I'd hate to say that cats are my life.  But in a way, they kind of are.  Don't get me wrong - I absolutely adore my family and friends and the entire rest of the life I've been blessed with, but I really, really love my cats too.  There's just one problem - I also happen to be quite allergic to most cats.  And over half of my (rather large) immediate family is as well.

That said, I've loved cats and had them around me pretty much always.  One of my earliest memories is of helping to pick out a kitten for my family.  Her name morphed into Kiki, because I was too young to even pronounce the word kitten yet - and I absolutely adored her.  Much later on, though, I was diagnosed with migraine-causing cat allergies - and that was no fun at all.  My family didn't know a thing yet about all the natural and alternative medicines that I have in my arsenal  today, so I received the typical allergy shots in hopes of relief (no way I was giving up our cat!)  And when I got my first apartment after college?  I went (literally the next day) to a shelter and adopted my very own kitten/best-furriend.

Long story short, eventually I had to stop those allergy shots after they became dangerous to me (anaphylaxis).   And over the past 20 years my cat allergies gradually became worse and worse.  It was pure torture, because I found myself pushing away our cat much of the time, or instantly scrubbing face, hands, clothing after giving in to enjoying a cuddle with him.  And unfortunately, during that same time span, some of my (human) kids were starting to show allergy problems too.
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So, what did I do?  For allergic cat lover's around the world (and there are a surprisingly high number of us), how to fix those tragic allergies is the sixty million dollar question. 

Once I was (forced) to admit that our cat allergies were getting completely out of hand, I began researching like mad!  Information is power, and I was absolutely determined to win the cat allergy war.  And then I started implementing everything that I could, slowly over time changing both our habits and our habitat. 

I prefer to tackle things in bits and pieces with any project like this that may involve a lot of changes for either myself or my family.  If I try to jump in whole-cat (so to speak) all at once, I'm far more likely to just give up and find the whole thing too overwhelming.  In this case, though, the benefits (of millions of cat cuddles) were a huge motivation for me.

Knowing the enemy ( not my furry loves!) is really helpful dealing with cat allergies in the most successful and natural way possible.  The predominant cause  is a protein that the cats produce called Fel d 1.  It excretes primarily through their skin's oil glands and their anal glands, and also through their saliva and their fur.  The bulk of it, however, really does come from those skin and anal glands.  (Yup - that's why changing litterboxes and kitty kisses/head bumps can really set off allergic reactions.)  All of the information can be really confusing - there's a lot of it, but it's not always the most accurate stuff.  Much a what is floating around on the internet these days is actually based on older myths and defunct research - for instance, all those statements that cat saliva is the main problem.   (Check out the Fel d 1 Fact List and Resources at the bottom of this page 👇)

I work hard to keep everything to do with my cats clean.  Anywhere my little darlings like to hang out needs to be either wipe-able or easily washable.  And carpeted cat trees are a huge no-no!  They just can't be cleaned of allergens properly.  Fortunately, ShiShi and Haku adore our Armarkat Solid Wood Cat Tree  - they love it for the hiding cave, great perches (it's also where I feed Haku), and the best kitty hammock ever.   (If you notice fuzzies in the photos of our cat tree,  it's because I cut up a bathroom rug to fit on the perches - super easy to wash, and the kitties like the fluff.)  I also keep my cats extra healthy with their raw diet and lots of exercise, and keep their fur clean with daily wipe downs.   And, while it isn't the right choice for everyone, this time around when it was time to adopt cats, I very carefully chose a cat breed (Siberian) that naturally produces significantly less of that darned Fel d 1 protein.  

What do I do for any remaining allergies?  They do still crop up once in a while, especially if my immune system is down because of fatigue or having a cold.  Heartbreakingly, I had to stop volunteering at our local no-kill cat shelter.  And I still do a crazy wash my face, rinse my eyes, rinse my sinuses, wash my hands, change my clothes routine whenever I love up somebody else's furry darling.  But, in my own home, with my (mostly hypoallergenic) Siberian cats, I do extremely well.  Check out my self care tips below for more info on my personal anti-allergy regime, and also for the rest of the fabulous protocols that allow me to be a happy and healthy cat owner.  And yes - I happily and healthily face-plant and rub noses with ShiShi and Haku at least a billion times a day now. ❤

An Update on Molecular Cat Allergens
Study about cat allergens, and possible medical solutions for the future.  Lots of great background info.

