Asthma

[Millys Mum]

For a moment, i thought "i dont remember posting this" 

Glad your sister has some options to try Millies Mum  healthcare 'professionals'  always pick on any animals first but theres so many other triggers

[Feline Costumier]

I'm quite allergic to most animals, including cats and developed asthma in my early twenties. The cats do aggravate it to a degree but then so does a high pollen count, very dusty places, some perfumes, very cold weather or high humidity..............the list goes on. I control it with allergy tablets, vacuuming, preventor inhalers and relievers when needed. My asthma is only mild and I have not had an attack since the one that had me diagnosed so it is easily controllable and the cats needn't be an issue. I don't take a lot of medication and it's a small sacrifice to have the puds. Also, the negatives of having the cats can probably be far outweighed by the positives, they are great stress relievers

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

I have it but mine is triggered by pollen mostly. I have 4 cats and have a preventer inhaler each day as well as a reliever should I need it which is very very rare! In fact pretty much only in the summer or if I have a horrid cold. Even if my cats were a trigger, I would rather find a way to control my asthma than live without my puds. I'm sure your sis will find a way to make it work.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Having asthma doesnt necessarily mean that her cats will aggravate it.  With asthma, you tend to have trigger factors - things that set it off.  Cats may or may not be a trigger.  I have asthma but cats don't affect it.  Cold weather does as do house dust mites.  Your friend shouldn't let anyone (esp doctors) tell her the cats are a problem unless she really thinks they do affect her.  If they do affect her, then things like petal cleanse might help along with keeping the cats out of certain rooms (esp bedroom), damp dusting, regular grooming and/or bathing of the cats etc.  If she is asthmatic at home, it's very likely to be dust mites that are the problem as they are a common allergen so she should deal with those before assuming the cats are the problem. 

[Millies mum]

My sister does not smoke but her OH does so there's another problem i guess, she does have wooden flooring and she is currently looking at the products available from the link i sent her.
Thank you all for your comments and help i knew i would get some great feed back from you all the last thing she would ever do is rehome her cats and the only place they'd go if she did is to me 
  for your help

[Kucinta]

I have adult onset asthma and my cats have no effect on it whatsoever. I had the asthma before I had my cats, but it was not made worse when I stayed in households that had resident cats, and getting my boys made no difference to the pattern of my asthma. I'm not saying cats can't contibute to triggering an asthma bout, just saying that it's not true for all asthma sufferers.

[Fire Fox]

Not all asthma is allergic in origin, and not all allergies are related to pets. Does your sister smoke or is there anyone around her that smokes? Cigarette smoke on clothing is a known trigger for children's asthma, don't see why the same wouldn't be true for adults. One of the best 'natural' treatments for asthma is regular exercise at a moderate intensity - some forms of yoga and swimming are though to be particularly good due to the breath control element. 

I read on one of the raw fed sites that some people who are allergic to pets found they were less allergic when the pets were fed a raw diet. I guess this is only anecdotal, but there is some sense it it as an animal will excrete any undesirable compounds - and the skin is the largest organ of excretion. Is there anyone else in the house that could groom the cats regularly, perhaps with a Furminator or similar? Then vacuum up using a machine with a HEPA filter.

[Tiggy's Mum]

I have quite severe asthma which has worsened in the last 5 years or so. I never used to be affected by it and have had asthma since I was a small child and cats from the age of 10, when I was in hospital a few years ago the doc found out I had a cat and suddenly it was like the light had come on in his eyes and he blamed my asthma on the cat and suggested I 'get rid'. I pointed out that I had a cat and asthma for the previous decade with no issues so I didn't think it was the cat affecting my asthma and I certainly wasn't going to 'get rid'!

The point of the above is that your sisters asthma may not be affected by cats, if it is then there's lots of options - tablets, 'preventer' inhalers, reliever inhalers, increase hoovering or go for laminate/wood flooring, petal cleanse etc

[Liz]

My OH has Asthma and Nurse said cats had to go - he said over his dead body which I agreed with!

We have wooden and tiled floors, hoover every other day and keep throws etc well washed

We also sleep with 12 cats most nights as he said he needs anchors for the duvet

When he is away he can't sleep right as he can sleep in normal position not round the cats!

Oh and we have 46 cats and 3 dogs and his is controlled and no episodes unlike our last house where he was hospitalised it had carpets!

[Smudgey]

I have asthma and 2 puds
I guess it would depend on wether the cats are a trigger i.e cause it to be worse and her have an attack

[clarenmax]

Petal Cleanse is indeed the stuff, a friend of mine has been using it as she developed an allergy to her longhaired girl, and so far so good.

My Dad suffered very badly with asthma when he was younger, the inhalers were nowhere near as good as they are now, and he managed with his dogs at the time.

I know Tiggy's Mum on here is a sufferer as well, so hopefully she'll pop by with some useful advice too 

[Millies mum]

The website is pretty useful thank you i might just use them myself too 

[Janeyk]

Hiya, yep fine in this section  this link may be helpful, it gives some info on being allergic to cats: http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,4837.0.html

the stuff you mention could be Petal Cleanse  (for allergies) and there's a link to info about that too when you get near the bottom of the page.  Hope that helps 

[Millies mum]

Hi all i'm not sure i have posted this in the right section so apologies if i haven't.
My sister may have asthma she will find out for sure on Friday.She has 4 cats and is really upsetting herself as people are suggesting that her kitty's will make her chest worse and there is no way she would think about re-homing her babies.I said i myself was unsure and that i'm sure i read somewhere on this forum that asthma wasn't associated with cats or there was some medication to help people who suffer with it and have cats???
We would appreciate any info any one has regarding cats and asthma sufferers PLEASE GUYS