That’s Not ALL The Cat Did :(
For over a year now, my baby has been fighting with allergies. It started out just as a little rash on her ankles, but over time has gotten worse. Other then being really itchy she never seemed to be bothered. She continued to be smiley and cheerful.
We have spent a lot of time seeing Dr.’s. When we were moving she made 3 trips to the ER after long nights of tears and scratching. She would scratch her legs and arms until they bled. Finally they agreed she SHOULD see an allergist BUT that I needed a family Dr. to recommend it and make the arrangements. Great!!! Middle of moving here….
I managed to get my new province health cards a few months early (3 month waiting period, but ex had been in province long enough to void that). I made an appointment with a Dr. that was in what would be our new town. He looked at the skin and decided maybe we should see a Dermatologist first. So 6 weeks later, off we were to the Specialist. His verdict was skin creams, round of antibiotics, and we should be good to go. We were NOT good to go. 2 weeks later no change, so back to our family Dr. I went. This time he decided to send us in for blood work. They’d test her blood and see what it reacted to. I did not like the results. Her big triggers were : mold, grass, eggs, milk, and CAT dander 
Not my kitten. It couldn’t be. After that it was decided to put her on a wait list to see the allergist. And we waited, and waited, and waited…
We started working on an allergen free diet. Let me tell ya, egg and milk is in EVERYTHING!!! Turns out for a small town we have an amazing health food store though. I found all sorts of things that would fit into our new diet plan. On top of that, it was probably a little healthier so good for ALL of us 
A month into her new diet and the allergies were getting better. Every so often she’d have a bad spell. Her eczema would flare up. We had gotten pretty used to it by now. When it was bad, we’d wrap her legs in a tensor bandage so she couldn’t scratch, give her the Reactine dose. I was scared this was just how life was going to be for us for now…
This spring she had another bad spell. I had run out of her prescription cream so took her in for more. Our ‘regular’ Dr. was away so we saw a different one. Immediately he said we needed to see an allergist. HELLO, been saying that for almost a year now!!! A quick phone call and we had an appointment for 2 weeks later! 2 WEEKS!!!!
I wasn’t really sure what to expect at the allergist office. I had done a little reading and I had a sheet of of info that I received from the clinic (no meds prior to the visit, testing is NOT covered by medical…). The office we went to was a Pediatric one. PERFECT. SO kids friendly. The waiting room had plenty of toys and Treehouse TV!!! We were the first appointment of the day so got seen right away. She was weighed and measured. We were led to an office to wait. The Dr. came in and immediately started to talk to my daughter. He greeted her, asked how she was feeling. Took a visual of the rash. Told her that his job was to make her feel better! He then proceeded to give me about 12 pages worth of information to try. Come back in 2 months.
With my new knowledge I went home to start a new life for her (and evidently me) . Lots of tears were shed, but my cat of 10 years was moved outside to the garage and barn instead of my pillow that he loves so much. He’d been an indoor/outdoor cat his whole life. His summers were generally spent outside anyway. We also started a new diet free of eggs, dairy, and chicken. Within a week things were improving so much.
A while after returning home and things were going so well. One afternoon we happened to spend a bit of time playing with a cat. It wasn’t very long before the itching and puffy eyes appeared. The poor thing. This whole time it was MY cat that was making her SO sick. I feel terrible. The cats have been permanently band from the house and we are continuing on the diet (not as faithfully as we should, but it seems to be working).
We went for her latest allergist appointment last week. Everything is looking better. We’ve been able to cut back on her meds and she’s a happier kid. The rash is almost non-existent. In the back of my mind I can’t help but wonder though, how could MY child be allergic to one of my favorite things!!! No question of course I will always pick my child over a pet but STILL 
