigger an asthma attack but it'll happen quickly.

I think you should probably watch the times of year he gets them. I get attacks when the seasons change, sometimes when bad weather comes suddenly (like now, it's hurricane season and bringing with it all kinds of allergens in the air). When I was little i'd get an attack from excitement because my birthday was coming soon or whatever. Being that he's 2 and has had 4 attacks this year i'm betting it's weather/season related. You can get him an allergy test and yes, they do test for cat dander so I don't know what your doctor is talking about that they don't test for that. Anywho, most kids who develop asthma get it from allergies, sometimes it's just inherited. Pay attention to his health before the attack comes, if he's congested, has a runny nose, itchy eyes, complains of aches, headaches or has fevers or cough. All of those point to seasonal allergies which can lead to attacks quickly. You'll come to know the "asthma cough" soon, stay on top of that because it's the key to treating the attack before it starts. Sorry about the book but yeah, don't throw out your cats just yet. I hope he feels better soon! *hugs*

We have an adorable kitten that adopted us. My oldest son and I are both allergic to cats, and my son has asthma that like your son has taken him to the emergency room twice. The last time he had to remain in the hospital for several days.

Our cute little kitten who we would not part with has a home in the garage. We took the percautions such as making sure that he can not get into that vehicle liqud that is very sweet and toxic to cats, (sorry I can't recall the name of it right now, I think its transmission fluid). The cat can come through the house for short periods, less than 30 minutes a day and I sometimes do a good cleaning of the garage floor. When I go in the garage and start sneezing or have difficulty breathing it is time to clean the garage. Your cats can have a patio room, garage, or one safe area that your two year old is not in often. By the way, my cat gets play time outdoors, and because of the open air, we are not affected by the cat at all doing the outdoor times.

I hope this information is helpful for you. Yes, with some effort you can have cats and asmatic children!

I would put my child's welfare ahead of my cats, that is your role as a parent.

That being said, maybe you have a friend or relative who could take the cats for six months or so and see if he has problems while they are gone, and then see what happens when they return.

My sons have asthma but have never had the acute more life threatening attacks. He is old enough to be on a preventative med (like Flovent or one of the others out there) so if he is not, he needs to be.

When my son started having asthma as an infant, we did put our cat outside, but kept our dog (he was a non shedding breed) but kept him isolated in a room for the most part. It was a sad,but easy decision for me as a mom, as asthma can be life threatening, and I was not going to risk my sons' life. The problem w/ cats, is their dander and molecules that come from their saliva when they lick themselves, which of course they do almost constantly.

Once your son is older, and on meds for a while, hopefully his asthma will improve, and not be so scary (as their airways get larger as they get older, they sometimes get much milder symptoms, but as a baby/toddler the problems are usually worse).

Please talk further to the doctor, but be careful with your little one's health. I highly recommend letting the cats go to a friends (or at least put them in another part of the house to reduce your son's exposure to them) until you decide what to do.

Good luck and I hope I was not too hard on you or scary. I made it through two sons with mild to moderate asthma and it does seem to improve as they age. I am an animal lover but nothing compares to the mother's instinct to protect her child!! Listen to that instinct.

Take care.

R.,
The first thing you might want to do, is rip up the carpet and put in tile or hardwood flooring. Carpet holds an enormous amount of dander, dirt, and dust, and could be triggering his attacks. Once the carpet is gone, see if he has any more of these attacks. Also,if you have any down or feather pillows, replace them with the hypoallergenic type. Good luck!

Did the doctor prescribe an antihistimine? Zyrtec can be given to children as young as 2 years, and if you give it to him for a week or two and see a big improvement in his symptoms, then you can safely assume that his asthma is triggered by allergies and the cats may be the culprit. If, however, he takes antihistimines for awhile and nothing changes, then chances are the allergies are not to blame. My 11-year-old daughter has had severe asthma all her life. We had a cat when she was born; the cat passed away when she was about 5, and her asthma actually got WORSE after that. We then got another cat when she was 9 and she has steadily improved since that time. She was also allergy tested, tested negative to everything (including pet dander), and her allergest said this proved she doesn't have allergies and the pets are not triggers for her asthma. Her attacks are always triggered by infection (viruses, bacterial infections) or by environmental irritants (high pollution or a big weather change). I would check with the doc about trying the antihistimine--it could give you enough information to bring you peace of mind in knowing you are making the right decision regarding your pets.

It is not the cats that could be triggering this but the cat dander. I would hate to see you get rid of the cats and upset the family if it isn't the cat dander causing the problems. Make sure you cats stay clean and brushed will help, but I can't help but think it is not the cats or you would be having more symptoms daily and more often. I would also hate to see you get rid of the cats and it turns out not to be the cats and you have to then explain why you got rid of them and upset your children. You didn't say where you live and I know here in San Antonio the allergens have been horrible with all the humidity, mold etc. in the air. My grandchild has the same problems and she is and has slowly grown out of it and they have a cat. Hers seems more seasonal to me. I have allergies as well and my husband has asthma and we have pets. We left them outside for a while and it turned out not to be the pets at all and again it comes with the air quality etc.
Good luck to you and just keep the cats clean and brushed as brushing will help rid of the dander. I would bush them in a utility room, garage or outdoors vs. inside the main part of the house and see if that helps. You just have to really pay attention when these attacks happen and you will slowly figure out what the cause possibly is. Again Good Luck.

I got the "Air Source 3000" Air purifier for our home. We have a daughter who had terrible attacks when young. Tried every air purifier...this only one that really got results.

www.yourhealthyalternatives.com has an "Air Purification" page ...

Also, is your home older? Many older homes carry hidden molds which could be the cause. AS willhelp with this, also.

Do you have some where the cats can stay for a little while?? Long enough to see what happens. We have two cats and a dog. Our son has asthma and it helped him when we took up the carpet and put in laminate flooring. However,in the end the health of our child comes before pets.. Good luck!!!

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I just wanted to add to the other comments that I am very allergic to cats and have been for a long time. They definitely are a trigger for my asthma. This disease can be very dangerous, so you definitely want to consider giving your cats a new home. If you do that, you will also want to consider getting new carpet (or, even better, installing tile or hardwood floors) and giving the house a very thorough cleaning. I know that with my allergy I can't live or stay anywhere that has a cat even if the cat is not physically present. The dander gets everywhere, especially deep in carpet fibers (and it is very difficult, if not impossible, to extract). It really depends how severe your son's allergy is, how far you will need to go with the cleanup. Get a second doctor's opinion, and good luck!