Calling all cat and medical experts

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slavejali -> Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 4:56:44 PM)
Hi all you cat lovers out there, Well Master got me this little kitten...well he didnt exactly give it to me. We were going to give it away to a friend for Christmas, anyways we went and picked it up yesterday. The reason we were going to give it away is beause I'm allergic to cats. I'm so allergic, I've ended up in hospital from it.Basically I've learned to just stay away from cats, don't expose myself to them etc..so I have been allergy free for years and years, probably decades. So, we picked it up yesterday and I couldn't help it, I've fallen in love with it overnight. I've had it sitting on my lap and near my face and played with it heaps and not a sneeze or wheeze in sight. So Master said...I can keep it. Anyways..my question is... I'm so in love with this kitten, its a birman, if anyone knows that breed. Do they have different fur than other cats, so I might actually not be allergic to it? Do you think 20 hours spent with the cat is long enough to tell if I was going to be allergic? Like in two days it wont suddenly hit me will it? I really want to keep it so badly, my heart is all tied up in it, yet if I'm going to end up allergic, I don't want to break my heart having to find another home for it, cuz I've I'm so attached to it in 1 day, what if I have it for 3 and then have to give it away..it will be so devastating to me... Any thoughts from cat or medical experts here? Didn't post this in "health and safety" cuz it isnt a BDSM issue lol.

KenDckey -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:05:03 PM)
The time frame is dependent on your individual sensitivity. It also depends on the amount of cat dander produced by the kitten since that is what most people are allergic to. Good Luck

beticat -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:10:26 PM)
I am not a medical expert ~ I do however have horrific allergies. My feeling is that if you aren't having any reactions after a day, then you're unlikely to. I have a friend who I visit ~ if I don't wash my hair before going over within two hours his eyes are itching and burning. I have another friend who got a cat hair in his eye ~ eye swelled shut and he had to go to the ER for IV antihimstamine. Things you can do to minimize your risk of future reactions/problems: Give the cat a bath regularly. My best friend bathed her cat weekly because her brother was allergic. Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. If you have hardwood floors ~ life will be much easier! If you have wall to wall carpet, consider a water vacuum not just a HEPA filter. The exit air in a water vacuum is much, much more filtered than the exit air from a HEPA filter. On upholstered furniture, put a cover over it. Sheet, towel, dust cover. Then you can throw those in the wash once a week while cleaning. Keep the litter box pristine! That means scoop twice a day ~ I have another friend who can handle cat fur, dander and licking. Cat urine on the other hand sends her straight out the door. She comes over frequently and has no trouble with her allergy. Hope this helps! Cat ...living with 5 cats ~ 3 of them mine...

slavejali -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:12:10 PM)
Do some cats have less dander?

slavejali -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:17:06 PM)
Her fur doesnt feel like fur really, its really silky

slavejali -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:19:36 PM)
She is incredibly beautiful, she has these beautiful blue eyes too...and she is a blue point, well she seems that way now unless her markings get darker as she ages.

slavejali -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:20:39 PM)
quote: eye swelled shut and he had to go to the ER for IV antihimstamine Yeah I had to go on a ventilator and have steroid injections etc...ugh~! And thanks for the tips!!..I can keep her off a lot of the carpeted areas probably... And Masters maniac dog hasnt growled or barked at her once...she has growled at the dog a few times last night (if cats growl..but that what it seemed like)...but today she doesnt even care if Masters dog walks under my chair...

beticat -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:27:17 PM)
Take lots and lots and lots of pictures! If the kitten is truly a kitten (6 - 10 weeks) then yeah, the colors will probably change. Guinness started as a dark brown kitten with a tan stripe running over the top of her head from ear to ear. She is now a tortoiseshell... Hunter (my newest baby) is a orange stripey kitty. As he's getting older his stripes are becoming more defined. He was very orange at 8 weeks. He's still orange but much toned down. His ears are humongous as well as his feet. I'm hoping he grows into them ~ although then he'll be amazingly big. His fur is still incredibly silky ~ I'm hoping it will stay that way, too! Patches (my other tortoiseshell) has very soft fur and she is 7 years old. Guinness on the other hand has non silky fur, she is 3 years old. Enjoy the little guy ~ they are so incredibly cute as kittens! Which is a good thing else they wouldn't make adulthood... :) Cat

