Reducing Cat Dander (allergies)

Hi there, I apologize if this is posted in the wrong section.

My boyfriend and I brought home a wonderful little kitty back in December. We love her to pieces, except for the fact that my boyfriend is deathly allergic to her (we didn't know his allergies would be this severe). There have been nights where he's had to pull his recliner out to the porch to sleep outside because he was borderline having an asthma attack

We've since taken many precautions, such as:
- Keeping her out of our bedroom, where we spend most of our time when we're home
- HEPA air purifier placed in the bedroom, next to the door to catch outside dander
- Vacuuming and cleaning the apartment 2~3x a week
- Reactine
- Washing hands AND changing clothes after handling kitty

This might seem a bit extreme, but we are pretty set on keeping her a permanent member of our family. However, even with our efforts my boyfriend still suffers with some respiratory symptoms. I was wondering if any of you have suggestions or product recommendations for us, or your experience in a similar situation

Thank-you very much.

P.S. We are looking to book an appointment with a doctor to see what prescription or inject-able options are available in a few weeks

Hi there! It sounds like you’re taking a lot of great steps already. Here’s an article that gives some more helpful tips: Living With Cat Allergy

Some things that the article mentioned that you might want to try are opening the windows to air out your home, and bathing kitty. I know giving a cat a bath might sound like a daunting task at first, but I promise it can be done! Here’s an article that will walk you through the process: How To Safely Bathe A Cat: The Complete Guide

abyeb said:

Hi there! It sounds like you’re taking a lot of great steps already. Here’s an article that gives some more helpful tips: Living With Cat Allergy

Some things that the article mentioned that you might want to try are opening the windows to air out your home, and bathing kitty. I know giving a cat a bath might sound like a daunting task at first, but I promise it can be done! Here’s an article that will walk you through the process: How To Safely Bathe A Cat: The Complete Guide

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I give her a bath monthly, but I worry it might be too much and dry out her skin causing extra dander
Luckily she doesn't get too angry during her bathtimes - she will try to jump out if she sees a window of opportunity when i'm grabbing this or that but never bites or scratches

I hope you can find something that works. We never did. Because we live in the country, our cats became outside pets living within a confined area with the Cat Fence in System attached to our fence. I realize this is not an option for most people. My husband tried many over the counter medicines and prescription ones, to the point where the nasal spray gave him eye problems. I am sorry you are dealing with the problem because it is a hard one to fix. You are doing everything you can do yourself and it hasn't helped. Maybe a medicine will. The only thing I see that you could do different is do the vacuuming every day, not two or three times a week and see if that helps. He probably needs to be somewhere else when it is done as vacuuming stirs up the air some.

I have three cats and I was allergic and had asthma. I saw an allergy doctor and short term I used over the counter antihistamines. Long term I took allergy shots. It’s a commitment for sure. But I can tell you it worked!
Most insurances cover the injections 100 percent but he needs to be committed to going. It’s not a start and stop thing. You go until you don’t have symptoms. Also clean, clean,clean and make sure he washes his hands a lot! I would forget and rub my eye, it would itch for hours. There are over the counter drops that work great for that called zadiator. Also have him see a dr he should have asthma spray on hand at all times.
Allergic reactions are dangerous .

Welcome to TCS! You came to the right place to ask your questions. Many of us, including myself, have allergies and have found what works for them. You mentioned your b.f. setting up an appointment with a doctor. Hopefully it is an allergist with an immunology background. It is important to find a specialist that is open minded and will work with you not against you. My doctor knew there was no way I would give up my pets so he provided me with excellent advice.

The above posts have a lot of helpful information. One thing I might add is about window treatments, especially blinds or fabrics because they hold a lot of dust and dander. This is an area some people don't think about when it comes to cleaning. Also you can try using Pet Bath Wipes to wipe your cat in between your bathing routine. It might be trial and error at first for your b.f. but hopefully he will find what works best for him and your new kitty and you will settle in nicely.

my husband has asthma, and is allergic to cats. Then a little stray female showed up on our door, he fell in love with her.

His Allergy Dr. had him start using flonase, a nasal spray you can pick up at walmart, walgreens or most any store. He asked about the shots, but she told him that exposure to the cat would work the same??? Well with my husband it seems to be true, after about a year he was able to quit the flonase, and really does not have problems with the cat now. we have since added 3 more rescues, and he is still fine. Will use the flonase occasionally now if seasonal allergies kick in.

