Coping with Cat Allergies

Filed in archive Living with Allergies , Pet Allergies on February 19, 2007

After all the previous entries I've written on pet allergies, I thought I already knew quite a bit about living and coping with allergies to pet dander and such. But hey, you learn a new thing every day!

Reading this article on kdka, for example, here are some bits of info that were new to me and I'm passing them on in case someof you might benefit from them:

If the cats do get on the bed, Hutchinson says washing the bedspread in water hotter than 140-degrees will help kill the dander. If washing isn't an option - putting the object in the freezer will kill off the dander.

And hey, freezing works for ridding stuff toys of dust mites, too!

As for the cats themselves, Dr. Hutchinson recommends washing them every 4 to 6 weeks with this special formula: one gallon of water mixed with 10-percent white vinegar and one capful of Downy fabric softener.

Sounds like a cheap alternative to special shampoos out there.

Dr. Hutchinson says certain cats are less likely to cause allergies: females with lighter hair and healthy cats.

Of course, if you can afford it, you can have hypoallergenic cats, too, for about $3,500 per kitten. See the full article from kdka, with the accompanying video report, for more info.