Many people suffer from cat allergies. However, there are several things you can do to help alleviate your allergic reaction and be able to have or be around a cat. Removing allergens from your home by vacuuming or using an air purifier is the most important thing you can do. You can also try certain prescription or over-the-counter allergy medications. Certain cats and cat breed also produce less allergens and may be a great solution for some people.
1. Remove Allergens
Removing allergens from the home is the biggest thing you can do to reduce your allergic reaction to cats. Cats product a protein in their saliva called the Fel d 1 protein that is what causes the allergic reaction in humans. When this protein spreads to their fur and around the house you’re more likely to come into contact with it and have an allergic reaction.
Removing this allergen from the carpet, furniture and even the air will significantly help in keeping your allergic reactions at bay. Cat dander, which carries a ton of allergens, can float through the air and get caught on soft materials such as curtains and drapes, furniture (like couches), and carpet. Here are a few effective ways to reduce the amount of allergens in your home:
- Use blinds instead of curtains or drapes. If you can’t switch them, keep the curtains washed and frequently vacuum the drapes.
- If possible, replace cloth furniture with leather.
- Consider replacing wall-to-wall carpeting with wood or tile floors. Otherwise, thoroughly vacuum carpeting regularly. A roomba is great for this.
- Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter as it’s more effective at removing particles from materials and the air.
- Use an air purifier to extract the cat dander from the air.
- Open windows if the weather allows to circulate air and let dander flow out of the house.
2. Keep the Cat Out of Certain Areas of the House
You can significantly reduce the amount of cat allergens around you by keeping the cat our of certain areas of the house. The bedroom and office are two areas people spend most of their time. Keeping these areas cat-free by closing the door will help keep their dander off of things.
Think about the areas of your home you spend the most time in, and consider how you can make them cat-free zones. You can also reinforce other areas of the house as being cat-friendly by keeping the cat’s tree, toys and blankets there.
3. Get Allergy Medication
There are a lot of allergy medications available for just this sort of thing. Either talk to your doctor about getting a prescription allergy medication or research some over-the-counter ones. You may need to try a few different types to see what works best for you. Some possible allergy medications to try are:
- Antihistamines – such as fexofenadine (Allegra), loratadine (Claritin, Alavert), cetirizine (Zyrtec Allergy), levocetirizine (Xyzal) and desloratadine (Clarinex).
- Corticosteroids – delivered as a nasal spray can reduce inflammation and control symptoms of hay fever. These drugs include fluticasone propionate (Flonase Allergy Relief), mometasone furoate (Nasonex), triamcinolone (Nasacort Allergy 24HR) and ciclesonide (Omnaris). Nasal corticosteroids provide a low dose of the drug and have a much lower risk of side effects than do oral corticosteroids.
- Decongestants – can help shrink swollen tissues in your nasal passages and make it easier to breathe through your nose. Oral decongestants can increase blood pressure and generally shouldn’t be taken if you have high blood pressure, glaucoma or cardiovascular disease. Over-the-counter decongestants taken as a nasal spray may briefly reduce allergy symptoms.
- Leukotriene modifiers – block the action of certain immune system chemicals. Your doctor may prescribe montelukast (Singulair).
4. Get A Hypoallergenic Cat
Hypoallergenic is a term used to describe something that is unlikely to cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, hypoallergenic cats will generally affect people allergic to cats less. There is no guarantee that a hypoallergenic cat will not cause an allergic reaction at all, but they will most likely cause much milder symptoms.
Most hypoallergenic cats are purebred cats that you need to get from a cattery. Siberian Forest Cats are the most well-known hypoallergenic cat, and have been adopted by many people who are normally allergic to cats. Sphynx cats are also hypoallergenic as they don’t have long hair for the Fel d 1 protein to get caught in.
We recommend testing out your reaction to a hypoallergenic cat before buying or adopting one. You don’t know for sure how you’ll react until you come into contact with one. Visit a cattery for hypoallergenic cats or request that a cattery send you a sample of one of their cats’ hair to test it out.
5. Avoid Getting an Unneutered Male
Unneutered males produce higher levels of the Fel d 1 allergen than females or neutered males. It’s important to note that the difference is not significant, however, and most people allergic to cats will still have a reaction to females or neutered cats. It’s still good to be aware of, in any case.
Cat Allergy Symptoms
Cat allergies can be unpleasant to deal with, but they’re usually mild and won’t cause major disruptions to daily life. Symptoms will come on very quickly after coming into contact with cat hair or dander. However, they’ll usually go away quickly after eliminating the allergen. The most common cat allergy symptoms include:
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- Skin rash
- Nasal congestion
- Trouble breathing
- Runny/stuffed nose
- Itchy, red, watery eyes
Why Are Some People Allergic To Cats?
As mentioned above, cats product a protein called the Fel d1 protein that many humans are allergic to. When cats lick themselves they spread the allergen to their hair, and when they lay on furniture or other surfaces they transfer the allergen there. Over time the allergen can become airborne and attach to soft materials around the home.
There are several other proteins that cats produce that may cause allergic reactions in people, but none are nearly as powerful at the Fel d 1.
