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Situation with girl i'm dating and her cats

B

beer

Lifer
So I've been dating this girl since mid-November. We're both students, and she has two cats. I have no pets. Well, whenver I go over to her place, I gradually get more and more congested, and my throat becomes extremely scratchy. I can't spend the night because i did once, and when I woke up it was unbearable for hours.

If things get more serious this spring, how do I deal with this? It's something that obviously annoys her that I don't just 'deal with' but it's not something I can 'deal with,' Even with FloNase and Claratin D, I still can't spend the night, even though I can spend evenings or afternoons and be reasonably OK.

I was thinking about buying a medium-size air purifier and using it at my place a few days a week, and then bringing it to her place.

Now, for the techinical question on air purifiers - would it do a damn thing in reducing the dander if she only had it running 24 hrs for maybe 3 days a week? I just need to be able to stay over there without dying.
 
Originally posted by: Ime
Simple solution, have her come to your place!
Click to expand...

she does, but she lives right next to the main campus and doesn't have (nor need) a car, and I live 5ish miles away. If I don't go over there, and she only comes over here, it gets annoying.
 
Seriously you need to spend as much time and as close to the cats as you can.

That is the best way to get your system to build up to accpeting the cats and not overeacting to their dander.
 
Try wearing a cat directly on your face like a dust mask,
it will help you build up your tolerance quicker.

Didn't have pets in the house when you were a small child ?
Most kids raised with pets don't get this lack of alergen tolerance.
 
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Seriously you need to spend as much time and as close to the cats as you can.

That is the best way to get your system to build up to accpeting the cats and not overeacting to their dander.
Click to expand...

Oh and shame on you, no pics??? 😕 :thumbsdown:
 
1. gas mask?

2. tell her to keep all of her windows open and if she complains about the freezing cold, tell her to deal with it.

3. keep the door open, let cat out

4. get her prego and then say, "either the cats go, or i go"

5. bring over your pitbull

 
Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
Try wearing a cat directly on your face like a dust mask,
it will help you build up your tolerance quicker.

Didn't have pets in the house when you were a small child ?
Most kids raised with pets don't get this lack of alergen tolerance.
Click to expand...


lol... that's the way to do it.
 
Do you have an alergy prescription? I'd also just have her keep the bedroom door closed so the animals can't get in there and sleep on the bed and such to make it worse.

Other things she could do is vacuum more often, change the furnace filter and leave the fan on 24x7, etc.

Air filters are fine but not sure how well it would do it you only brought it over when you were there.

Can also give the cats a bath (good luck) every so often to cut down on the dander and such.
 
I have FloNase and I use Claratin D. I haven't tried allegra or zyrtec since I haven't had a reason to - until this.

One time, I DID wake up from a nap and the cat was SITTING on my face. It was miserable for days. And I grew up with dogs, but never cats, and I have no problem with dog hair - only grasses and cat hair for some reason. And flonase fixes the issue with the grasses.

Dave -

Is there any MEDICAL proof that it works that way? I would assume that if your body overreacts, it doesn't get better, since people have the same allergies for years, and years, and years.

Pics? Fine.
http://pics.apartment808.com/users/beer/Halloween.jpg

The redhead was who I was dating at the time. I am dating the blonde now. Yes, I was Bill Lumberg, and yes, that was an Initech mug. I worked for GE so it seemed fitting.
 
Originally posted by: beer
Pics? Fine.
http://pics.apartment808.com/users/beer/Halloween.jpg

The redhead was who I was dating at the time. I am dating the blonde now. Yes, I was Bill Lumberg, and yes, that was an Initech mug. I worked for GE so it seemed fitting.
Click to expand...

Eh...need a better picture.

That one is a 6/10. Decent, but kinda skanky looking. I realize it could be the cheap Halloween costume. Not sure I'd fuss with allergies for that.
 
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Seriously you need to spend as much time and as close to the cats as you can.

That is the best way to get your system to build up to accpeting the cats and not overeacting to their dander.
Click to expand...

hahaha...I should tell my friend that's allergic to peanuts to eat a tub of peanut butter so his system builds up. If he starts finding it hard to breath or breaks out in a rash, should I tell him to keep going, your system will eventually build up?
 
Originally posted by: beer
I have FloNase and I use Claratin D. I haven't tried allegra or zyrtec since I haven't had a reason to - until this.

One time, I DID wake up from a nap and the cat was SITTING on my face. It was miserable for days. And I grew up with dogs, but never cats, and I have no problem with dog hair - only grasses and cat hair for some reason. And flonase fixes the issue with the grasses.

Dave -

Is there any MEDICAL proof that it works that way? I would assume that if your body overreacts, it doesn't get better, since people have the same allergies for years, and years, and years.

Pics? Fine.
http://pics.apartment808.com/users/beer/Halloween.jpg

The redhead was who I was dating at the time. I am dating the blonde now. Yes, I was Bill Lumberg, and yes, that was an Initech mug. I worked for GE so it seemed fitting.
Click to expand...

So your halloween costume was just a mug and a homemade badge?

Borrow someone elses pitbull, cat problem gone.

Tried claritin for the cat's?
 
If you have been taking flonase and claritin for a lengthy period of time and it still has no effect that's bad news for you. You can definitely ask her to try either bathing them (not likely to work out well unless they are kittens) or using allergy wipes / sprays. Those will only help somewhat, though, since it is not just dander that causes allergic reactions.

As a last resort (obviously this is only if you are SUPER serious), you can also have allergy shots custom made that will help increase your immunity to certain cats. I don't know the specifics on them, you may want to google it.

I am not sure how much an air purifier would help. It couldn't hurt, though, I guess. You might also see some benefit from a humidifier (to reduce the dander in the cat). Also, if she is feeding the cat cheap dry food you might look into supplements that increase the quality of the cat's coat. Of course, a better solution would be her feeding high quality food.

Also, is it possible you are also allergic to the litter? What kind of litter does she use?
 
im also allergic to cats. to tell you the truth, no medicine is going to help you cope with the cats.

just have her come to your place. if she doesn't understand, you have no choice but to move on....
 
I loved how as soon as I post a pic, everything gets off-topic.

dderidex- I appreacite the feedback. Because she's blonde and is lean she's 'skanky?' She's dressed as a goddamn nurse going to a college party with 500 people and enough alcohol to give everyone alcohol poisoning, what did you think it was supposed to be? Wholesome? :roll:

Nitemare - It was free beer. Free beer required a costume. I figured I could pull off Bill Lumberg with the hair, shirt, tie, suspenders, badge, and mug, and it worked. Thanks for your feedback too. Besides, the ground was incredibly muddy, I wasn't going to do something elaborate only to have it all muddied up about 3 hours later.
 
Originally posted by: maziwanka
im also allergic to cats. to tell you the truth, no medicine is going to help you cope with the cats.

just have her come to your place. if she doesn't understand, you have no choice but to move on....
Click to expand...

Not exactly true. I'm allergic to cats and own two of them. I used to have similar reactions as the OP but now almost never have a reaction to cats.
 
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