I previously had an older DSH cat for almost 5 years before she passed away a year ago and never sneezed from her. Two weeks ago we adopted a new DSH cat who is a little over a year old. At first we thought we were noticing her hair more because she's 75-90 percent white. But she really is shedding like crazy. She's very active and love to squirm and cuddle but our carpets and clothing are literally coated in her hair. I've had to shut my bedroom door so I don't have to worry about my bedding. Normally I'd just break out extra lint rollers but the other issues is I've started sneezing like crazy from her and it's only getting worse. Today my sneezing fits were so violent I could barely make it through paying a bill over the phone. We're brushing her at least once a day and bought a furminator to take care of loose hair on the undercoat. Yesterday I bought some Well and Good brand shed reduction wipes but I'm not sure if they'll help. She's the only pet and only change to the environment in our house. I'm going to grab some over the counter anithistamines tomorrow just so I can function as the runny nose and sneezing is constant. I know it's the saliva etc. not the fur that causes allergies but I've never had allergic a housecat before. I'm wondering if it's because her hair is so fine and there is so much of it. I keep my house super dust free because that can make my nose runny so maybe it IS all her fur everywhere. No idea what else to do about her excessive shedding. I'll look into her diet. (She gets Weruva BFF pate 2x a day and a little dry food on hand in case we sleep late or something happens where we can't get home to her. She gets moisture from her food and it using her cat fountain.) Any other ideas?
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New cat shedding like crazy
- Thread starter sienna5
- Start Date
Interestingly enough, what most people are allergic to with cats isn't the hair, but the saliva. When a cat cleans themselves, they cover themselves in saliva, then we pet them or they rub against things which we then touch.
Try washing your hands between petting her and touching your face. Also, rather than getting "shed reduction" wipes, look for wipes that will clean/bathe them instead.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Yes, like I mentioned in my post I'm aware it's the saliva that causes possible allergies (even though it's never been an issue/something I'm allergic to before). I already wash my hands but the sneezing is triggered constantly even without contact. Unfortunately the wipes I mentioned were all I could get short-notice and I've had to order some better ones online. Our town isn't tiny but there isn't a lot of variety in stores/products and that's made more difficult because there are still stocking shortages and mailing delays due to Covid, etc. Hopefully we'll figure it out there are so many possible things to go through it will just take time. Antihistamines until then, I guess.
Hi. The other thing to consider is the dander - some cats produce more than others. If there is any bit of a dryness to her skin, the dander can be worse. So, you could at least try adding some Omega 3 to her diet and see if that makes any difference.
