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Originally Posted by phfgkl  LOL My uncle didn't have a chance to even touch the stairs, he barely got through the door  |
It is the dander from the cat (or dog) that people are allergic to that causes problems. Two of my children and I are all very allergic to cats. If I go to a home that has cats it doesn't matter how much they have cleaned or if the cat is locked in another room for the day I still get sick. I do not need to touch anything just breath the air in the home. The dander is shed and then is on the furniture, in the carpet and in the air. If you walk around it stirs up the dander so locking up a pet when you have a visitor just does not work. For example, if I was to move into a home that the previous owners had a cat I would still be sick because it is now part of the environment even though the cat is gone. The only way to make it go away would be to remove all the carpets and clean all the duct work. An even better analogy would be someone who is allergic to pollen, it is in the air and you are breathing it in this is much the same way as dander is in the air from a cat/dog. This is also the reason that some people are more allergic to specific breeds of dogs, they produce different dander.
I hope this explained the questions about allergies and pets.
