I really feel for your boyfriend. I'm allergic to cats and can't stay longer than 2 hours in a house with cats before I have to run out the front door. There's one exception. I stay at a friend's house and they clean the bedroom I am to sleep in and then make sure the cat can't get in that room. It seems to work.

You can try one of these hepa machines. (I use an ozone generator for odors, but it doesn't remove the dander.)

Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Air-Zone

I am allergic to everything with fur, cats and dogs included. My dog allergy is very severe and causes asthma symptoms, so avoidance is the best thing. But my cat allergy is more mild, it is much like your BF's (sinus only symptoms is actually pretty mild). I take Singulair and Allegra (fexofenadine) everyday. It makes a HUGE difference. No allergy symptoms from the cat at all, and she sleeps with us sometimes, I snuggle her to my face, etc. It also helps with the dog allergy, for when I visit my sister or SIL.

I take both, and I think they work well in conjunction. But he could try just the Allegra first and see if that works. If I miss the Allegra I notice the allergies symtoms reappear within 24 hours. If I miss a Singulair it's more of an asthma symtoms, which it doesn't seem like your BF has.

Tell him to try Allegra. It works. Take it everyday, not just the days he will be at your house. The longer you take it the better it works, IMO.

The Breathe Right nasal strips help me breathe easier at night, they could help him with the sinus and the snoring. Claritin D(the one they keep at the pharmacy counter) helps me as well.

In the long term, if ya'll are planning to move, remodel etc. Go with wood or tile floors, leather furniture, anything that doesn't trap the dust, dirt, dander etc. will definitely be easier on the allergies.

Zyrtec, which is prescription, is better than OTC allegra, for cat allergies.

Prescription strength Allegra and Flonase.

They make stuff like Allerpet-C to wipe kitty down with. Doesn't hurt her but lessens the dander.

Lisa

To clarify, the Allegra I take is prescription strength.

Honestly, I think different things work for difference people. Allegra, Singulair, Zyrtec, Flonase, they all work for some people. You need to experiment and find what works for you.

I get the same symptoms but related to carpet, I know how he feels and it is miserable. We have hardwood in our home but if we stay somewhere with carpet I either turn a fan on high or a window a/c on high. (followed with some tylenol pm) The breathe right strips work ok, but I have sensitive skin and they irritate me.
In the south we have horrible outdoor allergens that flare me up and I do a nightly ritual of tylenol pm, humidifier, purifier, and a throat lozenge before bed when they kick up.
Sue36 is right, there are so many different choices and they do work differently for people. My method works great for me and it took me several years to "perfect" it :)
Good Luck to the three of you!

Mokanee, I just found out I'm highly allergic to cats, too, and that I have asthma. I've had cats for years, and have no plans to get rid of my two, who are ages 8 and 10.

I put a Honeywell hepa filter in my bedroom that's rated for a 357 square foot room. My bedroom is smaller than that, but I don't run the filter on high all the time, so I need that size. It does seem to help a lot. I got mine on close-out. I think the newer models might be pretty noisy on high. I have another one on the way for the living room.

There is also a product called Nasalcrom that is OTC. Read the reviews on Amazon, so you know what to expect if you buy it. It takes a couple weeks to work.

I also take Singulair and Qvar, but if your BF can solve his problems without needing a prescription, it might be better. I'm not sure these are working well anyway.

I do plan to get allergy shots in the future.

I think washing your cat would help, and between times you can wipe him down. If you have any tips on bathing cats, please post them!

Make your bedroom a cat-free zone and wash all the bedding, curtains, throw rugs, etc, in hot water. I also bought a Hoover Steamvac so that I can wash my area rugs/carpet. It's the dander that causes allergies.

Good luck with this. I'm sure you'll find a way that will work for you.

If you need a cat-free zone you can try the scat mat. It is an electrically charged thick plastic mat (uses 9 volt battery). When the cat steps on it she will get shocked, kind of like a strong static shock. So will you if you forget and walk on it without shoes!

We have the mats in the hallway where the bedrooms are to keep the cats out. In the beginning (first few months) we kept the battery in, then I tried taking the battery out and one of the cats just waltzed right on into the bedrooms. So I started to alternate battery/no battery for a few months. Now the mats are actually broken, we don't use a battery, and the cats just stay out. It's a pain to have the mats in the hallway all the time, unsightly if you want the truth. But it's better than cat dander in the bedrooms!

I have to say that I have four older cats, all over ten years old. We have had the scat mats for just over a year, since we have been in our house. Previously the cats were outdoor cats (I only recently found a prescription regimine that keeps my allergies under control). I don't know how this would work with a kitten or younger, more agile cats. We use two mats side by side to take up the whole width of the hall. The mats are six feet long. Our cats are too, um, superior/lazy to jump that far. Younger cats might not be.

I am quite allergic to cats (suddenly all allergies set in when I was 25 - never allergic to anything except penicillin before). Now (years later) I take Claritin, Singulair, a rescue inhaler as needed and Advair (a couple of puffs) a few times a year. I can say that Singulair makes a HUGE difference for me. I started with Allegra (vs. Claritin) but did have some side effects (back pain) so I stopped using that, though it was effective.
My immunologist/allergist is likely appalled to this day that I won't get rid of my boys. :')

Thank you all for your stories and experiences. Gives me hope that there are people out there with allergies that still manage to live with beloved pets.

I just can't imagine my life without pets (cats especially.. I love dogs but my life is not condusive to dogs at the moment). So it looks like it will take a little effort on both our parts to make this work. He will have to experiment with different allergy medications and I will encourage him to talk to his doctor about different prescription medications, rather than just OTC stuff.

And I saw a HEPA air purifier at Costco for a pretty decent price yesterday ($199 I think). Although I read the box and it didn't specifically mention pet dander.. but it would probably help I would think.

Also yes, unfortunately I am a carpet person. I find that hardwood floors are too hard to keep clean.. the dust just goes flying everywhere, whereas with carpet you just run a vacuum over it and everything is sucked up (I also just got a brand new Hoover WindTunnel and love it!) Not to mention I love the feel of carpet much better on my toes than hardwood. Also I found that with my late sweetheart, Jelika, in my previous place I had hardwood and it was murder on her poor arthritic bones, but when I moved to carpet she was able to get around much easier and with a lot less pain. When I first moved to my current home it seemed like the carpet took years off her and she was moving like a 15 year old rather than an 18 year old! I truly believe she could have made it another couple of years if it wasn't for that horrible lung cancer. And with my current kitty, Kitty being about 12 years old I don't want her to have any unnecessary joint pain either.

So again I really do appreciate your ideas/suggestions, and hope that we will be able to find a comfortable way to all live (one day) in the same household.