slavejali -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:31:21 PM)
And yesterday I had this really weird experience...I was on my way to a massage client, drving in the car, and suddenly I see this labrador which just looked like my labrador that went missing a few years ago (presumably shot by farmers but the terrain is so rugged here we never found a body)..anyways..I stop the car and my heart was pounding thinking it was him, so I follow this dog around calling out his name, the first few times he looked at me...I'm like "Is it him, or not?"..I didn't want to get out of the car and make an absolute fool of myself, so I thought, well if he comes up to the window I will know it is him..but he didnt...anyways...so then we go pick up this kitten later in the afternoon...and now I'm thinking maybe seeing that dog earlier who looked so much like my dead dog was a sign that I was going to get a pet I could love just as much as I loved him..I so don't want to be allergic to her...!!!! Edited for massive typos lol

LaTigresse -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:32:01 PM)
Dear jali, here is a link that may help answer some of your questions. http://www.cat-world.com.au/Hypoallergenic.htm

Zensee -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:32:37 PM)
Short hair is generally easier to keep clean but it is the dry skin flakes which cause the problems for alergies. Keeping her coat and skin healthy with good diet and fish oil suplements will help. If you have a quiet vacuum you can (very carefully and avoiding the ears and face) vacuum their fur with the hose attachment, using your fingers as a spacer and comb. My cats loved this. It is easier to train them to accept baths though or at least being wiped down with a warm, damp cloth. Be careful about shampoos and soaps as they may cause skin drying (the foaming agents) and make more dander.

slavejali -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 5:49:34 PM)
Thanks for the links LaTigresse! Couple of things worried me, it said the allergy might not develop fora few weeks and that kittens have less allergen than adult cats...eek! Here is a pic of what she will look like she she is an adult..she has the same colored markings as this cat on this link. http://www.geocities.com/silkencats/photozophia.htm She is too beautiful to be allergic to hey? Zensee: "vacuum their fur with the hose attachment, using your fingers as a spacer and comb. My cats loved this." So cats are kinky hey...cool grin...that actually sounds like a good idea...I've got this good vacuum cleaner that would be brilliant for that ..its a special one for allergy sufferers cuz I'm allergic to dust too.

LotusSong -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 6:04:22 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: slavejali Hi all you cat lovers out there, Well Master got me this little kitten...well he didnt exactly give it to me. We were going to give it away to a friend for Christmas, anyways we went and picked it up yesterday. The reason we were going to give it away is beause I'm allergic to cats. I'm so allergic, I've ended up in hospital from it.Basically I've learned to just stay away from cats, don't expose myself to them etc..so I have been allergy free for years and years, probably decades. So, we picked it up yesterday and I couldn't help it, I've fallen in love with it overnight. I've had it sitting on my lap and near my face and played with it heaps and not a sneeze or wheeze in sight. So Master said...I can keep it. Anyways..my question is... I'm so in love with this kitten, its a birman, if anyone knows that breed. Do they have different fur than other cats, so I might actually not be allergic to it? Do you think 20 hours spent with the cat is long enough to tell if I was going to be allergic? Like in two days it wont suddenly hit me will it? I really want to keep it so badly, my heart is all tied up in it, yet if I'm going to end up allergic, I don't want to break my heart having to find another home for it, cuz I've I'm so attached to it in 1 day, what if I have it for 3 and then have to give it away..it will be so devastating to me... Any thoughts from cat or medical experts here? Didn't post this in "health and safety" cuz it isnt a BDSM issue lol. If I loved something that much and found I was allergic.. I'd go see n allergist and get a shot or two.. or meds. And yes, different furs can cause people to react differently. Also, if the cat is an outside cat.. it can bring things in on it fur that might cause an allergic reaction. Were your past allergic encounters with outside or inside cats?

slavejali -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 6:16:24 PM)
Inside cats LotusSong. Like I can walk into a house with someone who has cats and have to leave within a few minutes.

