Scooter has been in the house for a week. There have been many
problems with the other three cats, but the biggest problem is that I
seem to be very allergic to him. The odd thing is that I've never had
allergies although for the past few years I've felt somewhat crappy on
very bad allergy days.

Scooter is just about the sweetest cat I've ever known. He loves being
handled and rolls over for belly rubs constantly. Just a great cat.
But this is a huge problem.

I took him to the vet on Saturday because he's been making very weird
noises and seems to be trying to cough up a hairball. Plus his farts
could kill. Probably nothing but I wanted to check. The vet says that
he's fine and gave him a deworming plus a steroid and antibiotic just
in case he has some minor problem. He says that several stool samples
could be negative for parasites but he could still have worms so it's
best to just give the deworming gunk.

But I couldn't stand being near him. My eyes tear, my nose runs, and
everything itches. I have a headache. I bought some loratadine
(Claritin) and will give that a chance to work but it did nothing over
the weekend. I ended up taking a lot of benadryl which helps but makes
me sleepy. I couldn't sleep last night, partly because I was feeling
so crappy but also because I'm agonizing about having to put Scooter
out of the house. The Significant Other has no reaction at all.

He was sleeping at the foot of the bed around 1am and I picked him up
and put him in the Cat Introduction Room. Almost immediately I felt
better and slept the rest of the night. It might have been more
benadryl kicking in but it sure seems that when he comes near I
immediately have symptoms.

I'm also worried because it seems that Espy is also allergic to him.
He has been sneezing a bit and acting like his sense of smell is a bit
impaired (failing to locate a Temptation for instance). Can a cat be
allergic to another cat?

When I left this morning he wanted to go outside so I let him go but
no one will be home until around 9 PM to let him back in. It's 20F or
so outside but Pretty Girl was in my backyard this morning so I know
they can deal with it. Scooter does still have his heated box by the
front door.

Still, I'd like to keep him in as much as possible. Well, that's the
story. Does anyone have advice on how to limit allergies? I'm
certainly considering getting a Hepa system but the house is rarely
very clean. Still, having that run all day in the bedroom and maybe
one in the living room would likely help.

My vet said to try wetting a cloth with fabric softener and rubbing
that on him (wet, not a bath). He's heard that this is pretty
effective in limiting allergic reactions. I tried it with a dryer
sheet instead but while Scooter enjoyed it, I think I'll just do the
towel with the liquid stuff tonight.

I'm also looking into getting him a home with someone else if I really
have serious problems with this. He's such a good cat that he deserves
a home.