Question:
Anyone else out there allergic to their kitties but choose to suffer like I do?
Answer:
I'm not allergic to cats, but I am allergic to my dog, a nice long
haired sheltie, who sleeps on my bed next to me. I was diagnosed at age 5, but I already had a dog by then. I'd much
rather suffer the allergies than give up the animals. I just put up
with the sneezing and blowing my nose. I do sort of have a built iup
immunity. Just usually a good blow in the morning, and I'm okay. I do
have to wash the bedding more when she's shedding, and I learned the
hard way not to brush her on the bed. Now, I did have a good example. My mom is allergic to both cats and
dogs, and we have always had both since before I was born. She gets
allergy shots once a month to keep hers under control. Who is assigning blame? Obviously, the many of us who choose to have pets
despite our allergies certainly arent laying "fault" on anyone. Its not just their dander, either. You can be allergic to their urine and
saliva. I have to agree. I've never blamed my animals for my defective
respiratory system :) I'm on my third dog now, and both two and 3 have been long haired,
plenty of shedding fur shelties. I love fluffy dogs, so I will
continue to have them. I have every intention of having at least 1 dog
in the house at all times. Preferably two or 3 so that they have a
buddy of their own kind to play with. My mom is allergic to both cats and dogs and I don't think I have ever
heard her complain about the animals. She's the one that started us
down this road. My dad, the one without allergies, is the non-pet
person, and he has grown to love them too. Now, the real problem is that my mom gave me allergies (almost
anything in the air will qualify), and my dad gave me a small throat,
so I have a lovely system. You should have seen me at horse farms a few years ago. I'm allergic
to hay as well as dust, mold, pollen, trees, grass, weeds, etc. So,
when I was at photographing the horses (my small business), I woudl be
going through kleenex like crazy. The embarassment of people feeling
sorry for me was much worse than the actual allergies. Since then, I have found a couple things that help clear up most of
it, so I only have minor blowing. And I always carry tylenol,
including chewable for when I am out in the field. So, I can head off
a headache before it really gets started. Overall, I find those allergies to be far worse than the daily
exposure to my dog. She just makes me blow my nose in the morning and
clear my throat.
