Half-Life... of cat dander

[Hutch]

My son-in-law is allergic, and apparently getting worse, to cats.  More importantly, it appears as if at least one of my grandsons is, as well.  I'm going to take my pair of useless cats to a rescue center and make a donation.

The question arises as to how long it will be until the cat-ness will be a potent allergen.  We have little carpet in the house (bedrooms), a few nice rugs, and some furniture that it will be nigh impossible to clean deeply enough to actually get rid off all the presence of cat.

Any ideas?  Do I need to burn the site to bedrock and import a new dwelling?

[Ned Hamford]

My brother has been of the increasingly allergic sort.  'My doctor says I could die!' I have a cat.  His level of allergical sensitivity varies wildly based on sleeping and general health. My wife insists its all or mostly in his head. 
He is actually quite fine if we either have the windows open for half a day and give a solid vacuuming and light dusting; or he takes an over the counter allergy suppressant and the cat doesn't walk into the same room while he is there. 
During some inter family strife my wife actually rubbed the cat all over herself before going out for greeting hugs; luckily to no ill effect. 
I get a bit stuffed up and eye watery myself if I leave things uncleaned around here too long.  I run an air filter on low most days to extend my cleaning window. 
Good luck. 

[Boomhauer]

During some inter family strife my wife actually rubbed the cat all over herself before going out for greeting hugs; luckily to no ill effect.   

 

[K Frame]

I hate to see that you're going to get rid of the cats.

There's been a lot of work done lately on vaccines for those who are allergic to cats.

I know the feeling, though. According to my allergist, I'm allergic to both cats and dogs. I never believed it...

For years I suffered from nasty nasal allergies, constantly congested and mucus membranes swelled shut. I was using a lot of OTC nasal spray...

Then, 2 days after Mason died, my sinuses cleared up, and have been pretty much clear ever since.

I don't give a *expletive deleted*it, though, as I'm not going to be without a dog for the rest of my life.

[Brad Johnson]

The allergen is a protein in feline saliva, present on dander via cats' constant grooming habits.  Intact males have the highest amount, speyed females the lowest (and by a staggeringly significant amount).

Step one is a deep clean.  That will get rid of most of the problem.  This includes an air duct cleaning as a suprising amount of buildup can occur.  Don't forget to vacuum out the inside of your HVAC air handler.  Ditto ceiling fans and light fixtures.  Having carpets and furniture steamed cleaned should complete the process.  Steam is hot enough to denature most of the remaining proteins.  (Be sure to get a company that uses live steam and not just hot water).

When done you should he in the clear.  Once the cats and existing allergens are gone any future dust will be free of the offending proteins.

Brad.

[RoadKingLarry]

During some inter family strife my wife actually rubbed the cat all over herself before going out for greeting hugs; luckily to no ill effect.

I have a new hero!
 

[Monkeyleg]

During some inter family strife my wife actually rubbed the cat all over herself before going out for greeting hugs; luckily to no ill effect. 

I love her!

If you're attached to the cats, you might look at having your son-in-law get allergy shots. My ex was allergic to just about everything, including bird feathers, and cat and dog dander. That was a problem because we had birds and dogs.

I gave her a shot once a week, and she had no problems after that.

[Boomhauer]

I hate to see that you're going to get rid of the cats.

There's been a lot of work done lately on vaccines for those who are allergic to cats.

I know the feeling, though. According to my allergist, I'm allergic to both cats and dogs. I never believed it...

For years I suffered from nasty nasal allergies, constantly congested and mucus membranes swelled shut. I was using a lot of OTC nasal spray...

Then, 2 days after Mason died, my sinuses cleared up, and have been pretty much clear ever since.

I don't give a *expletive deleted*, though, as I'm not going to be without a dog for the rest of my life.

Mike, I've got the perfect dog for you then...

[vaskidmark]

Mike, I've got the perfect dog for you then...

Dander is not loose hairs but dead skin cells that have falled off the beast.  Dust mites love pet dander almost as much as they love human dander.  Which means the allergy could be to the dander protiens or to the mites and their protiens.  It really does not matter so long as the MD presribes the appropriate vaccine(s) to stop interupt the allergic response.  If OTC stuff works, it probably works as well as, and a lot less expensive than, your not-yet-Obamacare health insurance.

Folks who are violently allergic know if within a matter of seconds - they start not being able to breathe any more.  Anaphylaxis is not fun - especially the first time when you do not have an Epi-pen and are waiting for the rescue squad to arrive, talk with the hospital, get everybody to agree you need a shot of adrenaline followed by O2 and a ride to the ER to make sure you do not die later on.

A friend of mine just found out that even if there is not a law/rule/regulation behind it all the 24-hour pharmacies in town stock Epi-pens.  They think his kid had a reaction to something the cat got into as opposed to the cat itself (even tho it's an inside cat).  But the docs at the ER have decided that "better safe than sorry and get the Rx renewed in a year if she has not used it" is better than "My bad".

Hutch's situation, being cats vs grandsons, seems to be a no-brainer.  Now if it were dogs I might be suggesting places where one can buy tyvek coveralls and full-face respitators just like the asbestos-abatement folks wear.

stay safe.

[Hutch]

Still no understanding on whether this stuff decays over time? 

[vaskidmark]

Still no understanding on whether this stuff decays over time? 

For what value of decay?

Based on personal experiences with allergens, I'd say NO decay unless/until you denature the protien string.  Given enough dust and other detrius covering the dander you may not be bothered by it only because it can no longer get to you.  But then we would be remarking on your housekeeping standards.

stay safe.

[Hutch]

Thanks, Skid.  That's what I needed to know, but didn't want to hear.

[RoadKingLarry]

Lift off and nuke the site from high orbit, it's the only way to be sure.

[French G.]

Some flavors of cat seem to be worse than others. SWM(no longer)BO has cat allergies, one would set her off instantly but the dumb male tuxedo cat had zero effect. Of course the other one was ceiling cat, put her in the basement and she would disappear for several days into the insulation and void spaces of the house. Come out covered in fiberglass of course.

Ned's wife= new hero.

[K Frame]

Half life of 1 billion years, Mr. Bigglesworth.

Realistically, the only way to get rid of it is to clean.

There are cleaning products on the market that supposedly help remove dander.