Couples with pets AND allergies, how did you handle that?

Which party had to suck it up and cope? Is one of you heavily medicated, or did you find the pets new homes?

Hell, is this sort of a thing a deal breaker?

I just deal but if the allergies were really bad or if my kid developed really bad allergies, I would (unfortunately) have to find good homes for my babies.

Not that I'm expecting an answer from you--I just wanted to ask the question!

my left eye swelled shut and I had an asthma attack but after that I have not had any problems with our cat. I can't go to other peoples houses that own cats but I think I overdosed on ours.

I had an attack of hives with her puppy fur but then it went away and I was fine. Adult dog fur - my companion animals or others' dogs - doesn't seem to trigger anything in me, just the puppy fluff, so this time around I'm going for an adult dog.

I am also the one that wants pets. I am more allergic to dogs than to cats, so we have cats.

I had a cat and a dog. The husband is allergic.

The dog in the end had to be given away - it wasn't just the allergies, it was also that the dog could not be in the same room as him without humping his leg. I would have to be a way better wife than I am to be able to compensate for a lifetime of that.

The cat we got declawed in the front, because one of the issues was that if her claw pressed into him without even breaking the skin, he would break into huge hives. We still have her, 13 years later. We have boundaries in the house where she's not allowed to go - the bedroom is a key one. Door stays closed ALL the time. And he vacuums a LOT to keep things under control. (I should vacuum since it's my cat, but I really dislike the noise from it so he vacuums when I'm not home. See note above about being a better wife.)

I never pet the cats without washing my hands afterwards. We keep lint roll-ups all over the house
to pick up cat hair from chairs/couches.

I hardly ever have an allergic reaction unless I forget and rub my face without having washed my hands.

...and I always wash my hands after touching the cat.

It works for everything.

obviously it would be a deal breaker if my hubby insisted on cats/dogs -- it would be proof that my health and comfort are of less importance than his desire for a pet

i am worthy of being loved enough that my health is of primary importance to my life partner

conversely, if my husband were severely allergic to something, that something would be removed from the home...without question

people who don't support each other's health should split up and find partners that they love and can love

Well, I *was* I guess. I took Allegra-D and Flonase for a few years, and no further problems. Magic!

just put up with sniffles and sore eyes if I wanted to touch & play with the cat. Which I often did. If I left the cat alone I was not affected.

it is a def deal breaker for me......I want to live, and would hope my so would want me to as well.

due to excessively high pollen counts of something or other, the cats can get to me. But since 9/12 of the year they do not bother me, they get to stay.

My husband has allergies but we do not think it is the cats because he has them when he is not around them.

We are very fond of Claritin (generic Costco edition, that one thing is worth having the membership to Costco) and Flonase.

Trees, grass, weeds, pollen, mold, dust, just about everything. At the time I was first tested, the only animal hair I tested positive for was cow or horse, or maybe goat hair, or some damned thing like that. I was pretty certain I'd never get a horse, cow, or goat as a pet, LOL!

I acquired two cats and a dog after that. Wouldn't you know, my next allergy testing showed I was also allergic to dog and cat hair. It just didn't show up the first time because I had not been previously exposed.

There was no fucking way I was going to part with any of my fur babies, so I just take antihistamines when necessary now. That was 14 years ago.

You can pry my kitties and my dog from my cold dead hands.