Getting a Cat
lalow
My kids want a cat. I love cats, especially big friendly ones. We have 3 dogs in the house right now. I love dogs too. I would go get the kids a cat today except for my son Ben's allergies. Ben has lots of food allergies and when he was 2 we had him tested for all kinds of allergies to find out what was causing him to break out in hives all the time. He tested positive at that time for many different foods and cats. We had a cat at that time but when we moved we left the cat with a friend. We never really noticed a reaction in particular to the cat.
When Ben was four we had him retested for the main foods and cats. He was still very allergic according to the skin pric test. He is 8 now. He remembers the test from when he was four and has declined being tested again as he said it really hurt. He has been around cats at friends houses, pets them, plays with them and has had itchy eyes around them on some occasions but mostly not. They (all my kids, Ben included) have been begging for a cat and quite honestly I am at a loss. I would just hate to get one and then have to give it back away due to his allergies being bad. Ben loves animals and he really cant leave them alone so he will play with it. I wouldnt want him to ever feel it was his fault but I am afraid at 8 it would be difficult not to feel that way. Any ideas?
When Ben was four we had him retested for the main foods and cats. He was still very allergic according to the skin pric test. He is 8 now. He remembers the test from when he was four and has declined being tested again as he said it really hurt. He has been around cats at friends houses, pets them, plays with them and has had itchy eyes around them on some occasions but mostly not. They (all my kids, Ben included) have been begging for a cat and quite honestly I am at a loss. I would just hate to get one and then have to give it back away due to his allergies being bad. Ben loves animals and he really cant leave them alone so he will play with it. I wouldnt want him to ever feel it was his fault but I am afraid at 8 it would be difficult not to feel that way. Any ideas?
Joyce Fetteroll
On Feb 13, 2011, at 6:48 AM, lalow wrote:
without cats for 6 months of Kathryn's 19 years. We sniffle a lot at
home ;-)
I find not touching my eyes helps. I've learned to scratch an itch
near my eye with the ear piece of my glasses or the inside of my shirt
collar or sleeve (or any place that isn't likely to have dander.) We
keep our bedroom shut so it's free of cat hair. But Kathryn's always
let them sleep with her and hasn't had problems.
Obviously there are degrees of allergy but if the allergy isn't severe
it's possible to live with it.
You could offer to foster cats from the local shelter or explain that
he might be allergic and ask them for a trail cat ;-) We've done the
mom and kittens fostering. Most people fear it will be hard to let
them go but as much as Kathryn looooves cats she never found it hard
to part with them. After you've had cactuses hurling themselves at
your legs several times a day for 3 or 4 weeks and using your legs as
trees to climb you're kinda done and it's easier to resist the 6 week
age when they're finally at that really cute stage ;-) (I didn't find
I was bothered by kitten dander so that's not a good test.)
If you do adopt, I'd strongly suggest an adult cat from a shelter.
We'd definitely not do kittens again because you can't know their
personalities. Kathryn adores holding cats and ours just dislike being
picked up. They'll sit on laps. Snuggle up against you. Love to be
petted. But the one thing Kathryn really wanted was to be able to
carry them around and they haven't given in in 10 years ;-) We worked
at the local shelter and there were loads of wonderful adult cats that
came through there.
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> He has been around cats at friends houses, pets them, plays withMy husband and I and Kathryn are all allergic but we've only been
> them and has had itchy eyes around them on some occasions but mostly
> not.
without cats for 6 months of Kathryn's 19 years. We sniffle a lot at
home ;-)
I find not touching my eyes helps. I've learned to scratch an itch
near my eye with the ear piece of my glasses or the inside of my shirt
collar or sleeve (or any place that isn't likely to have dander.) We
keep our bedroom shut so it's free of cat hair. But Kathryn's always
let them sleep with her and hasn't had problems.
Obviously there are degrees of allergy but if the allergy isn't severe
it's possible to live with it.
You could offer to foster cats from the local shelter or explain that
he might be allergic and ask them for a trail cat ;-) We've done the
mom and kittens fostering. Most people fear it will be hard to let
them go but as much as Kathryn looooves cats she never found it hard
to part with them. After you've had cactuses hurling themselves at
your legs several times a day for 3 or 4 weeks and using your legs as
trees to climb you're kinda done and it's easier to resist the 6 week
age when they're finally at that really cute stage ;-) (I didn't find
I was bothered by kitten dander so that's not a good test.)
If you do adopt, I'd strongly suggest an adult cat from a shelter.
