People are often curious about how I’ve managed my allergies as a cat owner who is allergic to cats. Admittedly, I found out about my allergies after I adopted my fur babies and was too attached to give them up. Luckily, my allergy symptoms are not deadly and my body ended up adapting to allergens. I know many other cat owners who also made it work, including my significant other, but not all cat-loving folks are as fortunate. Consult a medical professional if you experience severe allergy symptoms, they tend to have more powerful remedies.
Common cat allergy symptoms :
- Sneezing
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Red, itchy, or watery eyes
- Itchy nose, throat, or mouth
- Dry, itchy skin
- Rashes, hives
- Cough
- Wheezing (whistling sound) when breathing
- Chest tightness
- Shortness of breath
What are we allergic to?
Contrary to popular belief, we are not allergic to our cat’s furs but rather an allergen found in their skin and saliva. These cute self-cleaning machines constantly coat their fur with this allergen and then spread it around the space when they shed dander (tiny scales from their skin and fur).
How did we combat our cat allergy?
My significant other and I tried many tricks to ensure our quality of living and good health while being cat owners. We want to share a few tricks that worked for us and other cat owners we spoke with.
We adjusted our habits:
- We cleaned more often, especially vacuuming. Indoor cats can shred year-round, regular vacuuming will help minimize pet dander in your space. Avoid “dry-cleaning” like brooming that moves the dander around. Wear a disposable dust mask while cleaning if you have severe allergy symptoms
- Before we adapted to our cats, we made contact responsibly. We avoided touching our cats directly with our faces, although it was tempting. We also washed our hands after petting our cats. There were a few times we rubbed our eyes before washing our hands which worsened the allergy symptoms.
- We kept our cats out of our bedroom until our symptoms were better. Keeping your cat outside of a room greatly reduces the allergen level found in the room. This is helpful for rooms you spend a lot of time in, like the bedroom or the office.
Purchases that helped alleviate our allergy symptoms:
- We have an air purifier in every room and they are our best purchases. Air purifiers remove pet danders and hair from your living space. It is important to purchase one with HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters. Our personal favorite is the Winix 5500-2 Air Purifier because it is quiet and efficient for medium to large-sized rooms.
- Cleaning regularly minimizes the pet danders in your space but can be a high effort during busier weeks. Furniture and products that are easy to clean and maintain have saved us time and energy. The magic sofa covers from Nolan Interior are easy to take on and off, and most importantly machine washable. They come in different sizes and colors so you don’t have to compromise your home aesthetics. Our washing machine works just as hard as our vacuum cleaner.
- The same easy-to-clean rules apply to our cats’ things too. We have the Poppa & Calli Co Sleep Salmon that has a machine washable cover. We just toss the cover into the machine every once in a while. The design is also cute and we get a lot of compliments from guests. Previously, our cats had a simpler bed that wasn’t washable and we were unable to salvage it after a particularly nasty hairball accident.
- Although we still experience mild allergy symptoms after we return home from trips, our bodies have pretty much adapted to our cts’ danders so we’ve maintained the same routine. However, we have heard great results from other cat parents about Purina Pro Plan Liveclear Dry Cat Food. The formula reduces the amount of cat allergen your cat produces, nipping the damage at its source. I would give this a chance if I was to adopt a cat for the first time again.
I hope these tips can help others with cat allergies. I’d love to see more cats with homes and loving paw-parents!