How long does it take cat allergy symptoms to go away?

BrokenArrows

So we got our two kittens yesterday.
I was fine yesterday and most of today but im now sneezing, runny nose itchy eyes.

My wife mentioned it could be allergies. Hopefully not and it's just a cold.

Anyway I've been hanging out in the garden for the last 30 minutes with no improvement in symptoms.

If I am allergic to cats how long do you think it would take for the symptoms to go away?

bisounours

Highly dependable on 1)how allergic you are 2) cat breed. Some cats’ saliva are less allergen inducing (Siberian, Ragdoll) to name a few but none are fully “allergy free.” Have you taken some antihistamines? If you are only mildly allergic, your body may be able to build up some resistance over the course of weeks/months. That tolerance will reduce though, if you go away on holidays for 2 weeks cat free, come home and you can start building that resistance up again.

em_cat

BrokenArrows wrote: »

So we got our two kittens yesterday.
I was fine yesterday and most of today but im now sneezing, runny nose itchy eyes.

My wife mentioned it could be allergies. Hopefully not and it's just a cold.

Anyway I've been hanging out in the garden for the last 30 minutes with no improvement in symptoms.

If I am allergic to cats how long do you think it would take for the symptoms to go away?

Do you mean go away for good? Allergy symptoms persist until they are limited by medication or the allergen is removed.

Allergies can’t be ‘cured’ but they can be controlled and it is possible to become desensitised to a particular allergen but that takes a long time.

Did you not test to see if you are allergic before getting them?

bobwilliams

Don't know...I've been allergic to the ****ers for yearsðŸ˜

Graces7

em_cat wrote: »

Do you mean go away for good? Allergy symptoms persist until they are limited by medication or the allergen is removed.

Allergies can’t be ‘cured’ but they can be controlled and it is possible to become desensitised to a particular allergen but that takes a long time.

Did you not test to see if you are allergic before getting them?

Does anyone?And how?

The time lapse gives hope it is not the kittens..

OP try eg piriton . See if that helps..

em_cat

Graces7 wrote: »

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Does anyone?And how?

The time lapse gives hope it is not the kittens..

OP try eg piriton . See if that helps..

I would hope so if say they adopted them as most rescues ask about known allergies.

But also the few breeders I know also ask.

Graces7

em_cat wrote: »

I would hope so if say they adopted them as most rescues ask about known allergies.

But also the few breeders I know also ask.

Oh ok...

em_cat

I was dx with allergies as a child, some severe and some mild.

I suppose it’s just something I’ve always been aware of.

Baybay

Always had numerous cats as a child & two of my own as an adult until the second one passed away at 13. Didn’t have another for a few years. Then we got our little rescue fellow, so cute. As it turned out, once he arrived I had nearly three weeks of misery, wondering how I’d never noticed an allergy before. Took the odd antihistamine when it got really bad but it eased off & eventually I’d no symptoms after about a month. He’s ruled our roost for eight years now!

BrokenArrows

We adopted from another family who couldn't keep them anymore.

I was more asking if i leave the house for a few hours should my symptoms go away if it is an allergy or would it take a few days?

sillysmiles

em_cat wrote: »

I would hope so if say they adopted them as most rescues ask about known allergies.

But also the few breeders I know also ask.

But you may not know. And until they are in the house, there isn't really a way of knowing.

cocker5

BrokenArrows wrote: »

We adopted from another family who couldn't keep them anymore.

I was more asking if i leave the house for a few hours should my symptoms go away if it is an allergy or would it take a few days?

OP there are a few things you can try

Have ur partner bring both of them outside each morning and brush them .. will help reduce dander

Feed them a little salmon oil in their food daily - helps reduce shedding

For yourself take daily antihistamine and rub a small amount of Vaseline around your nostrils- this reduces dander / hair from entering ur nose - also will help

Frazer600

BrokenArrows wrote: »

We adopted from another family who couldn't keep them anymore.

I was more asking if i leave the house for a few hours should my symptoms go away if it is an allergy or would it take a few days?

I would think having removed the allergen (not gotten rid of cats or in your case left the house it should only take a couple of hours. This would depend on how severe your reaction is and if you had taken antihistamine before. If you are trying to work out if it's head cold or allergy a head cold probably will only last three or for days after that it's possibly allergic reaction to something else. That said I have a daughter who was supper sensitive to our cat but as she grew it faded. Now she will only sneeze if they get up close and she will suffer a sneeze or two for a furry belly rubðŸ˜

volchitsa

OP, the itchy eyes in particular make me think it's an allergy and not a cold (we have a lot of allergies in the family).

It could be a reaction to something they've brought in from where they were before (if they were shampooed with something you're reacting to for instance, or something you've bought for the kittens, a cat scratcher or whatever. It could even be an allergy to something else entirely, though the likelihood is that it's related to their arrival.

Even if it is the kittens, that doesn't necessarily mean you have to get rid of them. I've seen several people who reacted to cats in the past but who ended up with cats in the house (usually forced to by the children!) and whose allergic reactions became much milder and easily managed. It means you can't do the cleaning up for them though - which is a plus for you!

BrokenArrows

Im sure im allergic. I worked from the office yesterday and was fine and the itchy eyes came back when i got home.

My reactions are pretty mild so im not concerned. Hopefully my mild symptoms will go away with time but even if they dont its not severe enough to even consider getting rid of the cats.

volchitsa

BrokenArrows wrote: »

Im sure im allergic. I worked from the office yesterday and was fine and the itchy eyes came back when i got home.

My reactions are pretty mild so im not concerned. Hopefully my mild symptoms will go away with time but even if they dont its not severe enough to even consider getting rid of the cats.

I've been told (for the children, but I assume it's the same) that for allergies the best approach is to treat them energetically for a short time when they happen, rather than letting them linger on by trying to ignore them, because it's the body's immune system itself that needs to be dampened down, not a virus where the immune system is working as it should do.

A minor allergy needs kind of the opposite approach to a minor infection where the best thing is to let the body do its work without help if possible, is what I'm saying.

So basically don't hesitate to take Piriton or whatever whenever you need to, and also get someone to wash the kittens if possible (it can be done if you start young) or if not to at least groom them well to remove the dander (and you have to stay away!) etc etc, the stuff you've been told above. And it may well start to lessen. Probably best not to touch them much at all, for the time being. Which is a pity but there you go.

volchitsa

(It's important not to just ignore it, because even if it's mild , you don't want it getting worse. And there is every chance that it may improve - but you want to put the chances on your side.)