Cat allergy

I am allergic to cats. As allergies go, it’s not a severe one. I don’t sneeze and sniffle or have life threatening moments. My eyes just swell up and glow a flaming bloodshot red. In the past that’s only happened when I’ve touched the cats and then rubbed my eyes. My eyes seem to be the only parts of me that are allergic to cats. And this morning, I reached critical mass. My eyes were almost swollen shut and they were a deep red and itched like mad. And lets refine this even further. I am especially allergic to Stinky. Abbie has never bothered me very much.

It must be the difference in their fur. Abbie has a fine, sleek fur. She doesn’t have an undercoat. Stinky has very thick fur and a lot of undercoat. I think it’s that undercoat that sends my cat sensors into overdrive.

I’ve noticed this for a while now, but with the winter dry air in the house, my Stinky allergy is magnitudes worse. The HEPA vacuum cleaner isn’t cutting it lately. And the one place where Stinky loves to sleep is on my bed. So, naturally, by the time I wake up in the morning, my eyes look as if I’ve been doing some intensive pot smoking.

I wear sunglasses a lot lately. Even on cloudly days.

I love this cat. And he loves sleeping on my bed. I like having him sleep on my bed. Perhaps a cover for it during the day that I can remove at night would help. (He sleeps on my desk chair at night.) I vacuum the comforter almost every day. I should probably wash it a couple of times a week, too. Everything is going in the wash today. We’ll see how tomorrow morning dawns. Whether I’m still bloodshot and swollen when I wake up. As the morning progresses, my eyes clear up. So it’s obviously the cat hair on my bed.

Common sense suggests that I should keep him off my bed during the day. The reality is...trying to keep him off now would be about as effective as trying to prevent the sun from rising in the morning. So I think I’ll try covering it with a sheet or blanket during the day and see if that helps—along with frequent comforter and pillow case washing.

Maybe a humidifier would help, too. Or some kind if air cleaning device? I don’t know how effective they are, though.

The funny thing is, rather than keep him out of my room, I’m willing to try almost anything to accommodate him so that he can be a happy cat. It’s kind of silly, but that’s the way it works around here.