My Cats And Their New Dad

[madasplaid]

Hi all! I was looking for some advice as my 2 cats are going to be in a bit of a different living situation soon.

My cats have been living with my mother for the last 2 years or so, as my fiancee is allergic. He recently said that as long as we are super diligent about vacuuming, he would be willing to let them come and live with us. Yay! I really want this to be successful for all of us. I've missed my cats so much. I have a couple of concerns, though and would love some advice from folks who have more experience than me.

1) How to best deal with his allergies. Of course we would need to keep kitties well brushed and vacuum frequently, but does anyone have experience of living with cats, with allergies.

2) Masha came from an abusive background. She hates strangers, but gets comfortable around people after a few days. However, it's been about 3 years and she has never gotten used to my dad. I don't know if it is men in general or just something about my dad, but is there anything my boyfriend can do to make himself less intimidating and ease her transition?

 

[Kieka]

1) I have cats and am allergic. If your husband isn't already, he should start taking a daily allergy pill (I do zyrtec) to help with minor symptoms and ease the transition. I also do nasal spray and have benadryl on hand just in case (which is usually when another allergy flares honestly). He should be ready for an adjustment period of a few months while his body gets used to being consistently around cats. It wasn't horrible for me, with medications, but it is a noticeable difference between no allergen around and living with the cats. You could also invest in a good air purifier which will help with air born allergens. I keep the bed covered with a top blanket or sheet that I remove before bed, that helps reduce what has settled on the bed during the day affecting me at night, on the same note if you don't already you will need to change bedding at least once a week if not more. Here is an article that may help as well, Living With Cat Allergy.

2) My little girl is also skittish of strangers and has not bonded with my Dad after living with him for 3 years. However, my brother who is taller and has a deeper voice then my Dad, moved in about six months ago and she absolutely loves him. Don't ask me how or why because he isn't an animal person and has never played or fed her even. But she will crawl into his lap and pass out, sleep in/on his shoes and follow him around if I am not home. My Dad on the other hand doesn't even exist in her world view unless he is feeding her or has the treat jar in hand.

Your husband can try feeding the cat or playing with them to bond more to them. Cat though will decide who they do and don't like fairly well without human intervention.

 

[Furballsmom]

awww, what sweeties! I have no suggestions, just best wishes for a smooth transition!

 

[madasplaid]

awww, what sweeties! I have no suggestions, just best wishes for a smooth transition!

Thank you! So excited to have them back!

 

[madasplaid]

1) I have cats and am allergic. If your husband isn't already, he should start taking a daily allergy pill (I do zyrtec) to help with minor symptoms and ease the transition. I also do nasal spray and have benadryl on hand just in case (which is usually when another allergy flares honestly). He should be ready for an adjustment period of a few months while his body gets used to being consistently around cats. It wasn't horrible for me, with medications, but it is a noticeable difference between no allergen around and living with the cats. You could also invest in a good air purifier which will help with air born allergens. I keep the bed covered with a top blanket or sheet that I remove before bed, that helps reduce what has settled on the bed during the day affecting me at night, on the same note if you don't already you will need to change bedding at least once a week if not more. Here is an article that may help as well, Living With Cat Allergy.

2) My little girl is also skittish of strangers and has not bonded with my Dad after living with him for 3 years. However, my brother who is taller and has a deeper voice then my Dad, moved in about six months ago and she absolutely loves him. Don't ask me how or why because he isn't an animal person and has never played or fed her even. But she will crawl into his lap and pass out, sleep in/on his shoes and follow him around if I am not home. My Dad on the other hand doesn't even exist in her world view unless he is feeding her or has the treat jar in hand.

Your husband can try feeding the cat or playing with them to bond more to them. Cat though will decide who they do and don't like fairly well without human intervention.

Thank you for the info! The article is very helpful!

 

[Pjg8r]

Keeping the cats out of the bedroom will help with the allergies.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

DH is allergic but we manage with our 2.

He does take daily allergy meds. We also do not allow the girls on our bed (generally our door is shut but they like to come sit in our bathroom in the morning and generally know to stay off the bed). I try to change clothing before getting in bed too. We vacuum and keep inexpensive fleece blankets on the couch where they like to sleep. DH can move them out of his way when he sits down. I've used towels for this too. DH is also very diligent about changing the air filters on our furnace and using better quality ones. Over time our girls bother him less; but other peoples cats can cause more reaction.

 

[Spyro87]

I have no advice regarding the allergies except taking medication and trying to limit the hair around your partner.

As for getting the cat to like him, I would suggest a calming plug in diffuser as they are great for reducing stress (I recommend these to anyone who is about to be doing something that may stress a cat.
You can also get the spray bottle of it and spritz some on your partner, but it's a bit whiffy! He may need a bribe or you might need to ninja pounce and spray him when he least expects it haha. I had to take to distracting my partner with a kiss when he'd come through the door and spray some on his collar mwuahahahahaa.

As well as encouraging your partner not to push himself on the cat, let him be the food-bringer and establish that he has a role that is worth while to your cat and other than that, allow the cat to warm to him in her own time. I'm sure it will all be fine and if nothing else, perhaps she'll simply tolerate him