Thanks Greyscale.

Aziraphale, I don't think I'm extremely allergic. I need to go back to my GP to discuss the results fully, but you know, I had a blood test and not the scratch test, so I may ask for that too. I would say that before I started on the nasal spray my main symptoms were a runny nose and itchy eyes. I didn't start to wheeze, so I think it's not too severe. I plan on investigating with my GP more though. Wow, your symptoms are full on aren't they?!

Diane -- lol no kidding. Lucky for me, I'm a dog person. (I quite like horses, too). Don't get me wrong, cats are very pretty, but I admire them from a distance. Although they somehow know I don't want to touch them. If I visit a home that has a cat, the darn thing singles me out to rub up against and try to sit on.

Ceit's tips are great and, yes, keeping little Bilbo out of the bedroom will help. I don't have an allergy, but for better sleep, the cats walk to their own room every night at 10 p.m.

Washing hands is good and Bilbo must stay and will watch his fur as best he can! Hope you feel better. ^_^

i grew up with cats and randomly developed an allergy in my late 30s. I got shots for 8 years; when I stopped taking them my cat allergy had cleared up completely and hasn't resurfaced in 7 years. DH also had a cat allergy and has had no symptoms since he stopped getting shots (he was on them for 5 years). I have 3 indoor cats and put my allergy free status to the test last week when I spent a full afternoon in a shelter helping my Mum choose a new cat after her elderly girl was put to sleep with cancer.

I highly recommend shots. It took a while for them to kick in, but when they did I loved being free of the side effects of all those meds. One med that did work well for me when I still lived in the UK was phenergan, which you lucky ladies back home can buy over the counter in Boots.