My Allergies

I assume, if you're reading this, that you're wondering how a horrifically allergic person is keeping a cat, or maybe you just want to know more about my allergy situation in general. The first bit will be a total history, but if you just want to know about my allergies and Wendy, skip past the italic part) Here it goes:

[I've always been mildly allergic to cats. I couldn't notice it unless I spent a lot of time in their face, but it was there. Then, as I grew older, at about 17 years old, my allergies got much worse. This was very upsetting to me as my main passion in life is cats (not really joking very much there).

When I'd visit home from college, I had to take allergy pills. However, I eventually had to start taking Claritin-D in 2014, because my allergies were unbearable.

It was clear to me that I couldn't have a cat.

In early-mid 2015, however, we had the opportunity to take my brother-in-law's puppy, which he could no longer keep. I was excited! Gryffin (the puppy) was an Australian Shepherd--long-haired, double coated....doberman and labs, with their slick hair made me get little hives until I washed my hands. This would be a great alternative. We visited Gryffin every other weekend that summer, in preparation to take him when we moved to pet-friendly housing in August.

The day I picked him up, my mom was in town, so I rode in the back with him to our house. Weirdly, I was super sneezy, and my eyes were itchy and watery. How had so much cat allergen gotten on the dog's stuff?

As the next two or three days came and went, my allergies only got worse, and I got hives from touching Gryffin. I decided to see an allergist, praying that there was no way I was allergic--I mean, I'd seen this dog every other week all summer with no problems.

Much to my dismay, I was terribly allergic to dogs. Puppies don't really produce the allergens, and, as they age, they produce more. In the few weeks since I'd seen him, he had gone over my allergen-limit. Unfortunately, due to not being able to touch him, and him having 15 years or so ahead of him, I decided to re-home him. I could handle the other stuff, but not the hives. (I still get hives from our plush ottoman, despite it having been cleaned). The only plus to this revelation was that I wasn't getting more and more allergic to cats--instead, my parents kept getting more and more dogs, and all of them together were making things worse for me; not just cats.

I now get 2 immunotherapy shots (one is cats, dogs and weeds, the other is for every tree...yeah, turns out I'm allergic to everything.), three times a week, and it makes going into pet homes totally fine.I also have some amazing eyedrops for instant relief, and two nasal sprays. With it, I was fine going home for two weeks with three dogs, and my cat, Chrissy sleeping on me. Only the last 3-4 days did I really have to make sure to use my eye drops.]

So, how I am able to keep a cat?

Well, first, they don't give me hive (which is the only reason I re-homed Gryffin). Also, I am almost to my maintenance dose in immunotherapy. This means my body is better able to handle the allergens. The end-result should be my ability to happily, and healthily, live with pets (though I probably shouldn't get like 5 of them).

I have a HEPA filter in my room, and it is a pet-free zone. Period. Wendy doesn't like this, but I have to be firm, because otherwise I'll maybe die, or something. Also, I'm keeping her out of our second bedroom, so I have more than one cat-free space. The shot-giver I asked about keeping Wendy suggested I take Zyrtec, and I can go back on nasal sprays if it really becomes an issue. Wendy will also be bathed weekly to cut down on allergens. Sorry, Wendy. You're life will be really cushy otherwise.

So far, I've only taken an allergy pill twice. Each day is different. Some days I'm just great, others, I get sniffly quickly.

There you have it, how I'm able to keep a cat.

If you're interested in our cat, Wendy's, rescue story, you can read that here, and watch her rescue video here.