Cats, allergies and telling the truth

[BlackCat]

I think I was just given the runaround by someone who didn't want to make any extra effort, but I'm unsure now how to handle this in future.

I've been thinking about getting a cat, I've got a fairly perfect setup I think - I live on my own (mostly, my father sometimes stays with me when he needs help) in a house that I own (so no risk of abandoning kitty at end of lease type problems). I work from home, and am not required to spend overnights away from home or anything similar. No kids, and I prefer to spend my holiday time quietly at home.

I saw a cat that I liked up for adoption (a rescue cat) and rang and asked, and they said to come in and see how he and I got on (he was staying at a local pet store). When I got there, I admitted that I had been very allergic as a child (we owned a cat, but I was fine with anti-histamines), but I didn't think I had problems any more. Before I could say more, they said they wouldn't even consider me. I tried to explain that I'd been working with someone who had 2 longhaired persians without problems. We work from home, so whenever we had meetings it was at his place, so I had spent weeks at the start of our current project with 10-12 hour days there while we worked up the design. And I spent plenty of time playing with and brushing the kitties. It seemed reasonable to me that I'd grown out of the allergy (which I understand is somewhat normal), so all I wanted was to spend some time with my potential kitty to check that I was fine with him. And they told me that persians were different, low allergy, so it didn't matter - I was allergic so wouldn't be considered. I decided to leave when they reiterated they wouldn't even let me handle the cat. rather than continue arguing with someone who wasn't interested.

The persians are low allergy statement sounded very wrong to me, so when I got home, I googled it, and it seems I was right - they are well known for being bad for people with allergies. So apparently the person was simply not interested in considering anyone who might not be 'perfect'.

Going forward - what should I do? I still want to get a cat of my own (preferably an older cat which I can know will be happy as a solitary indoor cat). My co-worker told me to just lie if asked - but I don't really feel comfortable doing that. Can anyone help me here? Was this just an instance of the person thinking I'm a typical SC and not wanting to bother. I can understand a legitimate concern about the animal needing a permanent home. But if I'm approaching this with a willingness to go back onto the antihistamines if over time the allergy reemerges, doesn't that make me a good potential adopter?

What should I say/do in future when talking with a salesperson/rescue person about adopting?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[EricKei]

I think those guys were just being assholes. Don't give them another thought.

Ignore your friend's advice. It could be important info to know. My mom grew out of such an allergy, herself (and into it!) -- She was fine with kitties as a young child, shifted into "goes into sneezing fits once a cat is within ten feet" as a teen, and, at 60+, no longer has any issues at all, and loves her fluffy lapcat.

As for looking for an older cat -- The folks at the rescue/SPCA/whatever will LOVE you for that. Older animals are often harder to adopt out, and the older they get, the less likely it is that they will ever find a proper home. Definitely go in and see their kitties, interact with them (within the bounds allowed by the venue, of course). Be aware that an older one might be set in its ways, or unwilling to adapt to a new owner/home -- then again, one might be happy just to feel loved again! Give it a shot, you'll both benefit in the long run.

[csquared]

I can understand the pet store's concerns. They don't want the cat to be returned or abandoned because of the allergies.

One of the things you could do is have yourself tested. If it comes back negative, then you can honestly say that you are not allergic (and bring the paperwork with you).

I am going to play the Devil's Advocate here and ask the hypothetical question:
You bring the cat home, and a week later, you can't breathe. Benadryl/Claritin/Zyrtec are not cutting it. What are you going to do? What is your Plan B? You don't need to tell us, but you do need to have one.

I hope you can give a cat a happy, forever home.

[Heksubah]

I second what was said above about the ASPCA if you have one local. I went there to get my cat and told them that one of the things I wanted was to see if she bothered me since I have mild cat allergies and some cats trigger them while others don't. They were more than happy to let me hold her (and she just clung to me and purrrrrred, so snuggly which made me fall all the more for my little mustache cat!).

Places that deal regularly with cats should be used to people being careful about allergies, but I can see the concern that if something goes wrong the cat will come back to them. That said, the ASPCA welcomes return animals since they would rather hold onto and rehome an animal than know that it might be suffering without a family.

[BlackCat]

EricKei and Heksubah, thank you - from what you say, it sounds like I may have just run afowl of the wrong person/group. I'll look into other rescue groups and talk to them.

One of the things you could do is have yourself tested.

That's not a bad idea, although I admit the thought of them drawing a chessboard on my arm again isn't too thrilling.

I am going to play the Devil's Advocate here and ask the hypothetical question:

That question seems backwards to me, doesn't the fact that I've had the problem in the past and know the medications do work for me, make it less likely to be a concern than someone who hasn't had a pet before and hence may have an unknown allergy? I wouldn't expect a known previously successful medication to suddenly just not work (although admittedly, I have amused memories of my doctor trying a new non-drowsy antihistamine on me, which worked amazingly well as a sleeping tablet I'd expect that to be the exception not the norm though)
But yes, I'll consider the scenario - it's good to have a plan

[EricKei]

Weird reactions to chemicals are nothing new ^_^ Zyrtec, an antihistamine, makes me break out (I'm rather allergic to it); caffeine puts me to sleep, as often as not. Even when I was young enough to chug a sixpack in one sitting (D&D or anime or just general gathering night), I never so much as got the jitters, and I found myself fading as early as midnight. I like to tell people that that is "the point at which my hed grey thing no werk so gud no mor." My old crew knew quite well that, if they wanted to talk to me or have me actively participate in something, it had to be pre-witching hour.