Need some advice about a family thing...

[NbMaxx13]

A little background .... My Name is Eric , I am a REEF adict ... I am a single father to 3 boys 11, 10, 8 who grew up right outside of Boston and lived there most of my 29 years until last January when I moved to Roanoke Va. , because well the place I lived was no place I wanted my kids to grow up , I simply did not want them to grow up how I did ... That said I moved here so that my kids could play outside , play organized sports etc...etc...etc... another one of the benifits was that they could finally have real pets ... We have had 2 Cats for the length of time we've been here... I am in love w/ my cats and my boys are silly about em as well . Here is my dilema. I also have a daughter who lives in Mass. and I really only get to see here a few times a year . I look forward to each visit more than anything else I could imagine. since I have moved she has been down a few times and I have been back a good few times to visit. She happens to be coming for the first time to stay w/ me for a few months over the summer , and I am terribly excited about it. The problem is she is allergic to cats .... As it stands right now it seems to be that I will have to put them up for adoption or @ the very least find them good homes. I know it is a small price to pay and my daughter is the most important thing here , but I feel like it is going to kill me to get rid of them and the boys have allready voiced thier feelings about all of this .... Any advice?

[dc]

Can you find a long term babysitter? Hopefully the boys won't hold this against their sister, kids can be such little farts sometimes. You could try shaving and bathing them a lot. My SIL's hubby is allergic and that's what they do. Generally it's the dander they are allergic to. A very good vacuum and keep her room(assuming she has one)closed off to them. Maybe catdoc has some ideas.

[jpfelix]

the two most popular cat allergies are to dander proteins or saliva proteins. regular bathing will help with both of these. cats shed--the hair that has been licked will irritate those with saliva issues, most hair and even just the shed skin (dander) will irrate others. my cats don't shed much (see avatar) but if they go too long without a bath i get sniffly 'casue they still lick themselves. darn cats!

[Fat Man]

Do these cats go outside? If they do they can be put into temporary exile outdoors. Clean the house well and your daughter shouldn't have problems and you keep the cats. The cats won't like it much but they'll survive.

We had to do this with ours after the birth of our son, Mrs. Man became allergic to her felines.

[NbMaxx13]

Well the cats are indoor cats and I live in a complex anyhow . A friend of mine who called me when he saw the post had mentioned trying to keep them isolated in one room. Now I could try to set them up in one room but I am not sure if this works for the summer. If I were to try this i have to start now to allow me the time to clean clean clean .... curious if anyone has an opinion on this?'

Also ...thanks to everyone who has read and offered suggestions ... top notch , and much appreciated

[Pernelf]

How old is your daughter? Is she old enough to take allergy medication like Claritin? That combined with regular bathing of the cat should do very well. Also make sure she washes her hands after touching the cat. My mother is allergic to cats. When she comes to visit, the cat gets a bath and my mom starts taking allergy meds a few days before she comes to visit and she's fine.

[TheBimbo]

:( tooo bad you couldn't find somebody to kitty sit for you... I'm sure your boys will miss them, but sometimes you've got to do what you gotta do... I'd talk w/your vet though, maybe they could help you in some way, put up a flier in your apt complex, do you have a mailbox area??? Place it there, explain briefly what you'll need and offer a fee if you're able to... Just might work, and it won't hurt to try ;) ...


Hope that you have a wonderful visit with your daughter also...


Christy...:)

[Sk8r]

Set aside one room. You may have to change clothes and shower head to foot when tending them up close, but again, a small price to pay. If you work it right, you can make the boys understand about family, love of sibs, love of pets, and how much you're willing to go through to solve a problem. If everybody works on it together, and protects the sister in a good spirit, while taking care to see kitties get face time, too, kitties possibly sleeping with the kids, and them doing the litter-changing and feeding, you can make it work and come out stronger: the girl should understand the effort they're making, and they should understand her need and her cooperation in other areas. Lot of laundry, possibly blocking airflow under the door, lot of showers and shampoo, but that never hurt. I wish you a lot of luck!

[pnosko]

I think the treatment for humans against cat allergies have come a long way. I'd look into that first.

[Minuteman]

That's what I was thinking. See a doc about getting some allergy medication for your daughter.

[rivank]

I'm allergic to cats as well. My wife and daughters love them I can't stand them. I have found that a good allergy med and a dander spray that I picked up from the Pet store works real well. The cat don't much care for the spray but it's that or he's gone!

[Sloth]

Make sure you vacuum everything and dust everywhere. I'm allergic too and when my brother cleans up, I can tolerate being at his place. If she is VERY allergic though, any amount of cleaning and medication might not help. In that case, get rid of the cats. Otherwise the poor girl will be miserable and that's not the kind of impression you want to leave her with.

[oz]

People are allergic to cat's saliva. How about if you just give the cats a bath just before daughter arrive. But have a plan B, which could be putting the cats in pets boarding place while daughter is visiting.

[Minuteman]

And telling the cat to stop spitting everywhere...

[Raki04]

I myself am alergic to cats and we have 5 of them ....It usually takes just a week or two for my system to adjust to the cat then unless I pet them then touch my eyes I'm fine.
unless it trips off asthma I would just keep the cats and the house as clean and vaccumed as possable...she may even love having the cats around.

[CrystalAZ]

You definitely don't have to get rid of the cats. You've gotten some good advice here.

Shave them - they look silly, but it REALLY helps. We have a mobile groomer that will come and do it for us right at our home.

Vacuum and clean your house really well before your daughter gets there.

Definitely talk to a doctor about the best option for keeping her allergies at bay. She could possibly take a shot or start taking meds before she comes down and she may have no reaction at all to the cats.

If she gets there and starts having reactions, then look into locking them into their own room or finding a kennel or babysitter for them.

It should work out fine!

Crystal

[avshockey311]

Check www.craigslist.com in your area. There is always people advertising for pet sitting or long term sitting.