My dog is allergic to my cat :(

Willow's Mom

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I finally, finally got some answers about Laurel's atopy. My vet was fantastic and not the slightest bit judgemental: "getting rid of" Willow is not on the table and I was not guilt tripped about that or about anything else.

I have a lot of credit card debt from vet bills, auto repairs, and other unavoidable expenses but when I figure out how to make minimums every month and still eat, I only need to come up with $168 to get her first vial made and it will last four months. Laurel has multiple environmental sensitivities so she is essentially allergic to Humboldt County, as well as being violently allergic to cats, but it doesn't make sense!

The atopy was a pre-existing condition when we got Willow. It was already horrible long before I brought a live kitten into the house. The house wasn't exactly clean and probably still had cat dander left over from Franklin. My next door neighbours have indoor/outdoor cats who come into our yard (Willow is leash trained) so there is no way to completely keep her away from cat dander, but shouldn't her severe allergies have gone through the roof with a live baby kitten not just in her house, but actually dry nursing off her until the kitten was larger than the foster mom?

I mean....like...you know....so I think my actual question is wtf?????

Has anyone else here used idexx.com for allergy testing and are they any good? Has anybody else ever dealt with this situation before? Willow is accustomed to wearing a T shirt for decoration and visibility or a raincoat or jacket for weather protection, but she's still a cat so I think it would be cruel to put a lycra bodysuit on her 24/7 since it would be no big deal to do the same for Laurel if I can ever scrape up the funds.

My vet already told me that it could be a year after we start immunotherapy before we see any results and that there's only a 50% chance that Laurel can be cured. Laurel is a discarded designer dog and Willow is a moggie, so neither of them realistically has a chance of scoring a new owner with deeper pockets even if they weren't my babies and I could imagine living without one or both of them.

It's dumb to feel guilty about being poor. I didn't go out and buy thousand dollar purebreds I couldn't afford to take care of, ffs, but feelings are not and have never been about making sense in the first place.
 

Krienze

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I think we live in a society where if we hit a snag, or a bump, and we struggle taking care of our furrbabies because of it, we're used to people pointing fingers at us like we're irresponsible. More than once have I been in situations that caught me off guard. It happens and I don't think you should feel guilty about it. You never expected any of this. And you're doing your best for your babies. So please, try not to feel guilty. None of it is your fault or something you should feel guilty over.

I'm unfamiliar with allergies with animals. I never heard of animals being allergic to each other, so this is a new one to me. I know my Jack, my redbone lab dog, has bad pollen related allergies and our vet told us to try benedryl for him. Could that possibly work for Laurel? I would talk to your vet about it first, because I know with certain conditions it can have bad reactions and I don't know the weight of your dog nor do I feel comfortable telling you how much you should give her. I think it'd be better to double check with your vet first.

Also are there maybe specialty shampoos you might be able to find for Willow?
 

neely

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Regarding Laurel's allergy to cats, proteins in Willow's saliva may be a contributing factor to your dog's allergy symptoms. This article might be helpful for some of the problems you have mentioned - scroll down to the part about Pet Protein Allergens. It also offers some helpful solutions which you're probably aware of such as using a HEPA air filter, etc.
When Animal (Allergies) Attack: Pet Allergy Symptoms, Treatment

I hope you can find an affordable solution that will help both Laurel and Willow. Best of luck, please keep us posted on your progress. :goodluck:
 

Willowy

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I read in Whole Dog Journal that one good way to help skin allergies is to bathe the dog every 3 days with a mild moisturizing shampoo. Nothing else, just a bath every 3 days. I guess that washes off the allergens before they can cause too bad of a reaction. Some will say it's bad for the skin to be bathed so often, but they alreay have skin allergies; how can it get worse? So, because that's cheap and easy, I'd at least give that a try.
 
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