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Calling All Cat Owners

Lisa

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Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted

I'm housing my daughter's cat for, umm...five weeks now, with two to go.

My eyes are scratchy, blood shot and watery. Contacts are a no go.

My question is: We have had cats for many years. But in their later years we were in less direct contact. The last of three passed a year ago. All of which were in their twenties.

Could I be allergic to a particular cat. :unsure:

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jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

Yes-- you can definitely be allergic to only certain cats.

Have you tried Claritin?

Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted
  • Author

Yes-- you can definitely be allergic to only certain cats.

Have you tried Claritin?

Interesting! Thank you. I will try the Claritin.

psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted

It may also involve sensitization. That is similar to the concept with the allergy injections.

Repeated exposure over time may reduce your sensitivity. The shots seek to do this by building up your tolerance with repeated exposure once a week, then every two weeks, then once a month.

I tested as a teenager as being allergic to cats. In the summer of 1995, a cat adopted us. Over time, I got used to him being around, and did not react. We have had cats ever since, with the peak population being four from 2005 to 2008. I traveled a lot for business, and found that I would have a reaction when I came home from a trip of about a week (or longer). It would take a day or so, and my sensitivities would subside. I learned to take an antihistamine before boarding my flight home.

Your experience may differ.

genieb Newbie
genieb
Posted

Could be. Breeds and even individual cats differ in hair length, texture and dander. You might also want to look at anything that came with the cat like scented kitty litter. I used to have a lot of trouble cleaning the box until I figured that one out.

rosetapper23 Explorer
rosetapper23
Posted

It also might be that the cats' food contains gluten, which is common. Even if you wash your hands after feeding them, they lick their fur....and then you pet them.

If you'd prefer a more homeopathic, natural remedy for allergies, Sabadin by Boiron is quite good. My mother and several of my most allergic friends all swear by it--and they'd tried everything previously. I don't tend to have many allergies that require medication, but I've become a lot more careful with feeding my cats.

Adalaide Mentor
Adalaide
Posted

I have a specific problem with long haired cats. My husband's cat makes me break out in hives. It used to sleep in his bed, that was an automatic no go for me when we got married. (It had nothing to do with my hives or allergies either!) His is the only cat I've ever had contact with that has caused me to have a rash or hives since I was a teenager.

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Juliebove Rising Star
Juliebove
Posted

Sorry, I just now saw this. I test allergic to cats. I had two as a child. No problems. Have had roommates with cats. Taken in strays. No problems. Have owned three as an adult. No problem. Can go to cat shows, cat shelters, etc. Usually no problems.

Visited my nephew who had a mom cat and babies. Sneezed my head off. Broke out head to toe in hives. Eyes got itchy. Daughter reacted the same way. She used to test as allergic but does not now.

It might also be the food. I am highly intolerant to eggs. I won a free can of some kind of cat food when we first got our current cats. I didn't know then that all they like is tuna. I bought a can of stuff with eggs in it. The baby cat ate a little then licked my arm. I broke out in hives.

beachbirdie Contributor
beachbirdie
Posted

I'm housing my daughter's cat for, umm...five weeks now, with two to go.

My eyes are scratchy, blood shot and watery. Contacts are a no go.

My question is: We have had cats for many years. But in their later years we were in less direct contact. The last of three passed a year ago. All of which were in their twenties.

Could I be allergic to a particular cat. :unsure:

Have you tried those disposable moist wipes you can wipe down a cat with? Takes some of the allergen off the fur. Sorry you're suffering...I know how it feels, I'm allergic to two of the most common substances around my place (dust and mold) and have allergies most of the time. It's miserable!

heathenly Apprentice
heathenly
Posted

Your visit is probably over, but: Zyrtec. The only one that ever worked for my cat allergy. Hope you survived!

Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted
  • Author

Thank you all for your input! This MOM insisted that the cat follow her owner. Said cat left today. Holding ground on NO never felt so good! :D

heathenly Apprentice
heathenly
Posted

Hahahaha! I bet!

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  • Posts

    • Mari
      My only proof

      By Mari · Posted

      Years  ago a friend and I drove north into Canada hoping to find a ski resort open in late spring,We were in my VW and found a small ski area near a small town and started up this gravelled road up a mountain. We  got about halfway up and got stuck in the mud. We tried everything we could think of but an hour later we were still stuck. Finally a pickup came down the road, laughed at our situation, then pulled the VW free of the mud. We followed him back to the ski area where where he started up the rope ski lift and we had an enjoyable hour of skiing and gave us a shot of aquavit  before we left.It was a great rescue.  In some ways this reminds me of your situation. You are waiting for a rescue and you have chosen medical practitioners to do it now or as soon as possible. As you have found out the med. experts have not learned how to help you. You face years of continuing to feel horrible, frustrated searching for your rescuer to save you. You can break away from from this pattern of thinking and you have begun breaking  away by using some herbs and supplements from doTerra. Now you can start trying some of the suggestions thatother Celiacs have written to your original posts.  You live with other people who eat gluten foods. Cross contamination is very possible. Are you sure that their food is completely separate from their food. It  is not only the gluten grains you need to avoid (wheat, barley, rye) but possibly oats, cows milk also. Whenever you fall back into that angry and frustrated way of thinking get up and walk around for a whild. You will learn ways to break that way of thinking about your problems.  Best wishes for your future. May you enjpy a better life.  
    • marion wheaton
      Are Lindt chocolate balls gluten free?

