Irony 101

Last week Gabby had her appointment with an allergist after having a massive reaction at a friends house where there are two dogs in residence. Mind you, we have a dog and this is someone whose house we have been to many times.  It sucked watching her face get all red, see her eyes just get these dark circles under them, and knowing that we needed to leave FAST.

We have known for quite a while that Gabby has allergies but didn't find out the specifics because I was too afraid that it might be cats. Selfish, I know. But when her Singular (topped off with Benedryll everyday) wasn't keeping the sneezing watery eyes at bay I knew it was time to get this figured out.

I did a little bit of research before hand, asked her teacher if she was sneezy at school, kept a mental list of where we were that she reacted badly to, and hoped that my suspicions were wrong... really hoped. However, the allergy tests confirmed my worst fears.... a +4 allergy to cats on a scale of 1-5.

See all that red on the left side? All indoor allergens...great...

After talking to the allergist about a plan he added Nasonex to the med plan, but the bottom line is that we have to reduce our feline family. Unfortunately one of the largest offenders is Prince, our Siamese mix. For some reason Siamese and breeds related to them are the worst for people with allergies, they shed the most, and at least in Prince's case- are so friendly that they are EVERYWHERE. I knew as soon as her back exploded that some hard decisions were going to have to be made. 

To some people their pets are something to take care of, to others they are family members who get their own stockings at Christmas and Easter eggs on Easter. This news is like Steve Irwin had a kid that was allergic to the zoo or the Dog Whisperer had a kid allergic to dogs.... Cats are a constant source of amusement, joy, and comfort to both me and the girls. (Lucky for us Gabby only scored a +2 for dogs... Spooky is  ok as long as she gets brushed, baths, and stays out of the girl's room) But there is no way that I can bathe 4 cats 2 times a week each, keep them out of the upstairs, or make it so that Gabby's meds have a chance to work without finding new homes for two of our guys.

Since Prince is the main problem we are going to rehome him and his best friend Bo. They will be adopted together, hopefully I can find a home with kids since they both love being around children. What is nice is that they are dog friendly too.... but it still sucks. Gabby is upset of course but is also sick of sneezing all the time. Her only concern was keep Dottie, who is still really young and can be trained to stay out of the bedroom. The doctor said that if we can give the medicine a chance to work then a drastic reduction might be enough to keep her comfortable on medicine. The other cat, Tuck, is mine and 12 years old.... there is no way I can part with him. 

Ugh.... even with a plan in mind this still sucks royally and I hope that with everything else we are doing we can get this under control. That is the 411 on Miss Gabby and her nasty allergies... wish me luck!