{"id":3032,"date":"2014-06-05T15:21:11","date_gmt":"2014-06-05T20:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/?p=3032"},"modified":"2014-06-06T11:20:01","modified_gmt":"2014-06-06T16:20:01","slug":"how-i-live-with-my-cats-and-my-allergies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/?p=3032","title":{"rendered":"I Can Haz Kittehs? — How I Live with My Cats and My Allergies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Why would anyone who suffers from allergies want to live with a cat? Only because they are the fluffiest bestest coolest little vermin-killers in the world. Because every cute kitty is a lion at heart. Because you don’t need to get a “hybrid” — no cat is truly “tame.”<\/span><\/p>\n

There are more pragmatic reasons. You got a cat for your kid and then you developed an allergy. You don’t want your kid to hate you forever. He or she\"\"<\/a> definitely will, but it probably has nothing to do with the cat. Maybe you’ve met your soulmate, only she’s known the cat longer than she’s known you. Don’t make her choose. Perhaps a bundle of yapping cuteness followed you home and even though he makes you sneeze, you are in love. Some are born with both the cat-loving gene and the cat-allergy gene.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am one of them. That’s me. I live with both cats and allergies. I am not recruiting for this lifestyle. I am not advising anybody with allergy symptoms to try this at home. If you are an allergic person and you live with a cat and you die of asthma \u2013 which can really happen, don’t blame me. I am not a medical professional. I am not <\/strong>telling you what you <\/em>should do. I am telling you what I<\/em> do. These are also useful tips if you are nonallergic cat person who might have allergic friends visiting.<\/p>\n

