Tips to Control Cat Allergens and Asthma

Asthmatics and cats often don’t go well together. In fact, doctors usually recommend that patients who are allergic to several other things should avoid getting a cat in the first place. Cat dander and saliva are common allergy and asthma triggers. These allergens are found on the cat’s fur and skin; cat allergens are also very sticky. Cat allergen is difficult to clean from carpeting, walls and furniture, and it can remain in a home many months after a cat has been removed. According to WebMD, approximately 20 % to 30 % of people who have allergic asthma will be allergic to cats. Symptoms of cat allergy are similar to other allergy triggers: stuffy nose, runny nose, swollen, red eyes, itching, hives or rash, sneezing, coughing and even asthma trouble. Even so, if you do have cat allergies and would like to have a cat, there are some things you can do.

Depending on how bad you or your children’s asthma becomes, it might be necessary to find your cat a new home. This should be the last solution, however, as it is traumatic for your family and the cat. If your symptoms aren’t too bad, it might be possible to still your kitty by trying the following tips.

1. Keep the cat out of your bedroom. The bedroom should be maintained as a “safe” room for you or your kids who have cat allergies. Keeping the cat out will keep the room cleaner and less liable to make your allergies worse. Plus, you will have a place to go to recoup after you’ve been around your cat.

2. Dust and vacuum often. Dust and vacuum your entire home, including your bedroom, fairly often in order to keep the level of cat allergens low in your home. If the allergic person must vacuum, be sure they wear long sleeves, pants to cover their legs, and an allergy dust mask that will filter the air before they breathe it. It is also advisable to purchase a HEPA vacuum, as this will filter out the allergens, rather than blowing it back into the room after you’ve vacuumed.

3. Keep your home’s air clean. A HEPA air cleaner, or use HEPA filters on your home’s air conditioning and heating vents. Filtering the air will help to lower the amount of cat allergen in the air.

4. Bathe your cat weekly. Yes, you read that right—try to bathe your cat once a week. This will not be easy, but bathing your cat at least once a week will help to lower the amount of cat allergen found on his/her fur, which helps to keep your house levels of cat allergen lower. Another option, if you’re worried about bathing your cat, would be to buy special pet wipes that help to clean the cat allergen off your cat’s fur. Again, it’s advisable to use the wipes at least once a week to help keep your kitty’s fur cleaner.

5. Create “safe” areas in your home where the cat’s not allowed. This goes along with the first tip—keep your cat out of your bedroom. You might be able to keep other areas of your home off limits to your kitty in order to keep allergic reactions to a minimum.

6. Seek treatment for your cat allergy. If these tips don’t bring relief, and you’re still having allergy and asthma symptoms, it’s time to visit your doctor for some additional assistance. Your doctor might decide to run some allergy tests to see how allergic you are to cat allergen. Along with allergy testing, your doctor might prescribe antihistamines and asthma medication to help with your cat allergy.

7. Remove all carpet and flooring that helps cat allergen to linger. Wood floors are good for those who have allergies. This type of flooring is easy to clean and maintain. Therefore, it won’t harbor cat allergens. It is usually recommended that wood floors should be dusted or vacuumed once a day.

8. If all else fails, it may be time to find your kitty a new home. This is hard, and should be kept as a last resort only.

Visiting a Home that has a Cat
You might find yourself visiting a home that has a cat; there are some steps you can take to keep yourself from having a major allergy and asthma attack:

1. Keep the kitty at a distance. It’s best to keep the cat at a distance, and not to let it sit in your lap, etc.

2. If you know, ahead of time, you will be in a home where there is a cat, it might be helpful if you pre-medicate with antihistamines and your emergency inhaler. Check with your doctor, first, to see if this is a good tip for you to try.

3. Ask for the cat to be removed from the room. Most hosts understand when someone has an allergy to their cat, and are willing to move their cat to another room for their visitor.

Following these tips may allow you and your family to keep your kitty, while cutting down on cat allergens and asthma trouble. The best advice is to do first use the easiest methods to control your cat allergy, and keep removing carpet and getting rid of your cat only as last resorts.