Bearlee -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 6:23:11 PM)
I don’t believe its flaky skin that causes allergies; but rather saliva: and cats lick…all over their bodies. Here is another good article on Birmans from the CFA (Cat Fanciers of America): http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/articles/birman.html …but unfortunately it won’t help with being less ‘allergic’. This could be merely because it’s so small…yet. Good luck, I’ve heard of people outgrowing allergies, yanno. But I do know from experience, the more you bathe the kitten, the easier it will be to bathe the cat it becomes; and bathing may help with those allergies. beverly

mistoferin -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 6:28:03 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: slavejali Like I can walk into a house with someone who has cats and have to leave within a few minutes. I'm exactly the same way jali....with SOME cats. I have very severe allergies to some cats and can not be around their environment for more than about 5 minutes before my throat closes and I can't breathe at all. Then there are some cats that I'm ok around for more extended periods so long as I don't do something silly like pet the cat and then touch my face. I currently live in a house with a cat and this particular one doesn't bother me a bit. It really does depend upon the cat.

LaTigresse -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 6:29:45 PM)
Ohhhhh what a beautiful little baby! I would be a goner too. When it comes to my furry babies I am such a sucker. Visiting an animal shelter is hazardous. When I still lived in Cedar Rapids I boarded my horse on the same road as the county animal shelter. I was always mentally putting blinders on as I drove by, pretending it did not exist. I know that if I go in and see just that perfect pair of sad eyes, I am lost. With good reason because I almost always have had a constant of two dogs in the house, and usually large german shepherd or german shepherd mixes. Wellllllll, one day by mistake I purchased the wrong flavour of dog food. I always bought it in 50 pound bags so after my two princesses turned up their noses at the first bowl full and I had to go buy another bag of the proper flavour I was stuck with this huge bag of dogfood that was going to go to waste. I knew what I had to do. Donate it to the shelter. The very same shelter both princesses came from. You see I had a good track record. Since bringing the second doggie diva home I banned myself from going back. Instead, I stuck to supporting the shelter with mailed cash donations. But here I was with almost 50# of dog food that thoes poor poor homeless babies neeeeeeeded. So, I steeled myself, said I would just quickly drop it off on my way out to the stable. I was a woman on a mission. Into the parking lot I pull. Stopping to admire the exteriour of the new dog wing spanning out from the left side of the building, that my few donated dollars had helped to construct. I was impressed and just a little proud. Squaring my shoulders I marched up to the door, going inside, stopping at the desk right inside the door. Enquired of the nice young man if they took open bags of dog food as donations, explaining how I came about having this large bag of kibble. It just so happened that this young man was new and was going to have to go track down the administrator to ask if they could take this donation. There I was. All alone. The door to the new doggie wing just calling me. I just HAD to go admire this new addition from the inside. Yep, only a few steps inside and there he was, 100# of wavy red fur and two big droopy sad brown eyes staring up at me, chin resting on paws. Laying there unmoving except for the slow flop of his tail as I looked down at him thru the chain link kennel door. Two days later I had 3 large dogs living in a 620 square foot house. Two spoiled princesses and one huge, goofy, red golden retriever. So yeah jali, I can empathize.

Devilslilsister -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 6:32:26 PM)
My little brother has bad allergies too. When he was little he used to scratch himself so bad he'd break skin all over his body. Eventually scratching through his scabs. He's got a load of health issues (born 3 months premature, intestines burst in the womb) so it took awhile to figure out what was causing it. Ta da it was the cat. Not excatly sure what they did in the begining cos they kept the cat until they moved. (idiots right?) BUT i do know that when they moved to paris they were able to get a few different cats and he was i "suppose" okay. Allergy shots and my step mother got into homeopathic medicine. Plus there are SOME cats that do not cause allergic reactions in some people who are allergic to cats. I forgot which type they are. maybe i'll go load up my AIM and ask my lil sis.... she'd know. If she's on, i'll be back with all sorts of info for you

SlaveAkasha -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 6:54:30 PM)
I am horribly allergic to cats also. I have noticed that it does depend on the cat, and haven't noticed much difference in short or long haired. I have such a soft spot for animals, I would take every stray if I could... I really, really hope you get to keep her... Kasha

slavejali -> RE: Calling all cat and medical experts (12/23/2006 8:22:42 PM)
LaTigresse: Awww what a beautiful story, animals are just the best :) Bearlee: Nice article, love the myth surrounding burmans, dont like the 4am head sitting thing so much grin Update: Haven't sneezed yet [:)]

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