In November 2021, my friend adopted his first cat as an adult. It came after a time of personal struggle and loss, and the new arrival quickly improved matters, including my friend’s negative outlook on life.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t smooth sailing. He discovered he was allergic to the new cat a few days after bringing it home. It wasn’t a slight allergy, either. It was a full-blown, swollen-eye, can’t-breathe-right-if-the-cat-is-in-the-room allergy.
Unwilling to part with what had already become a dear family member, my friend decided to do the next best thing — control his allergy so it couldn’t control him and jeopardize his relationship with his new best friend.
Can an Allergic Person Live With a Cat?
Before answering this question, let’s first establish what a cat allergy is. Unlike popular belief, cat allergies don’t involve the animal’s hair. Instead, they are caused by a protein — Fel d 1 — in a cat’s sebaceous glands. This protein ends up in cat dander, and cats propagate it over their hair when they clean themselves.
So, if you’re one of the unlucky people allergic to this protein, like my friend, you probably assume you can never live with a cat. That’s not true. If you’re willing to take some precautions, you can own a cat even though your symptoms won’t entirely go away.
How To Have Cats If You’re Allergic: Practical Tips
Feline lovers who are allergic to cats may have read many lists online about the best tips to control their allergy when they visit a household with cats.
The tips below are from a real person who adores cats but has to keep his distance. Here’s what he does to keep his allergy under control.
Let’s start with the obvious. Since you want to minimize the presence of dander, you’ll want to dust, vacuum, and wash your cat’s bed(s) often. However, all but one of these needful activities spread more dander in the air. What to do?
Wipe down surfaces with a wet cloth instead of a dry rag and rinse it often. Don’t use a vacuum without a filter, and don’t just vacuum, especially if you have carpet. Instead, use a carpet washer and steam your carpets frequently, multiple times a week.
Ideally, though, you want hard floors. Remove carpets, rugs, curtains, and upholstered furniture as much as possible. Anything that is covered in cloth attracts allergens and traps them.
My friend replaced his upholstery with wood and leather furniture (not cheap, but he was determined that the cat was staying) and dumped his rugs. He had blinds instead of curtains, which worked in his favor.
Another thing that helped, although not emotionally, was to keep the cat away at night. While initially heart-breaking for both human and feline, sleeping apart and keeping the bedroom cat-free did help my friend get some good shut-eye despite his turmoil.
In time, the arrangement became a boon. My friend’s cat loves going on patrol at night and playing with its toys. With no access to the bedroom, the cat can’t disturb my friend’s sleep and can play to its heart’s content without interruptions.
The next solution will seem like a cop-out, but it’s not. If, unlike my friend, you live with family or roommates, designate someone else to clean the litter box. The allergen is aplenty in the cat’s feces and urine, so doing it yourself exposes you to it much more.
Since my friend didn’t have the luxury of designating litter duties at first, I did my best to help whenever I visited. Now that he lives with a girlfriend, cleaning the box twice a day is her job. She’s a huge cat lover, so it’s no big deal. Oh, and there are perks to the job, too — like not having to do the dishes or laundry in exchange.
Finally, using air purifiers and air conditioners helps reduce the amount of dander in the air. Yet, if you have neither, it’s not the end of the world. The above tips will still reduce your symptoms.
How To Build Immunity to Cat Allergies
You may wonder if your cat allergy can be cured. Unfortunately, the answer is no. However, it can improve.
You should see an allergist and get tested. Once they identify your allergy, you can build immunity through immunotherapy. These allergy shots may sound scary, but they can immensely improve your cat dander tolerance.
My friend doesn’t have kids yet, but he plans to expose his future children to cats as soon as they are born. His decision aligns with research that shows that early life exposure to cats can build immunity to cat allergies.
Taking over-the-counter and prescription antihistamine pills and nose sprays will also control symptoms but won’t build immunity. Nevertheless, they will help you greatly if you want to share your life with a cat — especially when combined with the tips above.
