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How to make your home and cat allergy-friendly for allergic guests?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 5 years and 9 months old

My friend is allergic to my cat. I’d love for her to be able to come over to my house more often, and getting rid of Skunk is definitely not an option. Are there any ways to make my house or cat more allergy-friendly? Could brushing him more often help?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

Veterinary Technician

Published on January 2nd, 2018

Brushing more often (in an area that's easy to clean up any hair that flies away) can certainly help. Keeping carpets and furniture clean can also help reduce pet dander and allergens. If you do a search online, there are also special shampoo sprays that can be used on cats to help reduce excess dander without harm to your cat. Having an antihistamine on hand for your friend to use, and keeping bedding/cat towers/etc out of common areas your friend will frequent may also help.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Jessica Desrosiers
Veterinary Technician
Published on February 18th, 2018
Having lived with someone who was allergic to cats, here are a few things we did:

The furminator and daily/weekly brushing is great, and should be done someplace easy to clean such as a bathroom and away from your son's room, etc.

Regular cleaning of bedding, pet bedding, vacuuming, etc can help decrease the amount of dander and fur in the environment, which can help cut down on allergens. Keeping the cat out of your son's room and sleeping space can also help.

Changing/checking your HVAC filters regularly can help grab some of the airborne dust and dander that may make allergies worse.

Talking with your human doctor about an allergy medication or allergy shots that can be given to your son daily can help treat any symptoms if symptoms do not improve.

There are some shampoos/sprays by Allerpet and Nature's Miracle that are designed to reduce the amount of dander on your cat's body. I used a similar product on my cat (she didn't mind it if I used a washcloth to apply it) and it seemed to help, however this is purely anecdotal evidence. It is worth a try if you feel it may help or nothing else seems to be working.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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