My Bestfriend

Cat lovers who have allergies involving cats such as hay fever and asthma do not necessarily have to deny themselves the pleasure of feline companionship forever. They can still deal with their allergies while living with the cats they love by practicing the following techniques on minimizing cat dander, the microscopic flakes of dried saliva on cats’ skin which cause allergy.

My cat loving friend, Shaun Olmstead, who used to sneeze at the mere sight of a cat, says that cat allergens need to be airborne and you need to breathe them in for you to have an allergic reaction to them. Cat allergen is very small so it remains suspended in the air longer. There is also a high rate of recontamination (because the cats are running around the house).

Below are some steps to decrease your cat allergies. They may never be able to eliminate your allergies entirely, but they can help minimize the symptoms.

No more cats sleeping on the bed. Better yet, Keep them out of the bedroom altogether. Sorry, this is a small price to pay for allergy relief. Close the bedroom door to try and keep the cat allergen down in the bedroom. Your bedroom should be a sanctuary free from allergens. So tempt your cats to sleep elsewhere.

Wash all beddings in 140-degree hot water at least twice monthly to eliminates both dust mite and cat allergen (because we know some of you will still let them sneak up on the bed every now and then).

Vacuum up cat allergen with a high grade vacuum cleaner twice weekly. Vacuum walls, carpet, flooring, chairs, and furniture…everywhere. Cat allergen particles are very small and invasive so you really have to do a thorough job. Good hand tools on your vacuum cleaner are the answer here. Also, installing a central vacuum will help pick up the rest.

Use a vapor steam cleaner to clean your home. In addition to vacuuming, vapor steam cleaners are now proven by research to be extremely helpful in killing off the cat proteins/dander, which are embedded in your carpets and upholstery. Steam cleaners provide a chemical-free way of cleaning and killing dust mites, bacteria, mold spores and cat allergen.

Wash your hands immediately after petting your cat and do not rub your eyes. Rubbing your eyes can result in itchy eyes for hours. Use a strong anti-bacterial soap to avoid this problem.

Clean your cat. Some people wash their cats to reduce the amount of cat allergen that is released from their cat into the air, but research seems to be conflicting about its effectiveness. Alternatively, you can get a micro fiber cloth and just damp rub down the cats’ coats to rid it of visible dander. The majority of cats would prefer this to the highly dreaded bath.

Confine your cats to one area of the house. I know this will be difficult for some people but this at least controls the cat allergens to a separate place where you can concentrate your air purifier and cleaning efforts.

You DO NOT have to get rid of your CAT! If you do a good job following these tips, your cat allergies should be significantly decreased. Keeping a cat when you have allergies takes a concerted effort, and is only for those who are nutty enough about their cats (like us), to go to all this trouble.

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