How to host guests who are allergic to your cats

And hosts in particular should know: You can’t pick and choose which of the following measures you’d like to take. “It’s an all-or-nothing thing,” says Tania Elliott, chief medical officer at Nectar Allergy Center in New York City.

What hosts with cats can do

1. Just removing the cat isn’t enough

Bringing your cat over to a neighbor’s house minutes before the party starts isn’t sufficient preparation for an allergic guest.

“Even if you remove the pet from the home, that allergen in particular is incredibly potent and can stay suspended in the air for up to four months,” says Elliott. To reduce the amount of allergen in your home and decrease your guest’s chances of a flare-up, you’ll have to do some cleaning.

Once your cat is out of the house or confined to a room that will be off-limits to your guests, dust thoroughly, then vacuum with a HEPA vacuum, which will pick up smaller particles that regular vacuums miss. You’ll want to take care of these chores hours before your guests arrive, at the very least, “because once you start vacuuming, you’re aerosolizing some of that cat allergen out of the carpet, out of the floor,” says James Haden, allergist and immunologist with Haden Allergy in Fort Worth. So, you’ll want to give your air filters a chance to clean those particles out of the air.

If your guests are staying overnight, be sure to ban your cats from the room they’ll be using a few days before the visit. You’ll also need to launder the linens and blankets. “That way, you’re not sleeping in something you’re allergic to for eight hours,” Haden says.

2. Filter and circulate the air

The most important thing you can do is remove the allergens from the air your guests will breathe inside your home. The best way to do that is with air purifiers, ideally ones with HEPA filters — yes, HEPA again, which stands for “high efficiency particulate air [filter].” Make sure the air purifier, also known as an air cleaner, is properly sized for the space. Products will say how many square feet they cover, and you ought to place one in each room where you plan on hosting guests.

“It’s not a bad idea to have those HEPA filters in the room where you’re going to be and have those running in advance of people coming over,” says Haden.

Make sure your HVAC’s air filters and vents are fresh and clean so they’re working at full capacity, too. One mistake people make is turning on their heat for the first time all season when guests show up. “Allergens can get stuck in the heating filters,” says Elliott. “You turn on the heat on the first cold day or you have a snowy day, and then all of a sudden that can pollute the air.” Avoid this by “making sure you have your filtration system running a few days in advance and circulating that air,” she says.

If the weather allows, keeping your windows open certainly won’t hurt, either.

3. Wipe down your cat

Your cat might not love this one, but “washing the pet has been shown to reduce the amount of allergens,” says Elliott. If your feline won’t submit to an actual bath, you can use hypoallergenic wipes.

Haden also suggests brushing your cat to get rid of some dander, though he warns that “you want to make sure you’re doing it in a place where the guests won’t be anytime soon.”

4. Move the litter box

There are a lot of variations when it comes to cat allergies. Many people are allergic to the animal’s dander. But others are allergic to its saliva or urine. If your guests are sensitive to the urine or to the dust from some forms of cat litter, you’ll want to move the litter box accordingly. Choose a spot where your guests won’t have to encounter it; all the better, says Haden, if the location is well ventilated.

5. Keep allergy medications on hand

Stock some common antihistamines in case your guest doesn’t bring their own and feels the impact of your cats. Make sure the medication is non-sedating (skip the Benadryl) and that it kicks in quickly. Elliott recommends cetirizine, also known as Zyrtec. Nasal sprays with azelastine can work for both nose and eye symptoms, and Pataday eyedrops can help with itch, she adds. You might even consider having an EpiPen in the house, especially if one of your guests has asthma.

What guests with allergies can do

1. Take medication well before the event

A person who is “super, super allergic may want to choose to go somewhere else,” says Elliott, though with the help of medication, most people can handle the risk “as long as the cat is not in [their] face.”

A guest’s preparation for a feline-filled home should begin days before the gathering. “The most important thing is to pre-medicate,” so the medication can build up in your system, says Haden. “All allergy medicines work better to prevent a reaction than they do to stop a reaction once it’s there.”

That’s because allergic reactions have a cascading effect, he explains. The reaction leads to even more symptoms because it releases chemicals that cause the release of even more chemicals. The bottom line: Don’t wait until you start to sneeze or your eyes start to itch to take allergy meds.

Begin taking your oral antihistamine, your allergy nasal spray and your allergy eyedrops up to a week before your planned arrival and continue that routine during the duration of your stay. “People will still have some symptoms, but you can mitigate it and make it more manageable,” he says.

Elliott also suggests that people, especially older guests, make sure they’re up to date on their flu shot and otherwise in good health for the visit. “If you’re sick and you’re already congested, or maybe you have a virus and your asthma is already acting up, then something like a cat allergy can set you over the edge.”

For a longer-term solution, consider talking to your doctor about immunotherapy. “One of the most common reasons that people start on allergy shots is because they want to keep a cat or be around somebody who has a cat,” says Haden. “It’s a potent allergen, and it’s a potent motivator of people’s decision-making.”

2. Bring your inhaler if you have asthma

While asthma and allergies are not interchangeable, about 4 out of every 5 people who have asthma have an allergic trigger, says Elliott. That means their asthma gets worse when exposed to an allergen like cat dander, which could lead to an asthma attack.

“Cat-induced asthma attacks can be kind of dramatic,” says Haden — so if you have asthma, you should be extremely cautious about visiting feline-friendly households.

In addition to taking your medicine that day and in the days prior, Elliott stresses that you need to bring your inhaler along for the visit. You might even want to use it 15 minutes before entering a home with cats as a preventive measure.