Our vet also said that the food you feed will make a difference. Wet is great to feed i feed quite a bit of Weruva, Tiki cat, Against the grain, Fussie cat super premium, some fancy feast classics and grilled flavors, some of the grain free purina pro plan, they only like the pate in this one for some reason.?? normally they are all about the shreds..lol And earthborn holistic catalina catch. Fish oil is good for cats, and rather than supplement with it i try to find foods that have fish oil, and feed some fish based cat food, such as the catalina catch a few times per week. Some will not agree with feeding fish, i dont know, works for us, and i only feed earthborn Catalina catch, or weruva goldie lox as they are foods i trust.

Basically the only dry food i feed now is Dr. Elsey's chicken flavor. they all like this, and i can see a change in their hair and dander since replacing other dry foods with this one. Cats need high protein, moderate fat, and low carbs.

i have a hepa vacuum that i love, and i do vacuum regular. I also wash all blankets, throws, pillows and other items weekly.

So Flonase, vacume and wash everything often, and feed a high quality cat food, wet and dry. i do not use clay litter.

i also use Dr. Elsey's respiratory relief crystal litter, or a grass based litter, our local kroger has their brand i like. and Litter maid walnut litter that i pick up at walmart. Clay litters all really bother my husband a lot. I also don't fill my litter boxes as full, and empty them and wash more often than most. usually ever week, or two at the most. Cat pee also contains the proteins that cause humans problems

Good luck. hopefully something some of us said will help

duckpond thank-you for your advice! I have been feeding her frozen commercial raw for about a month now, I'm not sure if it's helping with the dander but her energy is just off the charts I pretty much do all of the kitty related maintenance so litter isn't a huge issue. Will also check out the flonase- but will it be safe to use if used in conjunction with other allergy medications such as reactine?

neely I haven't thought about the windows! I'm normally very lazy about them as I am a whopping 4'11 and they are a real task to reach at the full height..LOL.. I'll wipe them down tonight

Fredthecat We will arrange an appointment ASAP. healthcare wait times are stupid here in Canada.. He's definitely made the mistake of rubbing his eyes before and they swelled up like golfballs

blueyedgirl5946 Thank-you! We live in an apartment in the city so unfortunately garden access isn't available I've been looking at some cage playpens to let her out on the patio while i'm doing the cleaning or when the weather is a bit warmer (it is currently snowing in my area).

Again, thank-you everyone for your incredible insight if anyone else has information to add that would be greatly appreciated Does anyone have experience with room allergy sprays like febreze or topical treatments for kitty such as allerpet?

imcf said:

duckpond

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duckpond

imcf said:

duckpond thank-you for your advice! I have been feeding her frozen commercial raw for about a month now, I'm not sure if it's helping with the dander but her energy is just off the charts I pretty much do all of the kitty related maintenance so litter isn't a huge issue. Will also check out the flonase- but will it be safe to use if used in conjunction with other allergy medications such as reactine?

neely I haven't thought about the windows! I'm normally very lazy about them as I am a whopping 4'11 and they are a real task to reach at the full height..LOL.. I'll wipe them down tonight

Fredthecat We will arrange an appointment ASAP. healthcare wait times are stupid here in Canada.. He's definitely made the mistake of rubbing his eyes before and they swelled up like golfballs

blueyedgirl5946 Thank-you! We live in an apartment in the city so unfortunately garden access isn't available I've been looking at some cage playpens to let her out on the patio while i'm doing the cleaning or when the weather is a bit warmer (it is currently snowing in my area).

Again, thank-you everyone for your incredible insight if anyone else has information to add that would be greatly appreciated Does anyone have experience with room allergy sprays like febreze or topical treatments for kitty such as allerpet?

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Just to be safe i would either talk to the Dr. or a pharmacist at your drugstore about the reactine and flonase together. I don't know.
Also, i do all the litter maintenance in my home too, but was surprised how much better my husband was when i got rid of all clay litter in our house. Guess it gets in the air all over, idk. Best of Luck with this. sounds like you are doing the right stuff!

neely thank-you! we are keeping our fingers and toes crossed too

duckpond ah okay, I'll look into different litter brands We are currently using 'worlds best' which is supposedly low dust and corn based..but I still notice a fair amount of dust flying up when I'm doing my morning scoops. Thank-you for your advice