New allergy

I took Anneliese to the allergist on Thursday. I was hoping he would tell me she had outgrown her egg allergy. I have been feeding her some eggs and she hasn't seemed to have a reaction. The test was awful. Kiefer slept in his stroller while we waited the half hour to see the doctor but as soon as they started to prick her woke up crying and wanting to eat. I realized then I should have left him with a sitter so I could have at least held her hand. She was very brave. She did exactly as the doctor told her. She didn't try to scratch her back at all but she did sit and wriggle so I could tell it itched. After they were done pricking her she sat and looked so sad. Her bottom lip was jutted out and tears ran down her cheek. It broke my heart. I moved Kiefer's stroller right next to her and put him back in it. I held his bottle in one hand and her hand in the other. At one point she layed her head on my shoulder and cried. The first test came back positive for milk, eggs, and CATS. They couldn't read the peanut result. They redid the peanut and cat tests because I told them we have 2 cats and she has never had a problem with them. Both of those tests came back positive too. The doctor explained that her cat allergy was mild but was probably the cause of her eczema. It might get worse and turn into a sneezing and wheezing allergy or she may outgrow it in a couple of years. He did suggest we get rid of the cats. My first thought was daycare. Jamie has 3 cats and I don't want to have to switch providers. The doctor thought since her allergy was mild that shouldn't be a problem as long as the place where she sleeps at night is allergen free. If her allergy gets worse we will have to make other arrangements. I expected Gerhardt would be upset by the news. I called him at work and said, "I have really bad news. Anne is allergic to cats and we have to get rid of them." He responded, "Is that all? The tone of your voice sounded like it was something really bad like we have to amputate Anne's leg."

Shortly after we got home Anne started playing with the kitties. She was hugging Ludwig and he being the great cat he is was patiently putting up with it. She calls Ludwig her kitty and Wolfie is Daddy's kitty. I don't have a kitty I guess. I don't know how she will react to getting rid of them. I think she will be very sad and look for them for awhile and then again she might not even care. If she were older it would be worse. That same night when I went to tuck Anne into bed Ludwig jumped up on her bed. He has never done that before with her in it. He curled up like he was going to sleep there too. I had to remove him from her room. She cried and said, "Ludwig wants to sleep with me Mommy!" He sat layed right outside her room in front of the door for a long time.

At this point we have not found a good home for the cats. We had hoped Gerhardt's Aunt would take them but she doesn't want them permanently. I am not sure what we will do. It would be good to keep them together but hard to get someone to take 2 adult gigantic, very hairy cats. I don't want to take them to the pound. Anne has survived this long she will make it a little longer. I have been doing a lot of research into the cat allergy and have found several sources that say you can keep a cat if you do several things. They can't ever be in the room where the person with the allergy sleeps. We can keep them out of her room I think. You should vacuum the house including furniture twice a week and steam clean the carpets twice a month. You should also get an air filter. I am lucky to get the carpets vacuumed once a week and cleaned once a year. Vacuuming the furniture only happens when it really needs it. I don't think that is possible for me! I am looking into an air cleaner though. I have read several reviews where they have worked very well for people with a cat allergy that wanted to keep their cat and had more severe symptoms than Anne. It is worth a try but I am not sure which one to get. We will need to get one whether we keep the cats or not. Even when they are gone the allergens will still be everywhere. I keep going back and forth. I know I need to do the best thing for Anne and that is getting rid of the cats. Then I think of how good pets are for kids and how much my pets meant to me as a kid. Dogs are so much work and she could be allergic to them too. We didn't test for dogs. You can't pet a fish! Gerhardt says we could get her a hamster. Yuck, Ew, Gross! The poor kid can't have cheese or ice cream and now we have to take her pets away too! Right now I am looking for a good air cleaner and still hoping to find a good home for Ludwig and Wolfie. Maybe someplace where we could still visit them.