It is so distressing when chidren start to show allergic symptoms and the much loved family pet becomes suspect! Catster tells us what to do in the article "Ten relief strategies for kids who have cat allergies."
Sometimes parents don't know their child has an allergy to a pet until the little one is toddler-aged. Our cats never affected our daughter, but when she was around age three, we participated in a local walk-for-animals fund-raiser and she spent a good part of the day petting some of the canine walkers ... and then rubbing her face. We initially had no idea what was happening when her face became red, itchy and so puffy that she couldn't open her eyes. She'd been around dogs, but not so many of different types all at once.
We raced to urgent care and eventually discovered that she did indeed have an allergy to some dogs. We also learned that if one or both parents have allergies of any kind, the child is likely to develop them as well. My husband has eczema, which flares from various triggers (none of them animal-related). Consequently, our daughter went on to develop eczema as well.
We have friends and family with dogs and we didn't want to avoid them, so we began researching ways we could help our daughter avoid allergic reactions. We discovered there was a lot we could do and much of it applied to both cat and dog allergies.
One point I can't emphasize enough is that you do not have to rehome your cat if your child starts sneezing. There are many strategies you can use to create happy cohabitation with both cats and children with sensitivities. Here are 10 tips for helping your child cope with feline allergies.
