This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 9:21 pm and is filed under Cats. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Increasingly people are finding that they are allergic to cats (as well as other things), but unfortunately this isn’t realized until they have bought the cat into their home. Not only does it become an upsetting issue for the family who then have to decide what to do with their new pet, but the cat’s outlook becomes a little bleaker!
As allergies aren’t uncommon, it’s best to investigate whether or not you, or any other member of the household, have an allergy to cats before you bring one into your home. There are a couple of easy ways to do this; firstly you can simply be around cats and see what happens. Either visit friends or family members who have cats, or even explain the situation to a cat breeder and ask them if you can have some interaction with their cats with a view to purchasing one if you aren’t allergic. You may find that you are only allergic to certain breeds for example. The second way is to ask your GP if he can refer you for a simple allergy test. If the test shows positive, but you really feel that your life would be enriched by having a cat, then you can seek advice as to whether or not there are medical options open to you that will at least lessen the symptoms if not completely cure the allergy.
Investigating whether or not you are allergic may seem a little like “putting the cart before the horse” but when you bring a cat into your family, you are committing to providing it with a home for life. Finding that you then have an allergic reaction to this new family member can be traumatic for all concerned, so it’s better to think forward rather than in regrettable hindsight.