Cat Allergies
Having a cat allergy can be enormously distressing to a cat lover. Sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose, sinus pain, hives, and other symptoms can be very mild and trying or severe and life threatening. In actuality, if the symptoms are very severe and the cause is researched and it is found to be cats, locating the cat a new place to live just might turn out to be the best explanation. However if the symptoms are mild, there is cause for hope. There are methods to at least minimize the pain of cat allergies and live with a cat, and immunotherapy offers desensitization from an allergen.

Symptoms of allergies can take on various forms. There are many common nose symptoms as well as itching, sneezing and congestion. Eye symptoms can include redness, itching, swelling and watering. Throat symptoms include post-nasal drip, itching or hoarseness and the need to clear the esophagus often. Skin symptoms can involve an itchy rash or hives. Ear symptoms can include itching, plugging or popping in the ear. More serious symptoms engage the lungs. Symptoms with the lungs can include hacking, wheezing, tightness in the chest, bouts with bronchitis and shortness of breath.

Cat allergen, the allergy causing stuff from cats, is not cat hair, but somewhat a protein present in the cat dander and saliva. These allergens become airborne as microscopic particles, which when breathed into the nose or lungs can produce allergic reactions.

The main reason why folks can acquire a new pet and not develop any of these symptoms until much later is because of the time required to produce these antibodies. It can take anywhere from three weeks to three years for a person's body to build up enough of the exact antibody so that an allergen can cross-link two identical antigens. This cross-linkage is the signal to mast cells to spill their contents, resulting in the typical allergy symptoms.

Immunotherapy is the usual and very effective way to get around a cat allergy. Immunotherapy gradually makes a person more resistant to the allergens. The goal of immunotherapy is to increase a person's tolerance ten times. This is one of the most effective remedies as it treats the root cause and doesn't just hide the symptoms.

It is unsafe and heartless for any indoor cat to be turned out. As well as the diseases and illnesses that can be caught out of doors, the indoor cat has no experience fending for itself outdoors and so is often unable to protect against cars, animals, and other hazards or to effectively search for food. Hence rescue groups have been formed to take care of cats if someone suffering from allergy has to turn it out of his house.

Judith Allison writes a number of articles and blog posts for different websites including Just Cute Cats

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Judith_Allison
Cat Allergies

Labels: cat allergies

Several objects in the environment can be inhaled by pets and can trigger allergic reactions in dogs and cats. These objects induce the cells of the pets to release substances such as histamine. With histamine, the irritation begins.

The objects in the environment that cause this type of allergies are called allergens. Some examples of these allergens are the following:

· Pollen from the surrounding flowering plants
· Dusts that have accumulated in several areas in the house
· Mites and similar tiny creatures that survive and live on dust
· Molds, fungi, and other similar low forms of plants. The spores from these can be inhaled by pets

Pets, upon exposure to the above allergens will show several symptoms. Among dogs, the major symptoms are:

· Unstoppable itching in the face and in the feet
· Other itching and irritation in several parts of the body
· Occurrence of sores and discharges
· Loss of hair

Among cats, the symptoms of inhalant allergies are:

· Unspecific itching
· Intolerable itching in the face, neck, and thighs
· Inflammation and sores in different parts of the body
· Loss of hair

When the above symptoms are displayed, especially on certain seasons, such as spring and summer, dogs or cats are most likely affected by pollen allergy. To accurately determine the occurrence of inhalant allergies, pets should be taken to the vet. The vet will carry out a skin test to find out if, indeed, the dog or cat is suffering from inhalant allergies. Some vets also conduct blood tests, but the results of this type of test are oftentimes uncertain.

The best treatment is prevention of further worsening of the allergy. That is, the source of the allergens should be removed. Sometimes, this is easy if the allergens are dusts and mites that live in them. A good cleaning is all that a pet owner needs to do. But sometimes, removing the allergen could be difficult. That is, taking away the flowering plant may not be feasible.

Thus, owners resort to other treatments. Two of these allergy treatments are:

· Anti-itch medicines – These medicines suppress the production of histamines. These can be taken orally or gently rubbed on the irritated area.

· Allergy shots – These can make the pets less sensitive to the presence of allergens. Vets can provide these allergy shots.

Not all cats and dogs suffer allergies when exposed to pollen and other inhaled allergens. The reason for this is their heredity. Other pets have genetic characteristics that predisposes them to have allergies.

About The Author: Peter Grant's pet med site http://www.pet-meds-101.com/ concentrates on cat http://www.pet-meds-101.com/your-cat.php and dog health and medicine http://www.pet-meds-101.com/your-dog.php.
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Labels: cat allergies, pet allergies

Having a cat allergy came as something of a surprise to me. Growing up, I had many pets - cats, dogs and birds. My family were animal lovers and pets abounded, so being in contact with animals was a daily occurance. No one ever seemed to suffer from a cat allergies or any kind of animal allergy for that matter.