Here are some basics. Products I use are mentioned. These are not \u201cpaid\u201d endorsements.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I have an <\/span>allergist <\/strong>\u2013 \tThis isn’t a DIY project. You need a doctor if you choose to do \tthis. If you don’t have decent insurance, forget it. If you have an \tHMO or a lousy plan which\"\"<\/a>doesn’t cover shots, you might need to \tfind a new job with a better plan. If you can’t afford your copay, don’t get a cat. Allergists, like most doctors, used to tell you to \tgive away your cats. This is because your allergies, even if minor, \tmight get worse over time. Then they realized no one would bother \twith immunotherapy (injections) if they didn’t love their pets, so \tnow they will only tell you not to get more pets, and to keep coming \tback for treatment. Shots are a big commitment \tbecause they won’t even start working for several months, and first \tyou’ll have to come every week. Then it’s every two weeks, and then \tevery month. After a few years, you can stop. But then you might \thave to come back. (I recently came back.) An allergist can also \twork with you on finding medications \u2013 both OTC and prescription \tthat can control your symptoms. I take a generic \tform of Singular which just about eliminates my main, and most \tdangerous symptom \u2013 wheezing. I have an \u201cemergency\u201d inhaler. I \ttake OTC antihistimines on occasion. There are lots of \u201cnon-drowsy\u201d \tchoices.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. I’m careful about \u201calternative\u201d \ttreatments<\/strong>. I have used accupuncture and Chinese herbs in the \tpast. These seemed helpful at the time, and are harmless in any \tcase. But some of what is labelled alternative is just plain \tdangerous. Ephedra, for example, is touted as a \u201cnatural\u201d asthma \ttreatment, but it can have dangerous side effects and using it \twithout treating the underlying cause of the asthma \u2013 your cat \tallergies \u2013 won’t \u201ccure\u201d you and is not a long-term solution. \tWhile Western medicine may not have all the answers, in this case, \tat this time, the treatments are pretty good and pretty safe.<\/li>\n
  3. The bedroom <\/strong>\u2013 Allergists \twill tell you to keep the cat(s) out of the room where you sleep. \tThat’s good advice, but it sort of defeats the point of having a cat \tand it might not work if , like me, you live in small space. I make \tsure to change the sheets at least once a week, and follow other \thousekeeping rules (See below.)<\/li>\n
  4. Housekeeping<\/strong> \u2013 Cats lick \tthemselves. The saliva has the protein to which you are allergic. It \tgets in the air and crystalizes. Therefore \u2013 linens should be \tchanged at least once a\"\"<\/a> week. I have a Miele <\/a>vacuum (that has a micro-filter and doesn’t blowback the air. \tRugs and carpets? I got rid of them! They are dander traps! Just the \tworst. I clean my floors (vinegar and water combo works great on \talmost everything) at least once a week. There are also products one \tcan find (google)<\/a> that may be helpful. And those sticky rolly things \tto clean lint from your clothes? Very useful to have around.<\/li>\n
  5. Air purifiers and filters <\/strong> \u2013 In theory these are helpful. I like mine<\/a>, but I rarely use it. \tThe problem is it doesn’t work so well if windows or doors open, so \tthey are mostly useful in a closed room with closed windows. We have \troom (not central) air conditioning and it’s important to change the \tfilters at the start of every air-conditioning season. The AC filter \thelps enormously especially as I also have hayfever. What doesn’t \thelp? Anything that claims to \u201cclean\u201d the air by charging ions \talone and doesn’t have a filter. Do not waste your money. They are \tdebunked.<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Cat litter <\/strong>\u2013 It must be \tlovely if you can get a loved one to deal with that! It’s also smart \tto go with something relatively low-tracking and dust free. I’ve \trecently switched to paper pellets<\/a>, which serves the purpose.<\/li>\n
  7. Cat Baths <\/strong>\u2013 Allergists \trecommend bathing your cat twice a week. Cat baths, how to, are a \twhole other post that I haven’t yet written. I can tell you from \texperience that two out of three cats won’t believe you are trying \tto murder them, but none of them will enjoy the experience. You will \tbe forgiven quickly however, especially if treats follow. Do not \timmerse your cat in water. Better to pour water on them, but they \tstill won’t like it. Make sure the shampoos is safe for kitties and doesn’t contain chemicals. The problem with bathing the cats, is that they \tgroom themselves a lot after, getting the saliva back on them which \tkind of defeats the purpose.<\/li>\n
  8. Cat Wipes<\/strong> If bathing the \tcat seems daunting and\/or there’s simply no way you are doing it as \tfrequently as recommended, cat wipes<\/a> can work. Look for ones that \tdon’t seem too toxic and look for bargains. (I just got a year’s \tsupply to save on shipping). Cats tolerate it more easily than \tbathing. At this point, I rarely bath them, but do the wipes at \tleast twice a week.<\/li>\n
  9. Brushy <\/strong>\u2013 My oldest cat \tloves \u201cbrushy.\u201d The others, not so much. Brushing or combing \tbefore the wipe down to catch loose hair helps the allergic and \thelps prevent hairballs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\"<\/a>Yes, this does sound like a lot of work. The reality is it’s mostly basic stuff we should all do allergies or not. The shots are a pain, but after a while, it’s only once a month. It’s not that much work and the result is I get to have cats.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Again, I am not recommended anyone do anything. Also this was written for consenting adults with allergies. Not kids. If your kid is allergic, I got nothing. I know parting a child from his pets \u2013 even for his own safety \u2013 will break his heart, and parting a child from his pets because of the allergies of another child in the household may cause lifelong resentment, but kids die from asthma and may keep symptoms a secret, so if your kid is the one with the allergies, it might be better to re-home the pet. Lifelong resentment is better than no life at all. Talk to a doctor.<\/p>\n

    (My fiction has nothing to do with my cats, but if you found this post helpful, please check out my books.<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Why would anyone who suffers from allergies want to live with a cat? Only because they are the fluffiest bestest coolest little vermin-killers in the world. Because every cute kitty is a lion at heart. Because you don’t need to get a “hybrid” — no cat is truly “tame.” There are more pragmatic reasons. You … Continue reading I Can Haz Kittehs? — How I Live with My Cats and My Allergies<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[55,36],"tags":[975,972,970,974,973,971],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3032"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3032"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3044,"href":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3032\/revisions\/3044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marioninnyc.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}