Over the past 4-5 years, I've been regularly congested, mostly at night, sneezing a lot, coughing, sore throat, watery eyes. I've had a CAT scan done, tried so many different medicines, and nothing has come up nor helped. Still the congestion keeps me from my sleep, the sinex relief I take and lack of sleep triggers my migraines. It's becoming unbearable

Desperate, I went to a different doctor recently, who asked me a few different questions about my home environment as she believes I'm suffering from a bad allergy problem, and after my answering a few questions, she believes that I'm allergic to cats. We got Sasha 5 years ago, and we got Darcey over a year ago. It couldn't be the dogs, as I've been around dogs, and kept them for most of my life without any problems. It must be the cats. I vacuum every day, they're mostly outdoors, my fiancé grooms them. And yet my allergies are really acting up, especially in Winter as they are indoors more then. The more I think about it, the more sure I am that I am allergic to my cats, especially as the problem seemed to get worse after I adopted Darcey, who's very affectionate and loves to cuddle.

Rehoming my cats is an option. But Sasha is a hissy 'hands off' cat, who doesn't tolerate anyone but my fiancé and I touching her, and even then, it's minimal. And Darcey is practically feral, and terrified of everyone else apart from me and my fiancé. She loves it here, wrestling with my dogs, living a happy life. If I gave them away, I'm not sure how long they'd last. I don't think Sasha is adoptable and Darcey would only run away if she was adopted.

Besides, I love the little cats. They are my pets. I don't want to give them away.

What on Earth am I going to do?

Ask your doctor if there is anything he can prescribe for you to take. I know that 2 of my friends are using allergy precriptions specifically designed for those who are allergic to animals. There are several different kinds available. Your physician should be able to help you with that.

Please see a previous suggestion I'd had for others facing allergy issues, here.

With any luck, there's a NAET practitioner somewhere close by, or a homeopath who could help. In your case, it can be a homeopath who works with humans, rather than animals (easier to find, esp. in Europe), and for that you don't necessarily have to live close to them as they can, and many often do, work by long distance phone appointments.

Find someone who does muscle testing and sensitivity reduction. I know of a local gal here in Western Washington -- where are you? If you don't come up with someone, lemme know, and I'll ask the practitioner here if she knows of anyone in your area. Can completely eliminate your sensitivity to your cats' fur. ~Kimberly

And here's yet another way to tackle allergic reactions that I just saw: Health Journeys - free audio "spa treatment" It's just a sample, I think, but another optional route to consider. There are MANY ways, far beyond what severely limited resources western/allopathic medicine has to offer, and many are far more successful for people AND animals than not.