We'd definitely not do kittens again because you can't know their
personalities. Kathryn adores holding cats and ours just dislike being
picked up. They'll sit on laps. Snuggle up against you. Love to be
petted. But the one thing Kathryn really wanted was to be able to
carry them around and they haven't given in in 10 years ;-) We worked
at the local shelter and there were loads of wonderful adult cats that
came through there.
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Tina Tarbutton
My partner and I are both allergic to cats, and we have 5 of them. I'm
mainly allergic if it gets on my face, so I make it a point to flip my
pillows over to their backs when I get up, that way cats laying on the
pillows don't bother me.
When we notice they're shedding a lot, we bathe them, which helps. We end
up washing our blankets and pillow cases more often (and changing the sheets
regularly), but not a major deal.
We keep allergy pills around for times when we don't do the upkeep well
enough. We don't use them often, but we have found that some don't work as
well as others for us. It's a trial and error kind of thing. We've found
that if a lot of them decide to sleep with us one night, cracking the window
helps with the allergies.
We've kind of trained the cats (can you train cats?) not to sleep near my
face. That helped too.
Tina
mainly allergic if it gets on my face, so I make it a point to flip my
pillows over to their backs when I get up, that way cats laying on the
pillows don't bother me.
When we notice they're shedding a lot, we bathe them, which helps. We end
up washing our blankets and pillow cases more often (and changing the sheets
regularly), but not a major deal.
We keep allergy pills around for times when we don't do the upkeep well
enough. We don't use them often, but we have found that some don't work as
well as others for us. It's a trial and error kind of thing. We've found
that if a lot of them decide to sleep with us one night, cracking the window
helps with the allergies.
We've kind of trained the cats (can you train cats?) not to sleep near my
face. That helped too.
Tina
On Sun, Feb 13, 2011 at 6:48 AM, lalow <lalougor@...> wrote:
>
>
> My kids want a cat. I love cats, especially big friendly ones. We have 3
> dogs in the house right now. I love dogs too. I would go get the kids a cat
> today except for my son Ben's allergies. Ben has lots of food allergies and
> when he was 2 we had him tested for all kinds of allergies to find out what
> was causing him to break out in hives all the time. He tested positive at
> that time for many different foods and cats. We had a cat at that time but
> when we moved we left the cat with a friend. We never really noticed a
> reaction in particular to the cat.
> When Ben was four we had him retested for the main foods and cats. He was
> still very allergic according to the skin pric test. He is 8 now. He
> remembers the test from when he was four and has declined being tested again
> as he said it really hurt. He has been around cats at friends houses, pets
> them, plays with them and has had itchy eyes around them on some occasions
> but mostly not. They (all my kids, Ben included) have been begging for a cat
> and quite honestly I am at a loss. I would just hate to get one and then
> have to give it back away due to his allergies being bad. Ben loves animals
> and he really cant leave them alone so he will play with it. I wouldnt want
> him to ever feel it was his fault but I am afraid at 8 it would be difficult
> not to feel that way. Any ideas?
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
I suggest you contact a rescue group that needs foster homes and find a cat that
you can foster with a possibility to adopt.
If it goes well you keep the cat. That way you can see how it will go.
First talk to your kids about it . Tell them it will be just fostering to see if
the cat works with the dogs and allergies in the house.
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
you can foster with a possibility to adopt.
If it goes well you keep the cat. That way you can see how it will go.
First talk to your kids about it . Tell them it will be just fostering to see if
the cat works with the dogs and allergies in the house.
Alex Polikowsky
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
lalow
Thanks for the ideas, I am going to check into fostering a cat. I will talk to the kids about it and see if they like the idea but I found a local agency that we could work through. I think an older cat would be a great fit for us. Thanks,
Laura
Laura
--- In [email protected], BRIAN POLIKOWSKY <polykowholsteins@...> wrote:
>
> I suggest you contact a rescue group that needs foster homes and find a cat that
> you can foster with a possibility to adopt.
> If it goes well you keep the cat. That way you can see how it will go.
> First talk to your kids about it . Tell them it will be just fostering to see if
> the cat works with the dogs and allergies in the house.
>
>
> Alex Polikowsky
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
Alex
2 quick things to know: kittens have more dander. They're more allergenic.
