Hi. I’ve had my cat since August. He sleeps in my bed every night and has done so since I’ve got him. I’ve always had an incredibly mild allergy to cats…mostly when they scratch me I sometimes get very itchy (but not always), or if there are a metric buttload of them in the room (as in a shelter), my throat and eyes will be a bit scratchy. Otherwise I’m fine.
In the past several weeks, I have been sneezing a fuckton and when go to bed and wake up in the morning my nose is entirely stuffed up and runny. It goes away once I’m up and moving, but I’m still periodically sneezing whenever I’m at home. The litter boxes are NOT in my bedroom.
Any tips??? I don’t want to kick him out of the bed. :(((
Allergies can change over time, and also can become more severe with repeated exposure. You can consult with an allergy specialist to get tested and some advice, but there are a few suggestions here already that should help alleviate symptoms. The biggest one is probably to change and wash your sheets frequently (like at least weekly). And use a wash cycle with hot water.
There are lots of options for allergy medication, too. I have really bad pollen allergies, but I’ve been using Nasacort daily for many years now, and they hardly bother me at all except a little at peak season.
If you think you can manage it, regularly bathing your cat will reduce the amount of dander in his coat. At the very least, try to brush him at least a few times a week with a de-shedding brush, in a different room. I find the Furminator brand brushes work really well on most cat coats.