      By marion wheaton · Posted

      Thanks for responding. I researched further and Lindt Lindor chocolate balls do contain barely malt powder which contains gluten. I was surprised at all of the conflicting information I found when I checked online.
    • trents
      Are Lindt chocolate balls gluten free?

      By trents · Posted

      @BlessedinBoston, it is possible that in Canada the product in question is formulated differently than in the USA or at least processed in in a facility that precludes cross contamination. I assume from your user name that you are in the USA. And it is also possible that the product meets the FDA requirement of not more than 20ppm of gluten but you are a super sensitive celiac for whom that standard is insufficient. 
    • BlessedinBoston
      Are Lindt chocolate balls gluten free?

      By BlessedinBoston · Posted

      No,Lindt is not gluten free no matter what they say on their website. I found out the hard way when I was newly diagnosed in 2000. At that time the Lindt truffles were just becoming popular and were only sold in small specialty shops at the mall. You couldn't buy them in any stores like today and I was obsessed with them 😁. Took me a while to get around to checking them and was heartbroken when I saw they were absolutely not gluten free 😔. Felt the same when I realized Twizzlers weren't either. Took me a while to get my diet on order after being diagnosed. I was diagnosed with small bowel non Hodgkins lymphoma at the same time. So it was a very stressful time to say the least. Hope this helps 😁.
    • knitty kitty
      My only proof

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Jmartes71, I understand your frustration and anger.  I've been in a similar situation where no doctor took me seriously, accused me of making things up, and eventually sent me home to suffer alone.   My doctors did not recognize nutritional deficiencies.  Doctors are trained in medical learning institutions that are funded by pharmaceutical companies.  They are taught which medications cover up which symptoms.  Doctors are required to take twenty  hours of nutritional education in seven years of medical training.  (They can earn nine hours in Nutrition by taking a three day weekend seminar.)  They are taught nutritional deficiencies are passe' and don't happen in our well fed Western society any more.  In Celiac Disease, the autoimmune response and inflammation affects the absorption of ALL the essential vitamins and minerals.  Correcting nutritional deficiencies caused by malabsorption is essential!  I begged my doctor to check my Vitamin D level, which he did only after making sure my insurance would cover it.  When my Vitamin D came back extremely low, my doctor was very surprised, but refused to test for further nutritional deficiencies because he "couldn't make money prescribing vitamins.". I believe it was beyond his knowledge, so he blamed me for making stuff up, and stormed out of the exam room.  I had studied Nutrition before earning a degree in Microbiology.  I switched because I was curious what vitamins from our food were doing in our bodies.  Vitamins are substances that our bodies cannot manufacture, so we must ingest them every day.  Without them, our bodies cannot manufacture life sustaining enzymes and we sicken and die.   At home alone, I could feel myself dying.  It's an unnerving feeling, to say the least, and, so, with nothing left to lose, I relied in my education in nutrition.  My symptoms of Thiamine deficiency were the worst, so I began taking high dose Thiamine.  I had health improvement within an hour.  It was magical.  I continued taking high dose thiamine with a B Complex, magnesium. and other essential nutrients.  The health improvements continued for months.  High doses of thiamine are required to correct a thiamine deficiency because thiamine affects every cell and mitochondria in our bodies.    A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function.  The cerebellum of the brain is most affected.  The cerebellum controls things we don't have to consciously have to think about, like digestion, balance, breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, hormone regulation, and many more.  Thiamine is absorbed from the digestive tract and sent to the most important organs like the brain and the heart.  This leaves the digestive tract depleted of Thiamine and symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a thiamine deficiency localized in the digestive system, begin to appear.  Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi include anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, headaches, Gerd, acid reflux, gas, slow stomach emptying, gastroparesis, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation, incontinence, abdominal pain, IBS,  SIBO, POTS, high blood pressure, heart rate changes like tachycardia, difficulty swallowing, Barrett's Esophagus, peripheral neuropathy, and more. Doctors are only taught about thiamine deficiency in alcoholism and look for the classic triad of symptoms (changes in gait, mental function, and nystagmus) but fail to realize that gastrointestinal symptoms can precede these symptoms by months.  All three classic triad of symptoms only appear in fifteen percent of patients, with most patients being diagnosed with thiamine deficiency post mortem.  I had all three but swore I didn't drink, so I was dismissed as "crazy" and sent home to die basically.   Yes, I understand how frustrating no answers from doctors can be.  I took OTC Thiamine Hydrochloride, and later thiamine in the forms TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) and Benfotiamine to correct my thiamine deficiency.  I also took magnesium, needed by thiamine to make those life sustaining enzymes.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins, so the other B vitamins must be supplemented as well.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   A doctor can administer high dose thiamine by IV along with the other B vitamins.  Again, Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine should be given if only to rule Gastrointestinal Beriberi out as a cause of your symptoms.  If no improvement, no harm is done. Share the following link with your doctors.  Section Three is especially informative.  They need to be expand their knowledge about Thiamine and nutrition in Celiac Disease.  Ask for an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test for thiamine deficiency.  This test is more reliable than a blood test. Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/ Best wishes!
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