Cat owners; advice please...

[lildreamer316]

I have a lovely black shorthair female - Piper- that is my baby. We rescued a tabby male from husband's work who had obviously been dropped off. He's a big sweetheart,but hasn't been fixed. He does tend to spray around, though. But that's not the main problem.

I'm horribly allergic to him. But not to her. Go figure.

Soo..we have to remedy this. Allergy meds aren't working; we vaccum a lot; spray stuff down with febreeze allergen reducer, etc. We've bathed him and that helped a little, but not much. If things don't change we're going to have to find him another home..and I hate that. My Piper loves him; my 7 year old son loves him; my husband loves him.

Help?

[yankeepants]

1. Can it be because he's not fixed?

That certain musk that those boy kitties exude? Possible.

[lildreamer316]

9. Maybe, but

I had another tabby who passed two years ago, and I was pretty allergic to her too. She was such a sweetheart, it was heartbreaking when I had to put her on the screen porch for a couple days just to let my allergies subside. It must be the fur. Very weird.

[yankeepants]

2. I just googled this

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100503073432AAWgEr4

It says there is a shot to make kitty allergen free. Hmmmmmm

[lildreamer316]

7. ooo

I will see if that's viable, thanks!

[DainBramaged]

3. He also may have something in his fur that is causing your reaction

Sounds like the shot and the fix are expensive, try bathing? If you dare.....

[lildreamer316]

6. LOL

gonna make my husband do it :)

[Lisa0825]

4. Have you tried OTC allergy pills like Claritin?

The founder of the rescue I volunteer with has 30 cats at her home and her husband is allergic, but he has taken Zyrtec or Claritin (I forget which) and they work very well for him.

[lildreamer316]

5. I'll give

that another shot..I tried it several months ago but only once. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Lisa0825]

8. You can also try allergy shots....

I have never had them, but people I know have said they have worked for them, and as they start to work, your need for them reduces, so you don't get them forever.

[lildreamer316]

11. That's even better..

I don't like the idea of having to take meds forever. I'll check that out too, thanks!

[Lisa0825]

10. Just wondering.... my understanding is that the allergy is more from the dander than the hair...

and I have one cat who has noticeably more dander than the others. Maybe special shampoo or (someone else) giving frequent thorough brushings could help?

[lildreamer316]

12. Yes,

I'm gonna go peruse the local specialty pet store and see if they have anything for this along those lines. I really want to keep him.

[TorchTheWitch]

13. consult a vet

It's very strange to be allergic to only one cat and not to others. There has to be something specific about this cat that is causing you to be allergic to him, and whatever that something is can probably be fixed.

Are you certain it's this one cat that you're allergic to at all? Lately the mold type allergens have been off the charts... both me and my dog are having problems again. Is it possible that the allergy is something else and it just so happened to coincide with getting this cat?

[lildreamer316]

14. Well...

as soon as we put him on the screen-and-glass porch for a couple days (husband smokes out there, so he gets plenty of love and food and etc.) my symptoms subsided. So it has to be him, I think.

[TorchTheWitch]

17. hmmm... could be

Sure seems like it. But if it's just this one cat that triggers your allergies then there has to be something specific about this cat, which means that it should be something that can fixed. Maybe it's possible that you're allergic to whatever chemicals he puts out because of him not being fixed?

I'm allergic to cats. Normally, I can be around a cat without any problems for a short time as long as I'm not in a house where the cat lives. So, I can run into a cat outdoors without any problem, but if I pet it and don't wash my hands right away I get the allergy symptoms especially if I get my hands near my eyes, nose or mouth.

I'm not at all allergic to dogs though, so my allergy is the dander specific to cats. Usually people seem to be allergic to pet dander in general, but for me it's just cats. I never had any kind of allergies at all until I got into my mid-20's, and then I got pollen/molds allergies, fabric allergies, the cat allergies and a whole lot of food allergies.... allergies, allergies everywhere.

This is strange. I'd just call a vet and ask about this. It really should be something that can be fixed if it's just this one cat that's triggering the allergy, so just a matter of finding out what it is about this one cat that's the problem. Don't give up on him yet.

[applegrove]

15. Try getting him fixed. If you still can't keep him it will be that much easier to find him a good

home. I paid to have a homeless cat fixed and I put an ad for him up at the vets office (with a picture) and found a family for him right away. Good luck.

[lildreamer316]

16. Thanks...

I just really want to keep him. Gonna try everything else first :)

[Betty88]

18. Try this stuff Allerpet

http://www.achooallergy.com/pets-allerpetc.asp

it worked great for me years ago when I had a roommate that was allergic to my cat. Just wiped him down with it every 4 or 5 days and it really helped.