After my teens and my last pet had died, I wasn't in a position to take on another pet for many years. Then, eleven years ago, a friend of a cousin was looking for a home for their last remaining kitten. And so it was that Kira came into my life. This was a cat with attitude (and still is!) and we bonded pretty much immediately. While she was still a kitten, I'd put her in the kitchen overnight with a little cat bed to sleep in and the litter box close by.

As she grew older, I started letting her sleep in the bedroom. It's surprising how relaxing a cat's purring can be in wee small hours.

A little over a year later, when down with the vet getting some supplies, I heard that there was a kitten that needed a home or it would have to be put to sleep. And so, Fritz came home with me that day.

Unfortuately, Kira was less than impressed with this interloper and I had to keep the two separated for several days before an uneasy truce ensued.

They're an odd pair (http://www.just-pet-cats.com.cat-photos.html) - Kira has attitude, Fritz is much more companionable; what you'd call a "gentle soul". She's still the Queen around the house and occasionally puts Fritz in his place with a right-hook to the face when she feels the need to assert her authority.

As Fritz matured, he also was allowed into the bedroom. Both he and Kira would sleep there during the day and night, as was their want.

We all know that cats are the greatest creature-comfort-seeking animals on the planet and a comfy place to catnap is one of their major concerns. But the place your cat chooses to snooze (http://www.just-pet-cats.com/sleep.html) may not be your first choice. While I didn't mind the cats sleeping on the bed, I did take exception to Fritz's tendency to charge in from the garden and sleep in a basket of warm, freshly dried laundry straight from the dryer.

The Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine recently conducted a poll of pet-owners on the sleeping habits of their pets and found that 60% of them sleep in bed with one of the family. Where cats are concerned, there are two potential problems here: one is that, somehow, they manage to take up 90% of the bed and the other has to do with allergies.

I found I had a mild cat allergies when I started producing weird wheezing noises any time I was doing something strenuous. Coughing eased it for a few minutes but it would always return. I figured I’d developed a mild form of asthma, probably due to bad air quality and pollution, so I went to the doctor to have it checked out. After listening to my lungs he asked me one question: "Do you have a cat?"

Well, yes, I did. Two in fact.

"You’re allergic to your cats", he intoned.

Then he asked if the cats slept in the bedroom. Of course they did.

"There’s your real problem", he said. "What you’re allergic to is the dander produced by your cats. When a cat sleeps on your bed, the dander ends up in the sheets and the duvet and you breathe it in deeply at night when you’re asleep. Not good. That’s what causes your wheeziness. Stop the cats sleeping in your bedroom for two or three weeks and see if that eases your symptoms. If not, you’ll probably need to use an inhaler for the rest of your life."

Ok, that last sentence kinda hit me between the eyes. Much as I love my two furballs, I didn’t want to suffer a long-lasting health problem that could possibly be avoided.

So why is dander such a problem? It's the layer of dead skin that's rich in animal protein, which is continuously shed by animals. Sebaceous (oil producing) glands in the skin also produce these protein allergens. Male cats have, on average, greater amounts of sebaceous secretions and therefore are more allergenic than female or neutered male cats. This is a result of testosterone hormone effects on sebaceous glands.

So, with that information and the prospect of an enduring health problem, I banned my cats from the bedroom, threw out the duvet (on the advice of the doctor), bought a new one and changed everything on the bed (including getting new pillows). I didn’t get too much sleep the first few nights with the cats meowing and scratching on the door to get in but they got used to the idea, finally. After three weeks in a cat free bedroom, my wheeziness had all but disappeared. The cats haven’t been allowed back in since.

Should you find yourself with a similar cat allergy problem, banning the cat from your bedroom is one possible course of action. Alternatively, you can get your cat his own cat bed (http://www.just-pet-cats.com/cat-furniture.html) and put that somewhere out of harm's way (yours and the cat's).

Since finding out I was mildly allergic to my cats, I've spoken to other cat owners about it and quite a number also suffer some mild form of allergic reaction - sneezing, wheezing, watering eyes, blocked sinuses and so on. Owners appear to become at least somewhat immune to their own cats insofar as the symptoms are not as pronounced as they become when they're around other people's cats.

But, having said that, none of us would ever part with our feline companions and would exhort others to adopt a cat as a pet, as the benefits far outweigh any minor inconveniences.

Animal dander allergy can significantly contribute to respiratory problems involving the sinuses, nasal passages, and eyes, as well as causing upper respiratory tract problems that can result in asthma (as in my case). These problems can significantly diminish your quality of life despite various medical treatments. For some people, it can be even more serious, leading to recurrent acute asthmatic attacks that can be life threatening, requiring emergency room visits and hospitalizations. The good news is that most people who are allergic to their pets can keep their symptoms under control if they know the facts.

About The Author
Gary Nugent, 2005. Software engineer, website builder and cat lover Gary Nugent is the editor and owner of http://www.just-pet-cats.com

Labels: cat allergies, pet allergies