Blog

In the event you’re a cat lover but in addition have allergy symptoms, you’re clearly in a little bit of a pickle! Your love to your cat might be at struggle with the discomfort of your allergy signs, so what’s a cat lover to do?

The principle instigators that set off cat allergy symptoms are cat dander and saliva. Eliminating as a lot of the dander as potential can assist allergy victims tremendously.

Right here, we train you just a few efficient strategies for decreasing the quantity of cat dander floating round your private home. We hope that this helps you and anybody else within the family with allergy symptoms to be extra snug. It additionally means you possibly can spend extra time together with your cat!

Getting Rid of Cat Dander: It Begins With Your Cat

1. Brush Your Cat Continuously

Let’s begin with the principle offender: your cat. Brushing your cat typically, even a shorthaired cat, can assist scale back dander. If brushing your cat whereas coping with allergy symptoms appears daunting, strive carrying a masks and gloves throughout this course of. It may also assist to do the brushing on a porch or different room closed off from the remainder of the home.

Brushing cats permits the pure oils on their pores and skin and coats to be distributed, which retains their pores and skin more healthy. It additionally removes many of the useless hair and the cells that may trigger dander. This may scale back the quantity of dander in your cat’s coat.

2. Discover a Solution to Frequently Clear Your Cat

Some cats benefit from the water and consequently, baths, so when you’ve got a cat like that, take into account giving them a shower now and again.

Make sure that you solely use shampoos formulated for cats, and do not forget that bathing cats too typically can dry out their pores and skin, which can solely worsen the dander subject.

There are waterless shampoos which you can rub into your cat’s coat after which brush by, in addition to sprays and wipes.

3. Feed Your Cat Properly

The more healthy your cat is, the more healthy their pores and skin and coat are, and good well being begins with the right weight loss plan.

Feeding your cat high-quality meals, notably one enriched with omega fatty acids, will hold your cat’s coat lustrous and their pores and skin wholesome. A very good weight loss plan can scale back your cat’s shedding and dander.

4. Maintain Your Cat Free From Parasites

That is important in case your cat goes exterior or you’ve gotten different pets. Parasites equivalent to mites, fleas, and ticks can irritate your cat’s pores and skin, which can create a snowstorm of dander throughout scratching session.

In the event you suspect that your cat might need a flea or one other parasite subject, take them to the vet. Lowering the quantity of dander depends on the well being of your cat’s pores and skin.

Actions That You Can Take Across the Dwelling

5. Clear Your Home

The extra dander mendacity on surfaces, the extra it’ll set off allergy symptoms. Frequently clear and wipe down surfaces equivalent to partitions, counters, tabletops, and baseboards.

Think about investing in an upholstery vacuum, which can make your job cleansing curtains, chairs, and couches simpler. If a vacuum is out of your finances, get your self lint brush.

Lastly, you would possibly need to shampoo or steam clear a few of your upholstery and carpets to get on the dander that may be extra embedded.

It’s additionally a good suggestion to declutter. The extra odds and ends and knickknacks that you’ve got in your house, the extra surfaces you’ll want to scrub.

6. Spend money on an Air Filter

When you’ve gotten allergy symptoms, a HEPA filter is your good friend. You’ll be able to set up it in your house’s air ducts or spend money on an air air purifier that makes use of a HEPA filter. It received’t assist with pet dander on surfaces, however it might probably assist clear the air in your house.

In the event you go the air air purifier route, you’ll have to buy a couple of. Goal for a minimum of one in the lounge and one for the bed room or some other room the place you spend an excessive amount of time.

7. Clear the Air Ducts

You must severely take into account hiring professionals to scrub the air ducts in your house each 2 to 4 years. In fact, you possibly can have them cleaned yearly when you select.

The air ducts accumulate a mess of contaminants, together with mud and dander. When the central air or heating activates, they blow these microscopic particles into your private home.

8. Maintain the Litter Field Clear

The litter field generally is a vital supply of allergens, so carry on prime of cleansing it ceaselessly (which you have to be doing, anyway). Attempt to hold it in part of the house the place you don’t spend a lot time (which is normally the case as a result of nobody needs to hang around with a litter field close by).

Scooping is sweet, however when you’ve got allergy symptoms, you’ll have to dump out the whole contents and refill the field with recent litter fairly ceaselessly. Don’t neglect to scrub the litter field itself.

9. Maintain Your Cat Out of Your Bed room

This generally is a harder step when you get pleasure from having your cat cuddle with you in mattress. However your greatest guess is to maintain your cat out of your bed room always.

This fashion, you should have a better time conserving on prime of cleansing your room, and it’s best to sleep higher.

10. Keep on High of the Laundry

Similar to it’s worthwhile to hold your private home clear, it’s best to at all times keep on prime of the laundry. Since pet dander is in your clothes and different materials, like your sheets (when you let your cat into your room), pillows, cat beds, and blankets, frequent washing will take away fairly a considerable amount of dander.

If the material permits for it (examine the washing directions), attempt to wash every thing in sizzling water a minimum of as soon as a month to take away the dander. Make some extent of operating your washer on a clear cycle from time to time too.

Why Does Dander Trigger Allergy symptoms?

Dander is microscopic, so you possibly can’t really see it with the bare eye. In the event you discover dry flakes in your cat’s coat, that is dandruff, which might point out an issue together with your cat’s pores and skin, so see a vet.

Dander incorporates a protein referred to as Fel d 1, which is discovered within the cat’s sebaceous and salivary glands and their urine. This protein is unfold over the cat’s fur whereas they groom themselves and is launched with the cat’s shed pores and skin and hair.

When Fel d 1 is rubbed from the cat’s coat, it attaches itself to each floor and can set off an allergy sufferer’s signs if inhaled or ingested.

Whereas hypoallergenic and hairless cats might need much less dander than different breeds, they nonetheless do have dander, so that you’ll nonetheless want to scrub up after them.

Conclusion

In case your or your member of the family’s allergy symptoms are severe, it’s best to converse to your physician earlier than trying to dwell with a cat. However with cautious planning and a little bit of elbow grease, it’s potential.

That stated, it’s worthwhile to hold your cat’s greatest pursuits in thoughts. In the event you can’t work together together with your cat with out affected by an allergy assault, it may be greatest to discover a new residence for them. As heartbreaking as it could be, your cat and your allergy symptoms are the vital elements right here.

However when you can safely comply with the following tips, it simply would possibly work. Proudly owning a cat whereas having allergy symptoms is an excessive amount of effort, however aren’t cats price it?

Featured Picture Credit score: Lemalisa, Shutterstock