I’ve decided there are 2 kinds of people. There are people who have pets and there are people whose pets are a part of their family. It’s ok if people think I’m crazy, it’s just who we are. I’ve adored cats since I was a little kid, I’ve had them all my life.
I went to the doctor yesterday (not my regular doctor, this was just a nurse practitioner) because my allergies have been unmanagable lately. I’ve had pretty bad allergies for probably 20 years and am allergic to everything. I’m allergic to dust, pollen, ragweed, mold, smoke and yes, animals. I’m allergic to both cats and dogs.
I deal with my allergies, I take medications and I’m ok. Lately though it’s so bad I can’t sleep and can barely function. I come home and my chest tightens and I have trouble breathing. My whole head gets stuffed up and I become completely miserable. This increases all night until I go to bed when it’s so bad I am wheesing.
So before bed the past few weeks I’ve taken an allergy pill, a sudafed (for conjestion), nasal spray and an inhaler. Still, about 1 hour before I had to wake up in the morning my allergies would kick back in.
The allergies is besides the point. The NP brought up several times my cats and implied I should just get rid of them. Should I just put them in with the recycling every week? Just hand them over to someone else like a teddy bear?
My cats are my family, just handing them over to someone else is not an option. When we adopted both Aurora and Pilot I took took that very seriously, we were bringing them into our family. I can’t even imagine Manly Man and me without them, we’ve had them since the beginning of our relationship. Their big personalities are such an important part of our family dynamic.
I understand that to some people a pet is just a pet, just an added little bonus to your house. That’s ok with me, as long as you treat him/her well. For me my furkids are so much more than that, they are a part of me and a part of my life, what could ever make me give that up?
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009, 8:37 am | 
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September 16, 2009 at 9:27 am
your tabby looks like my tabby!
I’m another allergy sufferer who is allergic to her babies but refuses to give them up. I’ll snort and deal with it as long as I can wake up with one of them curled up next to me in bed!
Robin Reply:
September 16th, 2009 at 9:38 am
@Amanda, that definitely makes it worth while.
September 16, 2009 at 10:32 am
Aawwwww they’re so cute. I totally get your love for cats. I’m the same about mine.
I will definitely be a mad ole cat lady when I’m old!
I’d hate it if I were allergic. That must be a nightmare. Hope you find a solution!!
LBM xxx
Robin Reply:
September 18th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
@La Belle Mere, thanks.
September 16, 2009 at 10:34 am
I always knew I didn’t fit in. I’m the third kind of people: The one without pets.
Robin Reply:
September 16th, 2009 at 10:57 am
@LeSombre, sorry i should have clarified…2 kinds of pet owners.
September 16, 2009 at 10:55 am
Some people seem to think of them as no more than furniture and view people like us as silly, but I don’t see how you can care for and live with an animal every day and not think of it as more than just property.
Robin Reply:
September 16th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
@Your Name, exactly!
September 16, 2009 at 11:13 am
@Robin: Oh, I know, I was just being my usual dumb dude.
BTW I like pets, but I discovered I’m really allergic to cats (and dogs to an extent). I admire you for going through all of the medical stuff to keep your pets.
Robin Reply:
September 16th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
@LeSombre, i figured, i just thought i should clarify anyway.
September 16, 2009 at 11:33 am
Get rid of them? Blasphemy! Your pets are your family. I’m allergic to pollen and ragweed and mildly allergic to cats, but I would NEVER get rid of my two felines.
Have you tried alternative medicine? Maybe it will help.
September 16, 2009 at 11:54 am
I have two cats and have had them for eleven years now. They are indeed my family, along with my boyfriend, who has been around for less time than the cats! He loves them and is also allergic I think. I won’t be getting rid of my cats because of it though. He knows that and takes meds! LOL
Robin Reply:
September 16th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
@Diane, he’s obviously smart not to make you choose =)
September 16, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I thought of two things while reading your post, one after another…
1) You know how some people who can’t have kids for one reason or another decide to have pets instead as a kind of substitute family? Maybe, if you have to give up the pets, you could have kids instead as kind of substitute pets :p
2) Then I thought that the strong feeling you have about the suggestion that you give up your furkids, who are so much a part of your life (and you a part of theirs), might give you some insight into how divorced dads feel about the children being taken from their lives. And, now, I’m feeling sad for all of them, again… ((hug))
Robin Reply:
September 16th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
@Maureen, 2 very good points. well i know what it is like to lose my furkids (to being hit by cars and such) so i know that kind of pain.
September 16, 2009 at 1:30 pm
ok, so the next step is to start researching the different soaps and foods that can cut down on pet dandruff. I know that there are some shampoos out there that can drastically cut down on the dander.
your vet will be able to point you in the right direction.
as for Aurora, tell her to STFU, have MM hold her front paws in one hand and her back paws in his other (he will still get bit) put her in the tub with some water, on her side, soap up and rinse one side, flip her over and do the other side. Then give her a hug and some meow mix.
Twitter: bluepaintred
Robin Reply:
September 16th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
@bluepaintred, i love that you automatically addressed the “Aurora issue” before I had to speak up. I don’t think you quite realize the wrath that is Aurora but that would make an interesting video. we’d have to do it in the sink, our shower is too small. ps. awesome picture :thumbsup:
September 16, 2009 at 1:42 pm
see also : http://punditkitchen.com/2009/09/16/political-pictures-cat-bathed/
Twitter: bluepaintred
September 16, 2009 at 2:47 pm
HAHAHA if you guys made a movie while bathing her, you would have to rate it R for violence, Blood and Gore and Questionable Intelligence!
also, have you considered that maybe you are allergic to MM and NOT the cats?
Twitter: bluepaintred
Robin Reply:
September 17th, 2009 at 8:50 am
@bluepaintred, i keep trying to give him away but nobody will take him.
September 16, 2009 at 6:04 pm
People can be insensitive. There’s no reason health care workers shouldn’t understand that animals are part of the family. That should be included in their sensitivity training!
I wrote a blog post once about bathing cats. Bottom line: don’t do it.
Robin Reply:
September 17th, 2009 at 8:51 am
@Barb, yeah, we only did it once with pilot because he got int ashes in the fire place.
September 16, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Some people are SO allergic, they have no choice but to give them up…I hope that you find something that works for you so you’re not so miserable! And there are doctors, nurses, NP’s all over that totally need sensitivity training…sorry you had a bad one!
Robin Reply:
September 17th, 2009 at 8:56 am
@Tug, i wonder if i’m allergic to Manly Man if I could use that for the divorce excuse.
September 17, 2009 at 8:40 am
In addition to the fact that this woman is a twat for even suggestion such stupid thing, you’re using a nasal spray every night? I’m assuming it’s one of the OTC ones? That could be a MAJOR part of your problem, as they really only work for a couple of days and then you start getting congested because you’re using it – google stuff like “Rhinitis Medicamentosa” and “nasal spray addiction”. We have a patient whose husband used about a mottle of nasal spray a day because he’s been using it for so long that he can’t get a clear airway without taking a hit off it every hour or so.
Twitter: saidshe
Robin Reply:
September 17th, 2009 at 8:56 am
@Crystal, if it’s not one thing it’s another…sigh. you are probably right.
September 17, 2009 at 9:09 am
I don’t know why people would have pets if they’re not going to make them part of their family!
Robin Reply:
September 18th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
@Avitable, me neither.
September 18, 2009 at 12:43 pm
He got into the ashes after you bathed him? Typical.
Robin Reply:
September 18th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
@Barb, no, we had to bath him because he got into the ashes.