Becoming allergic to cats

I've started living with a relative of mine recently and she owns 10+ cats. since moving in two weeks ago I have felt extremely tired all the time, and I feel like I have a cold or flu. I have never had an allergy to cats as far as i'm aware. I lived with a cat during high school and I never had problems with them. Is it possible to just develop an allergy like this suddenly as an adult?

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Based on 10 votes (8 yes)
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Comments ( 11 )
  • pixie_dust

    I think it IS possible to acquire seasonal allergies later on in life, cat allergy is probably the same.

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  • Whatintarnation

    Your body is trying to save you from the crazy cat lady.

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  • olderdude-xx

    I developed my cat allergies as an adult.

    Also, feeling run down, tired, and congestion are typical allergy symptoms.

    Allergy shots can help reduce or eliminate the allergy unless it is very bad. In which case they can reduce it somewhat; but not eliminate it.

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  • BillNye1

    Yes, it's normal. It happened to me too.

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  • Boojum

    Tiredness and snuffles can obviously be caused by a lot of things. Do those symptoms ease or disappear entirely when you're away from the cat-infested house for a few hours? (I like cats and I've shared the house with at least a couple of them for decades, but "10+" is way too many cats in one house.)

    A lot of allergic reactions change over time, and they're usually proportional to the amount of allergen you're exposed to. Also, animal allergies are triggered by exposure to dander (dead skin cells), and the amount of that given off varies between animals and breeds.

    It's possible you just happened to not react to the cat you shared a house with before. It's possible you have a relatively mild allergy to cats, but there's so much dander in the air in your new home that you now notice that reaction.

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    • girlinadarkcorner

      I have noticed that it seems to subside while i'm at work and gets worse while i'm at the house and when I get up in the morning.

      I figured that it may just be because of the amount of cats as well, as I have never shared a place with more than 1 or 2 animals at a time before and I've normally kept my living quarters pretty clean.

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  • litelander8

    You don’t even have an actual head count, there’s so many. 😂😂

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  • With that many cats I wouldn't surprised. There's probably cat hair everywhere.

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  • RoseIsabella

    Maybe the cats are dirty?

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  • Somenormie

    It's perfectly normal.

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  • Chap

    Maybe its a coincidence?

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