Cats and allergies: how to coexist

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Unfortunately about one fifth of people suffer from allergies, and many of those people are also allergic to cats. For many years it was thought that humans with cat allergies were reacting to cat hair, but scientific studies have since discovered that the major allergen involved in allergies to cats is actually the dander, or more specifically, a protein called Fel d 1. Fel d 1 is present in saliva, sebaceous (oil) glands, anal glands, and many internal tissues in cats.

The major cat allergen is extremely small, and is actually airborne in undisturbed rooms; it travels on air currents within the home. In other words, this allergen is not airborne only after dusting or vacuuming in a specific area, but rather it is airborne all the time. Previously it was hypothesized that cats spread the allergen over their coats with their meticulous grooming behavior, but that theory has since been disproved. The skin is actually the most significant source of Fel d 1 and there are particular anatomical areas on cats where the skin has larger concentrations of sebaceous glands: these areas are the most potent sources of the Fel d 1 protein. These regions are the face, under the chin, the back, and the back area at the base of the tail. Large concentrations of Fel d 1 are found in cat anal gland secretions as well, which means that cat feces are very allergenic.

So, what can you do if you are allergic to your cat? (Aside from going through a multitude of tissues!)

Ensure that you are actually allergic to cats: there are many potent allergens that cause allergic symptoms, so don't jump to conclusions! See your doctor and your allergist, and have yourself tested to confirm your suspicions.

Clean up after playing with your cat: wash your hands immediately after playing with and petting your cat. Do not touch your eyes, face, or clothes until you have washed with regular soap and water. This effectively removes major cat allergen and will prevent easily avoidable allergic reactions.

If you have been cuddling with your cat, it may be a wise idea to change clothes rather than carry cat allergen into other areas of the home, and risk exposing yourself to high concentrations of allergen. An alternative to changing your clothes, is to have a tight-weave house robe handy that can be thrown on overtop of your clothes and is used for close interactions with your cat. As soon as your close contact quality time has finished, throw the house robe into the washing machine so that it will be ready for its next use.

Consider small renovations and redecorating your home! Carpeted flooring traps cat allergens and the dander becomes embedded in them. Homes that are carpeted have been documented to contain much higher levels of cat allergens. Consider re-flooring with hardwood or vinyl flooring that will be easy to clean and will not trap cat dander. Avoid using area rugs on hard floors, because similarly to carpeting, rugs will trap large amounts of cat allergen. Drape window treatments should be avoided for the same reason as carpets and area rugs. Blinds and window shades that are easy to clean at home are a much better option, but beware of small slatted blinds: these can be very tricky to clean thoroughly, and may not be the best option despite their popularity in many homes!

Furniture can be a major source of cat allergens as well. Unfortunately, the best type of furniture for allergic cat owners is the kind that can be easily wiped down. This may create a rather minimalist, futuristic kind of appearance in the home, but other allergy-friendly options include leather furniture, or furniture with removable upholstery that can be easily washed and has a tight fabric weave that won't trap cat hair and dander in it. If small decorative pillows and blankets are used on couches at home, the same principles should apply to them, and they should be washed frequently.

People with cat allergies should avoid having lots of knick knacks around their homes; they collect dust and dander, and are difficult to clean. Decorations and wall hangings should not be made of fabric. Paint walls with high quality semi-gloss paint that will facilitate effective and easy cleaning.

HEPA air filters are essential for people with cat allergies (HEPA filters = high efficiency particulate air filters). HEPA filters trap particulate matter that is airborne, such as virus particles, allergens, etc. Place a HEPA filter/purifier in the rooms of your house that your cat frequents the most, and use a HEPA vacuum cleaner. Vacuum frequently, at least twice weekly if possible. Have a vacuum with an excellent set of hand tools so that you can easily clean floors, walls, furniture, windows, doorway ledges, and all other nooks and crannies thoroughly. If possible, have someone other than the allergic family member do the household cleaning. Alternatively, if the person with cat allergies must do the cleaning, ensure use of a mask and goggles.

Improve ventilation in your home. Many newer homes are very 'airtight' in order to be more energy efficient. Unfortunately, this means that they are also more efficient at trapping cat allergens, particularly in the winter time, when there is less air circulation altogether. The easiest way to improve air circulation in your home and to try and decrease the amount of cat allergens building up, is to open windows and create a cross-breeze in the home. Even in the winter time, this may be one of the best solutions available to allergic cat owners, despite the monetary and environmental inefficiency this will create in heating the home.

Air vents for heating and air conditioning are potent sources of collected particulate matter, and when the air systems are turned on, they effectively distribute the particulate matter and allergens into the home. Hire a commercial cleaning company to clean your air vents at least twice per year. Purchase disposable air-vent filters that can be placed within all of the air vent filtration grates.

