Comments on: Cat allergies

Question: Cat allergies

callmejay — Sun, 29 May 2005 07:32:06 -0800

I'm allergic to cats. Will I be unhappy if I move into a place in which a cat used to live? It is mostly hardwood floors, but two rooms have carpets. No furniture or draperies will remain.

By: fvw

fvw — Sun, 29 May 2005 08:37:46 -0800

Unless it's a very extreme allergy, I doubt it. Just make sure you vacuum the carpets thouroughly.

By: Jon-o

Jon-o — Sun, 29 May 2005 09:15:24 -0800

You'll probably be a little stuffy for a day or two. Just vacuum the carpets and open some windows.

By: fourstar

fourstar — Sun, 29 May 2005 09:22:43 -0800

I moved into a place that had cats live there before and it was horrible ... eventually I took the air vent/duct covers off and discovered piles of cat hair. I got the apt management to clean/vacuum them. That helped a lot. Then I replaced the $1 air filters with more expensive ones and that helped too.

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Sun, 29 May 2005 09:41:19 -0800

How much allergic are you ? I'm mildly allergic to cat and I have one :o yeah with no problems. Yet as far as I know one could risk a lot if exposed to whatever makes an allergy start..as there's the possibility of allergic shock..remote but possible and deadly.

So maybe having someone clean up the place could help..and I mean really clean it, vacuum everthing I guess is for starters.

By: callmejay

callmejay — Sun, 29 May 2005 12:15:14 -0800

I'm not crazy allergic. I just don't want to have allergies the whole time I'm living there.

By: caitlinb

caitlinb — Sun, 29 May 2005 13:54:52 -0800

Cat allergen is sticky and hangs around in diminishing potency for several months (through vacuuming and various kinds of cleaning) after the cat is gone. It is not a bad idea to wipe down the walls and floors - having hardwood floors certainly makes things easier.

Allergy-product catalogs list enzyme cleaners that break down cat allergen, and there's at least one form of Febreze that claims to do the same thing. It's worthwhile.

By: Aknaton

Aknaton — Sun, 29 May 2005 16:24:34 -0800

I'm allergic to my cats, but do just fine through washing them (which doesn't apply to you) and using a HEPA vacuum cleaner (which does). Borrow one from a friend if you can.

I've never heard of being allergic to cat residue months later, or even after a good vacuuming. And I have known people whose cat allergies put them in comas. But, of course, they may not have mentioned this concern to me.

By: randomstriker

randomstriker — Sun, 29 May 2005 16:32:04 -0800

As you can see from the responses so far, allergies vary in degrees of sensitivity depending on the person. You will have to figure this out for yourself by hanging out for a couple of hours in the place that you're considering. If you get a very mild reaction, then it's something that can be dealt with using the various means people have suggested here. If you get a strong reaction, then no amount of carpet shampoo is going to resolve the problem to nil.