Allergic to some cats but not others??

[KittysMum]

Hi all - me again!

We bumped into our dermatologist in town today, and she said the results of Kitty's allergy tests are back and that she's tested allergic to a lot of things, but she'd discuss it all at our next appointment. She did let slip, however, that Kitty has tested positive to cats... BIG eek.

BUT I'm puzzled, as she's been around our long-haired persian, Paws, constantly, and has had really long clear-as-a-peach spells.

We have noticed that she flares after visiting my in-laws each Saturday, and they have a short-haired moggy...

I know it's a reaction to the saliva, rather than the fur itself. Could it be that as Paws next to never grooms himself, there's just not the amount of dander in the air to cause a problem?

I'm worried, as I honestly don't think she is allergic to Paws. If I thought he was the cause, I'd re-home him like a shot (well, okay, it'd be tough, but you get the picture!) She has no other symptoms at all and since stopping potato in her diet the other week, her skin's been good as ever - with Paws still very much around.

Our HV noticed ages ago that Kitty seemed to flare at the start of each week (We visit the in-laws each Saturday). We visited the in-laws today, and Kitty's tummy and back have started to look rashy. It makes me wonder...

Has anyone ever heard of people being allergic to certain breeds of cats and not others?? Sounds strange, even to me, but if it were possible, I'd be so delighted to hear about it. What do you think? (Go on - be brutal; I'm a tough old bird...)

[motherof3]

I have heard that Persians aren't as bothersome to people with allergies.  My Dh is allergic to cats and dogs.  When I was in college one of my professors breeded Persians and she told me about this, since I am a cat lover.  But I could never talk him into getting one.    We do now have a dog (Portuguese Water Dog) and my Dh isn't allergic to her. 

Andrea

[aidliz]

I have heard being around animals that you are allergic to at a young age is good.  It could be she is used of Paws, she has been around him and his furryness her whole life so her body has adjusted to him?

My sister is allergic to cats, really bad.  My dh had a cat when we met.  Smokey doesnt bother her and she has slept here a few times.  She is allergic to the dander of cats and i guess they all have different dander.   Have you ever slept away from home, if so did you notice any change in her, like she felt better?  If not, then Paws can stay.

[KittysMum]

Thanks girls - reassuring!

He's not going anywhere unless I'm pretty certain that he's a problem and at the moment, I just don't think he is, whatever the blood test may say.

What worries me, is that Kitty may have other allergy problems in the future that we need hospital help with, but they might be unhappy to help us, if we've been told that the cat's a problem but fail to act on it by re-homing him. I've already been told I'm a 'non-compliant' mother once by my HV in the past for stopping a cream I was convinced was doing Kitty no good... hmmm.

[Spectra]

Most people are allergic to the dander, and when the cats clean themselves their saliva spreads the dander over their fur and other things.  Persians have a double layer of fur, so most of the dander is trapped and not spread all over the place.  That could be one reason why she doesn't seem to react around your cat.  It also could be that some people will build an immunity to a certain cat.  I am allergic to cats and we always had cats in our house.  I do not have cats now, but if I go somewhere that has cats I will get red itchy eyes, etc.

Hopefully the doctor will know more about it and may explain things better to you.

[KittysMum]

Thanks Spectra!

[Spectra]

Oh, and I love the new pic!  So cute!

[KittysMum]

Thank you! She is a little honey. (It helps that Dad takes a good pic though!)

[Jimbob]

I have heard that people can be allergic to cats (other animals also) but don't react to their own. We have a friend who is allergic to cats in the US but is fine with her own, does not get any symptoms at all. If she is near other cats her eyes get really itchy and swolen and she gets hives.

Kelly

[KittysMum]

Thanks Kelly. Well, I think that must be what's happening, as we've had her RAST results now, and her highest scoring allergens are horses, dust, cats and milk.

Can I ask what area James' scores were in (just roughly)? Only we've been told anything over 0.4 is significant, and Kitty's scored (to give you one as an example) 49.9 for horses. That's obviously high, but do you know if it could have been worse, and she could have scored 100 or 200? I need to ask the dermatologist how it works when I next see her; she gave us the results over the phone. 

[Jimbob]

Here are the results to James' first 2 lots of RAST results, they are the only ones I have to hand at the moment. They only show a handful of foods he has now been tested for but it will give you an idea of what the figures are like.

Mik        35.6   
Egg        80.1
Peanut      9.6
Hazelnut    0.6
Orange      7.3


Milk       668.0   
Egg         96.3
Chicken      1.4
Wheat       29.9
Peanut      41.6
Hazelnut    10.1
Orange      13.2

I hope you find this helpful. I have to say though James' symptoms for wheat are as bad as they are for milk so you can't always go off numbers.

Kelly

[Spectra]

Wow Kelly!  How long ago was the first and second test.  Is it getting worse? 

[Jimbob]

First test was in 2005 and second in 2006. James was tested for more foods in 2007 aswell as foods already mentioned. The results for milk, egg, wheat, peanut and hazelnut were roughly the same as they were in 2006. I guess I should be thankful that the numbers did not increase dramatically again. I don't have the results to hand as I don't have them on the computer at the moment and they are in a file which I have given a friend to have a look at.

Kelly

[KittysMum]

Goodness - I had no idea that the scores could go so high. I feel so much for you - you clearly have a highly allergic little boy (you don't need me to tell you that, I know).

Here are Kitty's results. The dermatologist just asked for the things we were already suspicious about to be tested:

Horse: 49.9
Dust: 27.6
Cat: 20.6
Milk: 21.5
Latex: 3.1
Wheat: 0.9
Avocado: 0.4
Orange and tomato: neg (but she's not been exposed to these yet)

It's useful to know how they compare to James' results Kelly, as I wasn't sure what they represented really. But if, as you say, you can get as bad reactions from foods with lower scores, perhaps they're not too much to go on.

I'm surprised that chicken is on the list; all the allergy books say it's fine. But then they say that about potatoes, and they're clearly a big problem for our daughter.

Does James have asthma or hayfever Kelly? I'm wondering if there is anything I can be doing now that might lessen Kitty's chances of developing them. If I'd known what I do know about food allergies, I'd have been very careful with my diet during pregnancy. I certainly wouldn't have downed a pint of milk a day!

I bought some anti-allergy mattress and pillow covers today and have got rid of our lounge rug (anyone want a nice blue spotty rug?) Luckily our house is all wooden floors and leather furniture, so apart from the beds and curtains we're pretty much dust mite bed-free.

[Spectra]

Yes, the allergist told me that the numbers aren't necessarily precise.  When my son ingested a tiny TINY amount of oat bran, then barely, he was vomiting over and over for an hour, went pale, limp, lethargic, diarrhea, and he scored less than 1 on both of those.  Whereas he tested 1.6 on wheat and he just gets diarrhea with it.  He tested a 5.6 on Egg and he has an epi pen for that as it was the only one that came up in the skin prick test.  They said the numbers mean he is allergic, but doesn't tell you what kind of reaction they'll have.  Most times it does, but a lot of times it doesn't.