Steam cleaning: in addition to vacuuming and laundering fabrics, for the areas in your home that do have carpeting, upholstered furniture, and drapery, steam cleaning is an excellent method of chemical free cleaning that denatures allergenic proteins, and kills bacteria and mold spores.

It is widely advocated that for owners who are allergic, they keep their cats out of their bedrooms altogether. This is a personal decision, and is certainly less extreme than keeping the cat outside of the house, which is what many allergists and family doctors will recommend. Irrespective of your decision about allowing your cat in the bedroom or not, it is important to cleaning bedding frequently (ie. at least once weekly), and to try and minimize the buildup of allergens in the bed. Also wash decorative pillows if any are used. Purchase bed mattress and pillow covers that are designed to keep out dust mite allergens. Decreasing overall exposure to all allergies will help with managing cat allergies, but these allergy control products will also help decrease exposure to cat allergens. Purchase the smallest possible fabric weave since Fel d 1 is a very small particle. Use bed linens that have a very tight weave and that can tolerate frequent machine washings.

Use a low dust cat litter type, and ideally have someone other than the allergic person cleaning the litter box. If the person with allergies must do the cleaning, use a mask while doing so.

Cleaning you cat: studies have demonstrated that soaking your cat in tap water for 3 minutes significantly decreases the amount of cat dander present on your cat. Cats can easily be trained to tolerate gentle bathing, and studies have also shown that you must bathe your cat a minimum of once weekly to derive any actual benefit from it. Generally, it is suggested that twice weekly washings are more beneficial. The same precautions with bathing your cat must be taken as with bathing infants, and similarly, an infant tub or the kitchen sink may be used for this procedure. A gentle, hypoallergenic shampoo may be used, but is not necessary.

Allerpet C: this product has questionable efficacy, but can be tried if bathing your cat has not been a successful endeavor. Some owners find this product to be useful and others do not note any difference in allergy levels.

Medical Interventions:

Note: This information is only meant to provide you with a general overview about how many allergy sufferers manage to live with their allergies. It is not meant to replace information that should be sought out from your family physician or allergist, and it is highly recommended that you do visit your doctor to discuss your treatment options.

Symptomatic relief of skin reactions (urticaria), allergic rhinitis (nasal congestion and sneezing) and conjunctivitis (eye redness, pain, and itching) can be sought with antihistamines, decongestants, intranasal glucocorticoids, and nasal cromolyn (by prescription only in Canada). Asthma needs to be controlled via inhalant glucocorticoids, and 'rescue' inhalers that use beta-adrenergic pharmaceuticals to help dilate and relax airways that are inflamed. Immunotherapy can be used to help desensitize the immune system specifically to cat allergens and typically involves weekly injections. Many people find that immunotherapy helps decrease the frequency and severity of their clinical symptoms. Omega 3 fatty acid nutritional supplements can be a natural method of decreasing overall inflammatory processes in the body, and provide many systemic health benefits.

Things to remember:

1) Many people gradually build up a tolerance to the specific cat(s) that they are living with, and although this process can take months, it may be well worth waiting it out before assuming that drastic household and lifestyle changes will need to be made.

2) Your cat does not need to be given up: modern medicine, technology, and simple measures that can be implemented in your house can effectively manage your cat allergies and make them quite tolerable. Many cats that are surrendered to shelters end up getting euthanized rather than re-homed because, sadly, there is such a surplus of unwanted kitties in North America.

3) While there are cat breeds that are considered to be less allergenic than others, you need to consider carefully the advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a pedigreed cat:

Pedigreed cats are more prone to health problems due to their restricted gene pool; out of the various breeds of cats that are considered to be less allergenic than others, Siberian and Maine coon cats are likely the least 'unhealthy' of these breeds. Sphynx and rex cats are extremely unhealthy, generally speaking, and they frequently suffer poor quality of life due to their physical ailments. Additionally, they tend to be very expensive pets to keep because they require so much veterinary care. For anyone considering purchasing a pure bred cat, pet insurance is highly advisable since there is a high probability that larger veterinary bills will be incurred in the future.

There are many cats available in shelters that may be just as 'hypoallergenic' as pedigreed cats, and shelter cats are in desperate need of loving homes.

To read more of Dr. Ko's articles, please visit http://www.catdoctorko.com/

The information provided in this article is for educational reference purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for the advice and care of your veterinarian, nor medical diagnoses or treatments. All questions regarding your cat's health should be discussed with your veterinarian.

Dr. Ko is a passionate believer in the importance of preventative medicine and educating cat owners about its benefits for their cats. It was this ideal which was the motivation for the creation of the Dr. Ko website.

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