Cat Allergies

Many humans would love to have the presence of a cat bestowed upon their humble lives, yet live in fear of having strong physical reactions to a new house mate. I believe that this should NOT be the case. If you are a human seeking a cat and are worried about allergies, there are several things you can do.

Identify your allergy:
There are many things that are associated with living with a one of the blessed felines that can cause a human to have violent physical reactions (including sneezing, which is particularly horrible if holding said blessed feline at the same time). Do NOT under estimate the importance, if you are a human, of finding what exactly it is that you are allergic to. My female human, having suffered through many trials, only recently figured out she was allergic to the DUST FROM CLAY LITTER. These sorts of things can be easily fixed (read about MY FAVORITE LITTER here).

Some common allergies include:
Cat hair
Cat saliva
Dust (from curious kitties who go outside)
Kitty Litter
Catnip
Kitty food

These all have a solution. The important thing to do is that before you move in with a human make sure both of you take precautions against the allergy - this will ensure that you do not overstay your welcome and find your little kitty tale back at the shelter.

Many humans believe that they are allergic to cat hair. Frequently this is NOT the case, most people who assume they are allergic to cat hair are actually allergic to the saliva that is on the hair from a cat keeping themselves clean. To check if your human is truly allergic to cat hair, you should probably talk with your human doctor about this issue. They have an allergy test which can check for you. This is by far the easiest as the alternative is to get a freshly cleaned cat (I mean washed with soap and water, and NO I am not volunteering for this job) in a freshly cleaned room (no other allergens around) and your said human in clean clothing with washed hands. If they have a reaction, they're allergic to the hair or the soap and from there it's an easy elimination. But truly, the best is to talk with your human's doctor and have them do the test- it involves a shot so make sure to be extra nice to your human when they come home.

If this is the situation, you will need a hairless cat. Or a shaved cat. Or good allergy medication. Of all the allergies true cat hair allergies are hard to overcome if you already have moved in with your human. I personally am not willing to be clean shaven just for my human's enjoyment. Give them medication which, when taken daily, will make their symptoms livable or find another human who is worthy to clean your litter box.

This is the MOST common human allergy to felines. In this case, the human is actually allergic to your saliva, which gets into your dander when you clean yourself. This has a few solutions, none of which are exceptionally pleasing to the common cat, but all of which are bearable if there is tuna involved afterwards.

Option 1) Get your human to give you a bath on a weekly basis. Yes. A bath with soap and water. I know it sucks, I've been there. But you enjoy the food your human provides for you twice a day right? Then once a week for 5 minutes knuckle down and bear it. Remember, you could be hunting that food for yourself. Don't worry, your human will get used to the inevitable gouges from your nails and eventually accept them as part of their permanent facade. A note to humans - if you are planning on going this route, get a kitten and not a grown cat. A kitten is still small enough for both of you to get used to the regular bathing, but you MUST do it every week for this plan to work.

Option 2) Get a hair product that will neutralize the allergens in your saliva. These come in many forms, some of my favorites are below. This still requires the human to attempt to groom you once a week, but there is no bathtub involved. These products work differently and depending on your human and your personal saliva will work to varying degrees. Try them for yourself to find one that works best.

Believe it or not, giving up the outside roaming possibilities can sometimes cure the allergy all by itself. Your human may not be allergic to you, but rather to the pollen in the grass that they have in their front yard that is so nice for sleep in. If your human is not yet litter trained, you may have to resort to using the toilet. It can be done, my friend, for instructions, see the video below:

Once again, this can be a hard but not impossible transition for an older kitty to make. If this is your situation, be patient with your human as they may not be practiced and regular at nightly emptying the litter box or understanding why you think you're supposed to pee in their dirty clothes. For help on litter training your human click here .

If your human has allergies to other things in life, say seasonal hay fever, be sure to check that your human hasn't mistakenly bought you a type of kitty litter that they are allergic to. I know that to the average kitty it seems obvious not to buy something and bring it into your lair that you have violent reactions to, but remember these are humans we are dealing with. Have you ever seen them consume alcohol?

This aside, I HIGHLY recommend trying a non-clay litter option. See my Kitty Litter lens for reviews on different types of kitty litter. When changing kitty litter remember to go slowly, the change of texture on little feet can be disconcerting to the self-conscious kitty.

....ok, now that I've had a moment. A word on catnip and humans. Frequently they're allergic and they don't know it. Frequently they're VERY allergic and don't know it. Try hiding all your kitty litter toys for a few days (yes, I know this is hard) and refraining from indulging in the fresh stuff for a while to see if your human does ok when they get it out of their system. If this works, I suggest two things:

1) substitute crinkly bags and toys for catnip toys. See my SEARCH FOR THE WORLD'S BEST CAT TOY for some suggestions. After all, going straight for a drug is indeed cheating as far as kitty toys are concerned.
2) Indulge when your human is away, or when you are visiting a friend's. Watch your human's children to see how they get away with things without their parent's notice for advice on how to get your catnip outside of your human's nose. Just make sure your human's children don't get caught with it if it's the fresh stuff, for some reason parental humans always react very badly to this...

Your human may not have read the ingredients in your kitty food. Don't be alarmed, most don't, it happens. That's what the ASPCA regulation are for. But remember, if your human has seafood allergies or wheat & nut allergies they need to make sure these ingredients aren't in YOUR food as well as theirs. It's strange to me but my female human will spend hours pouring over the labels on her foods, but never even gives mine the time of day. Is it little wonder why she has allergic reactions when she gets an offending variety? Also, dry food can be easier for humans than the wet. I know, the wet is AWESOME stuff, but try putting some of your water onto your dry food, this makes it nice and soppy without your humans having to scoop at close range the wet stuff if they're allergic.

First of all, adoption centers, pet stores, shelters, nursery boxes, etc. are horrible places for kitty allergies. Ask to meet your new human outside so the two of you can get going on the right terms. When you get to your human's home, encourage them (I know, it sucks, but do it!) to give you a soap and water bath. This will get the allergens from your previous residence off you and give both of you a fresh start. Don't sleep on/with your human at first, ease up to it- this will give them time to build up their resistance to whatever they are allergic to on you before they wake up feeling sick each morning. And finally- be flexible you are both learning new territory.

Most of all...
Check check and double check to make sure you and your human are working TOGETHER if there are any concerns about your human's allergies. Too many of our brothers and sisters have ended up back at the shelter after their human decided they couldn't or wouldn't deal with their kitty allergy and fulfill their promise to their new feline.