Adopting a Cat in spite of my allergy - Advice?

I apologize if this question is a FAQ but I need to move quickly on this cat and can't afford a few days or weeks to lurk.

An orange cat started living under the deck of my house about 2 weeks ago. In the past week it has become quite affectionate and we (my kids and I) are feeding it. The cat is a female, appears to be a year or two old. It must be a successful hunter since no one was feeding it until a few days ago. However, due to the very cold weather, she is very skinny. Yesterday I bought a bag of Iams and she's had two good meals and can expect many more as long as she's with us.

I would like to adopt this cat. However, I have been extremely allergic to cats all my life (hay fever-like symptoms, nasal, eye and throat swelling, severe itching). Is there some way I can adapt to having a cat in the house without triggering these reactions? Would the allergy decrease over time if I have regular contact with the cat outdoors? Would it be ok to keep the cat outside (not my preference, but if I can't beat the allergy problem, perhaps my best solution)?

Thanks in advance for your helpful answers.

Have you seen an allergist? I know there is a desensitization product produced by Bayer called Allpyral. It involves several injections of the cat allergen in varying doses over a number of weeks. However I think the success of this type of product may vary with individuals. Best to talk to a specialist allergist.

Leanne

* Sent from AltaVista http://www.altavista.com Where you can also find related Web Pages, Images, Audios, Videos, News, and Shopping. Smart is Beautiful

I agree about seeing an allergist. There is also a chance that you may build up an immunity to this particular cat after a few weeks without the necessity of allergy shots. (I did with mine...I'm also highly allergic, but managed to build up a tolerance for my own cat after 2-3 weeks. Still allergic to other ones, though.) In addition, there are products you can use on the cat that can help reduce the dander.

Your allergy would probably not decrease if your contact with her is strictly outdoors. You may want to try bringing the cat indoors, but limiting her access to just a few rooms until you see how you react. Until you build up a tolerance

Hi - my brother was allergic to cats - eyes watering, sneezing, runny nose and so on. When he first came to visit after we got cats, he was terrible, but after a couple of days the symptoms pretty well disappeared. Then next time, the symptoms came back again, but only for one day. Now he has no problems at all when he stays with us. I think with him he just gradually built up an immunity to them...hope it can work for you too.

Over here (UK) there is now an injection you can get from the doctor that lasts for 3 months which prevents you from getting the usual allergic reactions to animals that alot of people get.

It might be worth speaking to your local doctor or even rescue centre to find out if this is available and how good it would be for your condition. You will have to also remember, if you have carpets in your house, to hoover a few times a week as cat hairs on furniture and in carpets can trigger a reaction as well.

Hope it all goes okay for you.

I'm allergic to cats as well. I began desensitization (allergy) shots. It took a few months, but now I rarely get symptoms.

I have been getting the shots for 10 years, and now get a shot once a month for maintenance. Your health insurance should cover it.