My husband's cat allergies got worse after he didn't have cats for a few years. Maybe partially because we got kittens. They were Cornish Rexes though who are supposed to be less allergenic. We gave them up after a week because he was wheezing. The dr said they could give him an inhaler for the allergy-induced asthma but after a while he would always have asthma for the rest of his life, whether he gave the cats up or not. That seemed potentially life-threatening, and especially bad as he was an endurance athlete, so we gave up.
I do think fostering is a good idea. Good luck!
Alex N.
My husband's cat allergies got worse after he didn't have cats for a few years. Maybe partially because we got kittens. They were Cornish Rexes though who are supposed to be less allergenic. We gave them up after a week because he was wheezing. The dr said they could give him an inhaler for the allergy-induced asthma but after a while he would always have asthma for the rest of his life, whether he gave the cats up or not. That seemed potentially life-threatening, and especially bad as he was an endurance athlete, so we gave up.
I do think fostering is a good idea. Good luck!
Alex N.
Jennifer Schuelein
My son and I are both slightly allergic to cats, but we have 5 cats. I don't ever touch my eyes after touching a kitty and it works really well. Also, lots of older cats are in such need of love! It sounds like an older cat would fit in with you guys if you do decide to adopt. I would also suggest fostering. Fostering is an amazing feeling and setting up kitties for lovely forever homes is very rewarding. Please keep us updated!
Jennifer
Jennifer
--- In [email protected], "Alex" <missalexmissalex@...> wrote:
>
> 2 quick things to know: kittens have more dander. They're more allergenic.
>
> My husband's cat allergies got worse after he didn't have cats for a few years. Maybe partially because we got kittens. They were Cornish Rexes though who are supposed to be less allergenic. We gave them up after a week because he was wheezing. The dr said they could give him an inhaler for the allergy-induced asthma but after a while he would always have asthma for the rest of his life, whether he gave the cats up or not. That seemed potentially life-threatening, and especially bad as he was an endurance athlete, so we gave up.
>
> I do think fostering is a good idea. Good luck!
>
> Alex N.
>
Dicie_B
Hello,
What kind of dogs do you have at your house? And do any of them have a "prey drive" a natural interest in chasing things that move like squirrels, birds, bicycles. This will make a VERY big difference in your search for a cat. In many instances you can end up with cats and dogs sprinting through your house for a while.
Also, I have a friend with a border collie who I swear has cat OCD! Her dog does not chase the cats and just stalks after them slowly and sits and watches them. The cats are fine with this as she does not chase. However, for the dog....she will not eat or drink when there is a cat around that she might get the chance to stare at....she will not eat/drink or do anything except stalk and stare for days until she is removed from the presence of the cat.
If one of your dogs has a strong "prey drive" to chase then I would advise caution in getting a cat as multiple dogs will excite and feed off the energy of one another and a cat can accidentally get hurt. You should also make sure that the cat has escape routes where they can get away from the good natured dogs if they want. I understand the dogs are just playing. I often find that a ledge/shelf or a tall cat tree that the dogs can't reach or tip over works well. Many large dogs can still get a good portion of their front bodies wedged under a bed. My cats mostly end up trying to get on top of the highest reachable advantage point anyways.
I know many people who have cat reactions that they decide they can live with, and often they adjust to their cat. My husband also uses a naturopath who works in allergy or provocation neutralization for his non food based allergic reactions. So far this has proven very helpful. This might be helpful for cats allergies.
If you happen to live in the Seattle area:
I would look to Pasado's Safe Haven for help in finding the right dog savvy cat. They may also be able to steer you towards someone in your area.
http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/
For Seattle area allergy provocation (allergy) neutralization, there is Jennifer Lush ND.
http://jenniferlushnd.com/
Good Luck and have fun, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
What kind of dogs do you have at your house? And do any of them have a "prey drive" a natural interest in chasing things that move like squirrels, birds, bicycles. This will make a VERY big difference in your search for a cat. In many instances you can end up with cats and dogs sprinting through your house for a while.
Also, I have a friend with a border collie who I swear has cat OCD! Her dog does not chase the cats and just stalks after them slowly and sits and watches them. The cats are fine with this as she does not chase. However, for the dog....she will not eat or drink when there is a cat around that she might get the chance to stare at....she will not eat/drink or do anything except stalk and stare for days until she is removed from the presence of the cat.
If one of your dogs has a strong "prey drive" to chase then I would advise caution in getting a cat as multiple dogs will excite and feed off the energy of one another and a cat can accidentally get hurt. You should also make sure that the cat has escape routes where they can get away from the good natured dogs if they want. I understand the dogs are just playing. I often find that a ledge/shelf or a tall cat tree that the dogs can't reach or tip over works well. Many large dogs can still get a good portion of their front bodies wedged under a bed. My cats mostly end up trying to get on top of the highest reachable advantage point anyways.
