AMVERS' Companions!

[Pwolf]

You people and your cats and copycats is making this cat lover jealous. My landpeople hate cats, so I'm a dog lover until I move out and get a better place.

I'm super jealous too. I love cats but can't be around one for more than half an hour without dying (allergies).

I always think that's a poor excuse to not get a cat, you just need to get used to it, unless you get a severe reaction. Over time your system will become resistant. But, I can understand though... the time it takes for that to happen isn't quick so in the meantime you're suffering. I was never very allergic to my cats since I've always had one since I was young. I haven't had any cats for a few years though so now pretty much any interaction with a cat will set my allergies off, but it's worth it, I love cats :O

[downwithpants]

you just need to get used to it, unless you get a severe reaction. Over time your system will become resistant.

actually i think allergies work the opposite way. your reaction gets worse following your first exposures. if the reaction isn't severe though, you can learn to cope, or learn which allergy medication works best for you.

allergic reactions can change over years, though i don't think that has to do with tolerance.

[jasper-isis]

Well, as an example... a couple weeks ago I welcomed in a lost cat, and within half an hour my eyes were so blurry I couldn't see properly, and I was sneezing at the rate of about 1 achoo every 5 seconds.

I'm of the opinion that it is irresponsible for an allergic person to adopt a cat unless they are extremely committed to it. Even then, the situation isn't ideal. I know that some people with allergies manage to keep cats by bathing them every week. While this might be fine depending on the cat, cats usually don't like being bathed, and some would say that it's unfair (even cruel) to force a cat to adapt to your lifestyle in such a manner.

[CodeZTM]

Hairless cat?

[dwchang]

You people and your cats and copycats is making this cat lover jealous. My landpeople hate cats, so I'm a dog lover until I move out and get a better place.

I'm super jealous too. I love cats but can't be around one for more than half an hour without dying (allergies).

I always think that's a poor excuse to not get a cat, you just need to get used to it, unless you get a severe reaction. Over time your system will become resistant. But, I can understand though... the time it takes for that to happen isn't quick so in the meantime you're suffering. I was never very allergic to my cats since I've always had one since I was young. I haven't had any cats for a few years though so now pretty much any interaction with a cat will set my allergies off, but it's worth it, I love cats :O

Uhhh I don't think you everget used to it since allergies are internal and part of your body chemistry and genetic. As DWP noted, they'll probably get worse. If I don't take any allergy medication before visiting a place that has cats, like Jasper, my eyes will water, my skin will itch and I'll sneeze every few minutes.

So yeah I'm with Jasper on this one. She shouldn't get a cat unless she hates herself .

[Pwolf]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyposensitization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_allergy

Read up ^ . Like I said, I used to be really allergic to cats until I started being around them more... It's not necessarily cruel to bath a cat every week either. Most cats are fine with water, if you're gentle enough then they wont put up a fight. It's the sudden sensation of the water that freaks them out. Obviously taking in a cat when you have a high intolerance of the allergy is a bad idea for the owner but if you take steps to lessen the effects then owning a cat isn't impossible and your tolerances will grow. Granted, as chang said, some of that is genetic so you may not grow any immunity in which case, you can always get a hypoallergenic cat

[Pwolf]

PS: more pix >.>

My great Aunt & Uncle's pets - my animals away from home:

Lucy - taken tonight while I was over there for dinner... laser eyes o.o


Sunny - old picture. This was when she had surgery on her leg and had to be put in the cage at night

[BasharOfTheAges]

Hairless cat?

best kind.

[dwchang]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyposensitization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_allergy

Read up ^

-_____________________________-

Scott you're talking to someone who had Immunotherapy for like 5 years and got allergy shots. It helps A LOT, but it doesn't make you completely immune to allergies. They give you progressively larger doses of allergens to make your system adapt to it, but you will never be completely immune (doctor's words not mine). Basically if I go say and mow the lawn I still get a reaction, but not as bad as it used to be. I can also go around outside without having to take any Allegra or anything. I used to have to take it daily, hence why I got shots. The thought of taking a pill every day for the rest of the day was just bleh.

Also maybe you should read the articles too .

Finally, some allergy sufferers find relief in periodic injection therapy designed to stimulate the body's natural immune responses to the cat allergen. Although this is not usually 100% successful, it can reduce reactions to tolerable levels for many individuals

That's me so I agree with you there. However:

Many people originally allergic to cats have, over time, become "immune" to allergic symptoms from their own cats; however, they may still have allergic reactions, of varying intensity, to other cats. This is not reliable when deciding to get a cat as a pet, as allergy may become worse, not better, with time.

Again, I don't doubt shots lessen allergic reactions since I'm living proof, but completely immune is not going to happen. Folks like me who got shots which were inconvenient for a few years did it so it'd be better later on in life and it is. I'm not doubting that claim. I'm doubting this complete immunity claim because I've done the therapy you're referring to and I'm not completely immune to anything I was previous allergic to. If I have a high dose of an allergen, my body will still react. It's in my DNA (my father has nearly the same allergies). Like it'd be dumb for me to put my face in a cat and rub it around.

In all honesty, and I'm completely speculating, I think folks who say they're now completely immune to their cats might be doing something psychologically they're not aware of. The mind is a pretty good placebo and I wouldn't be surprised if folks like their cats so much or live with them so long that they learn to cope with the reactions or their mind convinces their body that they're OK. It's not an unheard of thing.

However, I for one, even after 5+ years of shots, still get reactions around cats, pollens, grasses, etc. so it goes without saying I'll never own a cat .

Awesome...Sunny the fat dog.

Edit: I also just re-read your post and you said tolerance not immunity (the wikipedia article however said that immunity claim). I 100% agree with you on the tolerance claim. The shots have done wonders for me and I almost never have to take medication now. I used to take one every day or just going outside would be unbearable (I'm allergic to literally EVERY tree, grass, pollen in America -____________________-). Anyway looks like we agree on tolerance so my post was probably unnecessary. BLEH.

[Pwolf]

Edit: I also just re-read your post and you said tolerance not immunity (the wikipedia article however said that immunity claim). I 100% agree with you on the tolerance claim. The shots have done wonders for me and I almost never have to take medication now. I used to take one every day or just going outside would be unbearable (I'm allergic to literally EVERY tree, grass, pollen in America -____________________-). Anyway looks like we agree on tolerance so my post was probably unnecessary. BLEH.

Yea, even i'm not even 100% immune but my tolerance is high enough that I can deal with it. Actually, even spending one night a week at my Aunt's house playing with her cat, I came home Sunday night stuffed up and my eyes were crazy itchy -_-