If you read my last blog, you probably got the picture that Aurelia and Walt are now besties in our house. She is obsessed with him, and even gets jealous of attention he gives to me. And he loves his cat, gives her toys, cat grass, and special petting sessions at the end of his long days.
My Boyfriend Has Bad Cat Allergies
But… there is a huge catch here: he is really allergic to cats!!! He gets itchy, watery eyes, sneeze attacks, and even sometimes red skin on his hands from them. The whole bundle of symptoms. He really suffers if his allergies get triggered and go un-checked. But yet, they maintain one of the most special relationship of cat-and-owner pairs I’ve seen yet.
If you are wondering how to work it out with a cat and a cat-allergic boyfriend, then this blog is for you!
The American College of Asthma, Allergy, and Immunology describes cat allergy symptoms as exactly what Walt gets: sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, a skin rash (hives), and the eye symptoms: watery, red, or itchy eyes. The sneezing and hives are a bit concerning to me as a medical professional, because if it progressed to breathing trouble, or wheezing, it could lead to asthma attacks. Asthma attacks are serious. They can send people to the hospital, and require intense medical treatment. So if someone gets those symptoms, in my opinion that is the time to think about removing the cat, if the cat is truly is the cause. I so hope no one in our house ever develops an asthma-type reaction, to anything really. But if we do, that is when I would make the call to consider re-homing Ariel and Aurelia. Because it’s just not worth the risk!!
Well, thankfully Walt just suffers the allergies to cats. (I probably shouldn’t say just, because it’s miserable for him, but from my point of view at least it’s not asthma.) And unfortunately he’s not alone. And according to WebMD, 10% of Americans suffer pet allergies, with twice as many people allergic to cats than to dogs. Allergies to your favorite furry are no fun, but there are several things we do to stop them for Walt, that might be some tips to make it work for your boyfriend and cat too!
5 Tips To Make It Work
1. Air purifiers. We run air purifiers a lot!! Especially in the bedroom. When I was searching for good air purifiers for pets, there were so many on the market it was crazy. And they get expensive! It was hard to decide what kind to get, what size to get, and what was going to work long term. I honestly spent hours and hours reading reviews, and finally decided on one with a disposable HEPA filter option (see Elle’s List). We’ve been pretty happy with our choice, and even use the highest setting as a noise machine sometimes.
Another way we have found to purify the air was unexpected. Walt actually noticed the biggest difference from this: our house dehumidifier! Now I know nothing about the research on this so take it as just one family’s opinion, but we have noticed our dehumidifier works to not only get rid of smells (I used to keep it in the bathroom), but also to make the house less “sneezy.” It seems to work for my seasonal allergies too, which is a huge plus! Walt really notices when he comes home after I’ve had it running for a few hours. Not that I would recommend buying one just for your boyfriend’s cat allergies, but if you use one for a different reason try putting it in your main room too!
2. Vacuuming a lot. Yes, even the cat if they like it. I think this one doesn’t require an explanation haha, but just encouragement to keep doing it. And to do the filter changes (which I only started doing since Walt came into our lives, so don’t feel judged if you haven’t been.) My tip here is to invest in a good one, that has a HEPA filter option.
3. Brushing the cats is my third tip to help alleviate cat allergies for your boyfriend. Brush every couple of days, and even have them groomed or trim fur if you need to. Brushing makes a huge difference for the cat hair and dander in a house. If you have long-haired cats you already know the fur situation requires a lot of up-keep! I would love to get ours groomed regularly, but the last time Ariel was groomed, the poor woman’s arms were literally covered in scratches after her appointment. And when Aurelia gets a bath, she acts like it is the end of her life, and gets so stressed out she starts shaking. So, I haven’t even bothered to try with her. My workaround (and budget tip) is this: do a (careful) quick trim with a pair of scissors every other month or so. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just the extra fur they don’t necessarily need. It makes a huge difference in the cat-hair situation, and the cats avoid the stress of thinking they’re being eaten or drowned.
4. Allergy medications. Now I’m not going to recommend any specific allergy medication or drug to you, but I will say your boyfriend should absolutely see your doctor, talk about the cat allergies, and what might be right for him. Walt takes a daily allergy pill, and it works wonders! If he forgets, all it takes is one pet of Aurelia and he is reminded to… not forget haha. So, I recommend finding out what works for your boyfriend’s cat allergies, and keeping it around the house if you can.
5. Wash your hands. All it takes is one movement of his hand to rub his eyes, or touch his face, and bam-allergy attack!! It’s hard, because it’s an instinct to touch our face for different reasons. But if Walt washes his hands after touching a cat, it actually won’t trigger it as bad, or at all. So, my cheapest recommendation in this blog is for your boyfriend to wash his hands after touching the cat…and be nice to him and wash yours too 🙂
Walt really gets a lot of credit for being willing to try living with cats considering his allergies. It would have been absolutely fair for him to call the cats a hard no due to his health, but he didn’t! He gave it a chance, and not only dealt with his own allergy symptoms but also put in the effort to make it work, which I give him so much respect for! On my side, I keep the perspective that people and pets do need to be a good fit, and am ultimately willing re-home our cats if it is the best thing for the family. But, with both of us being willing to accommodate eachother’s opinions and needs around the cats, we have a great working system. And look at the beautiful friendship that came out of it! If it can work for us, with a little willingness on both sides, it can work for you too!
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