<p>As a spinoff to the dog dander question, i have a similar situation. I have two cats. Apparently, some time between when I lived at home with the family cat and now my father has become somewhat allergic to cats. We also just found out one of our in town relatives who comes to dinner often is also allergic to cats, though probably not very allergic, as she was over several times before she mentioned it to us. And I’m guessing cat allergies are not all that uncommon.</p>
<p>What can we do to make our home inviting for those allergy sufferers? </p>
<p>When guests are here we keep the cats in their own room. The cats are never allowed in any of the guest suites, so there is no lurking cat dander in those rooms. For guest who are staying the night we clean the house thoroughly before they arrive. If its just for dinner we use a swifter on the floors and brush down all the furniture to get the cat hair off. </p>
<p>Cleaning the place too close to visit time sometimes makes things worse as it has some of the allergens flying in the air and not settled down.
I think whatever you are doing is good but if the person is highly allergic then nothing will eliminate the problem.
One of my friends is mildly allergic and she is doing fine in my house (I do what you do). My other friend though which is highly allergic gets bothered. So he always takes his zyrtec when staying over and it works miracles!
I actually keep a box of it in my house for him.</p>
<p>I use Allersearch products. They have two different kinds of sprays, a dry carpet powder, laundry detergent, etc. I use them for my son’s dust mite allergy, but they also work on pet dander because they break down the allergens. When I am faithful about it, it makes a big difference in my son’s symptoms.</p>
<p>Cat allergy sufferer here! We love when cat owners care about our comfort. Here are a few things that I have learned and experienced.</p>
<p>As am9799 mentioned, clean the house a day or two before the company comes, if possible to allow the dander to settle.</p>
<p>When I am at a house with cats I sit only on wooden or leather furniture. No upholstered stuff as that is where the dander hangs out.</p>
<p>All cats are not equal. Studies have been done that show that darker cats cause less allergic symptoms than lighter cats. I have found this to be true. The worst reaction I ever had was to a Siamese cat.</p>
<p>Let guests know ahead of time that you have cats (or remind them) so they can medicate themselves.</p>
<p>Keeping them out of the guests room is a great, great idea!!!</p>
<p>That is really interesting about the different color cats. I recently got a white cat, all my others have been dark. Now if someone could just breed a non allergic cat that doesn’t shed, that would be awesome!</p>
<p>Yes for the upholster tip!
I have a plain wood chair and that is where my very sensitive friend sits. </p>
<p>If weather permits we also use the outside a lot. I set dinner at the deck etc.</p>
<p>And yes also for the cat type. And funny enough we do have a black cat and my friend did say that my house is more tolerant than other houses. I always though is because we vacuum a lot!</p>
<p>My husband is very allergic and has had asthma attacks after contact with cats. Be careful about blankets. My husband had an asthma attack on a “cat free” boat from blankets from my parent’s non cat free house. </p>
<p>Yes to the warnings. My husband will need a steroid taper before spending the night or we would sleep elsewhere. Non cloth furniture is another must. Probably no reason to keep the cats closed in as it’s the fur which is the problem.</p>
I’ve heard the opposite. [Allergies</a> and the Color of Your Cat - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/23/allergies-and-the-color-of-your-cat/]Allergies”>Allergies and the Color of Your Cat - The New York Times) We’ve had an orange and white tabby for 16 years and I never had any allergic reactions to cats in my life. So a few years ago I started volunteering at the local humane society and started having allergic reactions to the black cats. The staff told me that black cats have more of the protein that produces allergens. I do agree with Siamese being the worst though - I spent five minutes in a room with one and had to run to the bathroom to rinse out my streaming eyes.</p>
<p>Instead of bathing the cat, you can run a damp washcloth over the fur after brushing. It helps pick up the loose hairs.</p>
<p>Maybe I have the color thing backwards. Sorry. I do know that Siamese is the worst for me.</p>
<p>Yes. Blankets are a horror show for people with pet allergies. Throws on the couches, etc. Washing them ahead of time would be wonderful.</p>
<p>Also want to note that, for me at least, a bad reaction to a cat can go on for as long as 24 hours after contact has ceased! Even if I leave the premises, I bring the symptoms with me ( sneezing, runny nose, hives, wheezing, itching ears and throat).</p>
<p>Another point that I want to point out is that, ironically, I actually LIKE cats! I have to force myself not to pet them. People will say things like “Oh, sorry, I forgot that you hate cats”.<br>
:(</p>
<p>If you are going to wash your cat, then carefully choose your shampoo. Avoid all shampoos that list a first step of “Thoroughly wet cat” and have additional steps beyond it. Get the stuff that lists the first step as putting the shampoo on a dry coat; second step is washing it off. Once your feline is coated in fruit-scented shampoo, he will happily (okay, relatively happily) submit to having it washed off him.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you can attempt to wash the cat in the guest bedroom, thereby ensuring that either your cat will get clean, or your cat will never set paw in that room AGAIN. :D</p>
<p>It’s really nice that you want to make things more comfortable but there is nothing you can really do. I don’t spend the night at someone’s home who has cats, I’m just too miserable. If I come to your house I like to sit in the kitchen or outside. Don’t be put out, I’m not put out that you have cats. I just feel like I’ve been on a 3 day bender. My D breaks out in hives and her eyes swell shut. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t even buy a house that had a cat. I did once, suffered from chronic sinus infections. Bought a new house and sinus infections gone. You cannot get rid of cat dander.</p>
<p>When I bought my house 25 years ago the previous owners had several cats. They had also left about 10 bags of dirty cat litter under the back deck. Disgusting!!!</p>
<p>I didn’t know about the cats when I bought it as the house was empty when we looked at it. We got rid of all the drapes and carpet (they needed to go anyway) and did a deep cleaning. For the first few weeks I remember taking Claritin but after that it was fine. It is an old house so very “porous”. Stuff doesn’t stay around for long.</p>
<p>The ghost, on the other hand, stayed a while. :)</p>
<p>Just make sure not to lock your cats away with your guest’s coat, which is what one unthinking hostess did to my highly allergic ex. The whole family had to leave all coats in the car after that, regardless of the weather.</p>
<p>I’m highly allergic to cats and can tell within 5 minutes of entering a house if a cat is there. Allergist told me that most cat dander is very light so floats through the air. I would never expect someone to clean their entire house to invite me over for dinner but eating outside, opening the windows and having hard surfaces to sit is always helpful.</p>
<p>If I had a family member that was spending the night, I would put a fresh filter (allergy quality) in the ac/heat. I would also consider purchasing a small electric allergy air filter in their bedroom. Some cat allergies are minor and you can take an antihistamine; others are severe and with full allergy meds it can go into hives or asthma. I’ve had to decline offers from family members to spend the night. I appreciate it when they accept that it’s something my system can’t tolerate not that I don’t want to be with them or they need to clean more.</p>
<p>We recently hosted a friend who is highly allergic to cats; she brought her own tent to stay the night. Even so, we cleaned everything as thoroughly as possible, from washing the sofa’s slipcover down to vacuuming the velvet backs of the picture frames in the living room.</p>
<p>Oh, an unopened box of tissues is probably welcome (my friend can’t use the ones that are open in the guest bathroom, as the dander settles on the lead tissue).</p>