I know many people who have cat reactions that they decide they can live with, and often they adjust to their cat. My husband also uses a naturopath who works in allergy or provocation neutralization for his non food based allergic reactions. So far this has proven very helpful. This might be helpful for cats allergies.
If you happen to live in the Seattle area:
I would look to Pasado's Safe Haven for help in finding the right dog savvy cat. They may also be able to steer you towards someone in your area.
http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/
For Seattle area allergy provocation (allergy) neutralization, there is Jennifer Lush ND.
http://jenniferlushnd.com/
Good Luck and have fun, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
--- In [email protected], "lalow" <lalougor@...> wrote:
>
> My kids want a cat. I love cats, especially big friendly ones. We have 3 dogs in the house right now. I love dogs too. I would go get the kids a cat today except for my son Ben's allergies. Ben has lots of food allergies and when he was 2 we had him tested for all kinds of allergies to find out what was causing him to break out in hives all the time. He tested positive at that time for many different foods and cats. We had a cat at that time but when we moved we left the cat with a friend. We never really noticed a reaction in particular to the cat.
> When Ben was four we had him retested for the main foods and cats. He was still very allergic according to the skin pric test. He is 8 now. He remembers the test from when he was four and has declined being tested again as he said it really hurt. He has been around cats at friends houses, pets them, plays with them and has had itchy eyes around them on some occasions but mostly not. They (all my kids, Ben included) have been begging for a cat and quite honestly I am at a loss. I would just hate to get one and then have to give it back away due to his allergies being bad. Ben loves animals and he really cant leave them alone so he will play with it. I wouldnt want him to ever feel it was his fault but I am afraid at 8 it would be difficult not to feel that way. Any ideas?
>
Gwen Montoya
We volunteer at a no-kill cat shelter. The cats roam free and don't live in
cages. Our official job is to "socialize cats" - it is rough work playing
with cats for a couple hours a week. :-)
My oldest daughter loves animals, but my husband is fairly allergic to them
and my girls are less so. Getting another cat isn't a possibility right now,
so volunteering works really well for us. We get our kitten fix as well as
the chance to snuggle with older cats. Not all the cats are friendly, so I
carry anti-itch cream in my purse (along with band-aids). We've been going
for over two years now and Megan has only been scratched a couple of times.
I did have to inquire at several places about volunteering with young
children - Megan was seven when we started and Zoe was about two when we
started.
Gwen
cages. Our official job is to "socialize cats" - it is rough work playing
with cats for a couple hours a week. :-)
My oldest daughter loves animals, but my husband is fairly allergic to them
and my girls are less so. Getting another cat isn't a possibility right now,
so volunteering works really well for us. We get our kitten fix as well as
the chance to snuggle with older cats. Not all the cats are friendly, so I
carry anti-itch cream in my purse (along with band-aids). We've been going
for over two years now and Megan has only been scratched a couple of times.
I did have to inquire at several places about volunteering with young
children - Megan was seven when we started and Zoe was about two when we
started.
Gwen
On Sun, Feb 13, 2011 at 3:48 AM, lalow <lalougor@...> wrote:
>
>
> My kids want a cat. I love cats, especially big friendly ones. We have 3
> dogs in the house right now. I love dogs too. I would go get the kids a cat
> today except for my son Ben's allergies. Ben has lots of food allergies and
> when he was 2 we had him tested for all kinds of allergies to find out what
> was causing him to break out in hives all the time. He tested positive at
> that time for many different foods and cats. We had a cat at that time but
> when we moved we left the cat with a friend. We never really noticed a
> reaction in particular to the cat.
> When Ben was four we had him retested for the main foods and cats. He was
> still very allergic according to the skin pric test. He is 8 now. He
> remembers the test from when he was four and has declined being tested again
> as he said it really hurt. He has been around cats at friends houses, pets
> them, plays with them and has had itchy eyes around them on some occasions
> but mostly not. They (all my kids, Ben included) have been begging for a cat
> and quite honestly I am at a loss. I would just hate to get one and then
> have to give it back away due to his allergies being bad. Ben loves animals
> and he really cant leave them alone so he will play with it. I wouldnt want
> him to ever feel it was his fault but I am afraid at 8 it would be difficult
> not to feel that way. Any ideas?
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]