Pregnancy induced cat allergy??

eli_and_jeff

Ok, this is going to sound crazy, but lately I think I'm allergic to my cat, the same cat I've had for a decade. I've never had any allergies to animals, but every time he comes up to me for the past few days I start sneezing and my eyes start to itch. He leaves the room, I stop sneezing and I'm fine.

My husband and all of his family are allergic, so there's a good chance the baby will be too. Because of this we're in process of finding the cat a new home (also my husband's allergies are getting worse and worse), but is it possible that I've "caught" a cat allergy from the baby or is this just psychosomatic guilt about adopting him out?

pennysuedog

PG can make allergies worse.  Y may have always had a slight allergy to cats and were just not aware of it and the PG made your allergy worse.

Roxyroodle

Your baby has no allergy yet.. you have to be exposed to something once before you become allergic to it. 

What probably has happen is that your immune system is compromised due to pregnancy and so you are experienced allergies to things that you didn't used to be allergic too. 

 

julygal

My sister slowly developed allergies to her cats over the years.  She started with none and ended up needing shots, inhalers, etc.  When she was pregnant, it was always worse, and her cats would stay at my parents' house until she delivered.  A few years later when her children began developing allergies, my parents' just took the cats permanently.  

LNHinton

pennysuedog:

PG can make allergies worse.  Y may have always had a slight allergy to cats and were just not aware of it and the PG made your allergy worse.

Exactly this.  My allergist warned me that my allergies may actually get worse during pg.  Fortunately they haven't for me, but it is quite common for women to notice an increase in allergic reactions while pg.  Hope you find a home for the cat soon!