What are good allergy medicines for people allergic to cats?

I love cats to death and I really want one, but every time I've been in the same house as a cat I always constantly sneeze and I can't even function. What can I take to help it go away? Will I have to be on it as long as I have the cat?

Hi,

Cat allergens need to be airborne and you need to breathe them in for you to have an allergic reaction. Cat allergen is very small so it remains suspended in the air longer.

First, you need to decrease your exposure to cat allergens.

1. If you don't yet have a cat, consider a shorthair over longhair. They tend to have less dander. If you're looking for a purebred, try a Rex breed or Sphynx.

2. Keep cat out of your bedroom and do not sleep with your cat.

3. Wash all bedding in 140-degree hot water at least twice monthly. Use Febreeze Allergen Reducer to reduce up to 75% of airborne allergens from your cat that become airborne from fabrics.

4. Use HEPA air filters in rooms where your cats frequent.

5. Vacuum up cat allergen with a high grade HEPA vacuum cleaner twice weekly.

6. Use a vapor steam cleaner to clean your home.

7. Wash your hands immediately after petting your cat and do not rub your eyes.

8. Clean your cat. Bathe your cat every 1 to 2 weeks and use Allerpet on your cat's coat to reduce cat allergen in the air.

9. Confine your cats to one area of the house.

10. If feasible, replace curtains and drapes with solid blinds, carpeting and rugs with hardwood floors or tile. Minimize overstuffed furniture in your home.

11. Wipe down walls and flat surfaces regularly.

If your symptoms are mild and you do a good job with the above measures, your cat allergies should be significantly decreased. Keeping a cat when you have allergies takes a concerted effort, and is only for those who are nutty enough about their cats to go to all this trouble.

Allergy medications are likely to help control symptoms, but in many instances symptoms may persist if you continue to own one or more indoor cats. Allergy shots may also be a good treatment option for people who are allergic to their pet cats.

Medications include oral antihistamines and nasal sprays. Both need to be used for as long as you are exposed to the cat allergen.

Pros: fast acting, not invasive
Cons: treatment is long term, resistance may develop, ongoing cost

Allergy shots or immunotherapy consists of a series of injections containing small amounts of the substances to which a person is allergic. After a course of allergy shots, 80 to 90 percent of patients have less allergy symptoms, and in many cases their allergies have completely resolved.

Reasons for getting allergy shots:

- medications no longer effective
- immunotherapy is the only treatment that fixes the underlying problem ie a possible cure

Cons:

- expensive initially
- time consuming > may take years
- involves injections

Hope this helps. I am speaking from experience and am happy to say that I still have my cat:) Source(s): Mercia Tapping, president of Allergy Buyers Club

I have been allergic to cats all my life, but when a 5-wk old kitten showed up on my doorstep I could not help but keep her. I've since gotten a second kitty, and have now been living with 2 cats and allergies for 2 years.

I also tend to get extremely stuffy when around cats, so when I decided to take in the first cat I went to see an allergy specialist. He was great b/c he also has allergies and pets. Every person's situation is unique, but here's how my adaptation has gone.

After getting the first cat, I was prescribed Nasonex to treat my stuffiness. This worked really well for me, however with this medication you are prone to viral infections. I was getting sick with the flu and ear infections a lot. My husband would clean the litterbox, or I would have to cover my face to be able to do it. We bathed the cat with allergen-reducing shampoo every other week. The cat was not allowed in our bedroom. My symptoms on the whole were managed rather well.

After getting the second cat, my symptoms became much worse. This cat has shorter hair, but for some reason she aggravates my allergies more than the longer-haired cat. I can only suspect that the shorter hair allows more dander to get out into the open, while longer hair keeps most of the dander trapped in. I was getting more frequent viral infections and ear infections, I was no longer able to clean the cat box at all, and when I tried to vacuum/dust/clean the house I would start to wheeze and have asthma symptoms. I needed to keep an inhaler around for these days.

So, since August I've been getting immunotherapy -- and this will treat all of my allergies. I get three shots every time I go -- one for cat/dog, one for pollen, and one for mold/mildew. At first I was getting each of these 3 times per week, but now I only need once per month. Occasionally, whenever pollen counts are high, I still get pretty stuffy. The good news, however, is that when there are not a lot of other allergens around I don't really need to take any medications at all. The cats don't bother me anymore, and my husband is happy to have me clean the litterbox again. I have not been sick since starting the shots. I'm amazed at how well this treatment works!

Hopefully, with a good specialist you too can enjoy the company of a kitty while controlling your symptoms. To answer your last question -- in my experience I would have needed to stay on medication as long as I kept the cats, but immunotherapy has seemed to reduce that requirement so far.