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The Symptoms of Cat Allergy

You recently got a cat and you love it very much but every time your cat comes close to you or every time you stay on the same room, weird body sensations and reactions happen to you. Don’t you think you’ve got cat allergy?

Cat allergy is the most common pet allergy, twice as more compared with dog allergy. There has been a misconception as to what causes the allergic reaction to cats. Most people believe that the fur or the hair is the main culprit but in reality, it is a certain protein in the saliva of your cat that causes the allergy. As you may have observed, your cat licks its fur to clean itself so the protein is deposited into the fur.

The protein, which is called “Fel d 1” allergen, is airborne and it is very small, making it easy for it to enter the nasal passages and into the lungs, causing several reactions. It is also capable of floating in the air and sticking to other things in your house such as walls, pillows, and furniture. This explains why even if your cat is away from you, there might still be an allergic reaction.

So what are the symptoms that may suggest you being allergic to cats? Cat allergy may affect your skin, lungs, nose, throat, eyes, and ears. As mentioned earlier, cat allergens are airborne. You must have to inhale it first before reaction occurs. Therefore, cat allergy is a respiratory allergy. Although it symptoms may manifest in the skin, this is still related to respiratory allergy.  Symptoms may occur fifteen to forty minutes after exposure, but it is not possible to experience the reaction days after your exposure.

If you experience any of these, and you notice that they come up after being in the same environment with a cat, then probably, you have an allergy towards your feline friends.

• Your eyes become red, itchy, or swollen.
• You experience hives, which is characterized by repeated appearance of wheals, irregular, round skin lesions accompanied by inflammation and itching.
• You experience runny nose and nasal congestion.
• You sneeze almost continuously.
• Your ears become itchy.
• You notice your throat becomes itchy and hoarse.
• You experience frequent coughing and wheezing.
• You suffer from repeated bronchitis.
• You undergo allergy headache.
• You have rashes on your skin, especially in the areas that your cat licked on or came in contact with.