Okay, the new boyfriend is so wonderful I'm having a hard time controlling myself. The only bad thing is that my cats affect his asthma, making him use his inhaler far more than usual. He told me he's broken up with girls who have cats due to the breathing problems.
Oh my g-d, this kills me. I am so smitten, it's the first time in years that a non-psycho has approached me. On top of that, he's sweet, cute, tall, employed, educated, and we have so many interests in common.

What kind of air filters work for you? My aunt, who is asthmatic and has 20-odd cats, claims there is a spray that you brush into the fur which makes them less allergenic. Has anyone used it? Do those ionic breeze thingies work at all?

Seriously. I will do whatever it takes, short of abandoning my cats (they are like my children- I have pictures of them in my wallet). I so want this to work... any advice would be appreciated. I already vacuum twice a week and use HEPA vac bags.

In a bizarre combination of bummed and ecstatic,
Elizabeth

ok...well in my family we are all allergic to cats/dogs to different degrees and we all have them...so I have a little bit of advice...

first- I vacuum every morning. Yeah it is a little bit of a pain, but it helps more than anything else

second- make sure that you wash some of the less obvious things like drapes or slipcovers about once a week. You would be amazed how much cat hair can end up on a draps...esp if it is near somewhere they sleep.

third- the spray-on stuff- my mom uses it and it seems to work

fourth- have you ever considered vacuuming your cat? I know it sounds ridiculous but especially when they are shedding profusely, it can help. I have a cat at home that hates is and a cat here that loves it. It is worth trying.

fifth- I don't know what your living situation or what you animal's temperment is, but...maybe let them be more of outside cats? I have a kitty that I am very allergic too and she is about 65% inside cat and 35% outside cat. I used to never let her outside because I was scared something would happen to her (she only weighs 7 lbs.) BUT she is spayed and I live in a neighborhood that is cat-friendly. I have found that just having her outside as much as I do has made a huge difference...
sixth- you asked about air filters. Once again- my parents use them and love them, but I don't. I have laso heard that houseplants are great for filtering. Don't really know how much this would apply to this particular type of "pollutant" It's not like the leaves are going to magically suck up the hairalls in some sort of little-shop-of-horrors-style musical number(although that sounds like fun ) but it is worth a shot....

good luck :) He sounds great and if he really is so wonderful I am sure you two can work out some sort of compromise. Maybe hang out mostly at his house?

cg

I feel your pain, sorta, my husband is allergic to cats and I want a kitty so bad!

The spray is called AllerPet, my friend used it on her cats and dog with great success. Frequent bathing (of the cat, not necessarily you) might help. Vacuuming is a necessity. Change your sheets right before he comes over, or have a sheet to throw over wherever you'll be sitting while he's hanging out. try to hang out in a room that is uncarpeted. If you've got the dough, a good HEPA filter can be found for $150 (for the whole house!), or about half that for a one room filter. You can also get nicer "rinse off" heavy duty filters for your air vents at Home Depot and Lowes, probably other places too.

He should at least appreciate your effort, and he could always suggest hanging out at his place more. If Benadryl doesn't make him sleepy, he could take some of that before coming over to your place. If he breaks up with you, I kind of think that is jerky if he hasn't tried any other avenues of dealing with it, but then again, I have very few allergies (knock on wood!).

Cat

Have you thought about getting a little steam vac? My boyfriend's sister steam vac'ed the room we stayed in this weekend, and no allergies!

bathe the cats.
I know it's a big fat pain in the ass, but if you do it once a week (or once every other week if it really traumatizes the cats) you will see a marked improvement

If he sleeps over *ahem* (sorry, I don't mean to get to personal) its important the cats aren't around. When you sleep your breathing is shallower and its easier to have an attack. I once woke up to not being able to breath, it was so bad i had to go to the emergency room. So make sure the covers and bedding are washed at least once a week. A good place to learn more about asthma is the American lung association they have a lot of info.>http://www.lungusa.org/asthma/

There are a lot of new drugs also, some even are pet allergen specific. If he doesn't like taking drugs a friend of mine sees a homeopathic practitioner and swears by it. check out Dr. Andrew Wiel description and help for asthma for a natural approach its pretty interesting.
>http://www.drweil.com/app/cda/drw_cda.html?command=GlossaryDetail&pt=Glossary&glossaryId=49

i hope this helps and I hope things work out!!

leah

You may also try getting your air ducts cleaned. It's expensive, so if you're a renter it might not be worth it. You can also buy hepa filters that run all the time. Vacuuming is definitely the best option.

I once had cats, and re-homed them for my ex when he moved in with me. I still feel guilty over it. So don't do that!

I think the Aller-pet stuff also comes in wipes, so you can just wipe the kitties down, as they do not like being sprayed.

Good luck!

Susannah

I think we have a solution: he took Allegra before coming over yesterday and didn't have to use his inhaler once. Yay.

On top of that, I opened up the AC vents and vacuumed them as deep as I could. Then I used magnets to attach HEPA paper to the inside of the vents. I offered to make the bedroom a cat-free zone, but he said that he'd feel bad if I did that. My aunt said that caffeine helps, so I have fresh coffee ready when he gets here.

I'm glad to hear that there's a wipe for the cats-they really hate being sprayed with anything. I'm a little scared to bathe them as they have all of their claws, but I guess I'll just trim them and go for it.

He hasn't slept over yet and I'm nervous about the bed- would vaccuuming the mattress help?

when you bathe the cats, get some long sleeves to wear and get access to a bathtub with shower doors on it. soap down the sides of the tub, and get the water run in, and then dump the cats in. it helps if you have someone else to help. our cat loved being bathed as soon as he realized it meant more petting and scratchers.

yeah, really, trim their nails and go for it.
and a few more tips on bathing the kitties.
run warm water into two basins , add cat shampoo to one of the basins and leave the other for rinsing. (if you have a big sink in the bathroom you could fill the tub and the sink)
you'll have to work quickly and yeah, it is pretty stressful for you and the cat, but if you are eady, thinks go really quickly.

also, you can get a mattress cover for when you have an over night guest. the cover will keep the pet hair from settling into the mattress. Many of them you can just toss in the washer once in a while.

good to hear that the Allegra is helping, you might find that after a while the cats don't affect them as much, a lot of people find that they get desensatised (sp??)

-GG

Hey everyone, thanks for the tips. I have the same problem. One thing I do is keeping the kitty out of the bedroom. I also open the blinds during the day because sunshine is supposed to kill allergins (but I don't know how well this works). *Shrug* Thanks again...