Myths About Siberians
Article about myths and facts pertaining to low Fel d 1 in Siberian cats.

Kitten Saliva Testing for Fel d 1
Explains saliva testing, accuracy, and sources of current testing.

Jackson Galaxy Cat Allergy Blog
I don't agree with absolutely everything in this article, but Jackson offers some great tips and solutions for people who  own a cat that they are allergic to.

 I'm a tight spaces addict - and a closet connoisseur.  Not everypawdy wants to admit to this indiscreet kind of love affair - it can be quite embarrassing fur some.  But one cat's weakness is most certainly another cat's strength - and most especially when it comes to a passion fur all things hidden  and tucked away.  After all, if one day the giant d.o.g. bomb goes off, I'll know all of the best places to wait it out in safety.  

Back in the day of Haku's endless chasing, before meowma  helped to fix things fur me, those little hiding spots were often my saving grace. (Haku's behavior modification, and mine, really have worked out fur us  - you can find out more here and here.)  Haku's bad old habits may be why I love closets and hidden corners so much.  Or purrhaps, as meowma often says, it's just in my purrticular kitty nature.   ​Even now, I often find the exploration of quiet spaces to be quite helpful to my meowditations.   As an added benefit, whenever meowma has lost a little something, I can almost always find it fur her under the bed, or tucked into a furgotten corner of the armoire.  (Of course, this special bit of helpfulness on my part may stem from close acquaintance with our resident ghost kitty...)

And speaking of that ghost kitty, she has been most active of late!  While we've never quite managed to meet face-to-face, she has become quite the inspiration to myself and Haku.  Just past the stoke of midnight, nearly every night, she ventures out from her secret castle under the bed to look fur special bits of mischief.  She adores hiding away all kinds of special little items while out on her adventures, and always leaves them in the most interesting of places.  Thanks to that fun-loving kitty, I've been able to help meowma to 'rediscover' all kinds of little treasures just this week alone - hairbands, bottle caps, and even her favorite lipstick (I looked like quite the heroine on that splendid morning fishing that out from under the sink, let me tell you!) 

Miss Ghost Kitty's nightly adventures lead me to discover all kinds of new and wonderful hiding spots around our house.  Sometimes we play tag and I follow just behind her noisy paw steps, listening fur the clanks and bangs so that I can try to see her once and fur all.    Of course, meowma thinks that it's just me racing through the house at night, but that only proves that she has no imagination at all!  Just the other night, I learned about a charming little corner behind the china cupboard that I had somehow missed before.  It was purractically a treasure nest, filled to the brim with furgotten toys that my ghost kitty must have placed there (who else could have done it?!)

I've been thinking lately - what if there are many, many ghost kitties in the world?  Not just the one who is living under my meowma's bed...  Would that mean that every kitty's house has a treasure stash of toys, just waiting to be discovered by a fearless explorer of tight spaces?  Those toys I found were the BEST surprise - even Haku was impressed.  If there is any pawsibility of a ghost kitty living in your own house, I highly recommend befriending him or her - the side benefits are simply ameowzing!

Bored cats = trouble cats!  Even more than trouble (although cat shenanigans can be frighteningly destructive), boredom in cats can lead to a host of other problems including depression, health and litterbox issues.  If given free access to the outdoors, a well-fed housecat will normally roam and patrol a territory of around 5 acres on a regular basis, while their feral counterparts range much further.  And, simply put, even five acres  has a whole lot of stimulation - tantalizing scents, animal trails to follow, birds to wish for.  But that free-roaming lifestyle has plenty of other problems attached to it and just isn't possible, or even recommended, for the majority of housecats.

As I have said before, cats are REALLY intelligent.  I often think that living with cats is a bit like living with toddlers in the house.  They are easily smart enough to learn all kinds of tricks - sometimes they are the kind of tricks that I enjoy - like 'shake' or 'boop', and sometimes they're not so fabulous tricks like Haku's opening the cupboard doors where the treats are stored!  And just like any toddler, cats need to have their intellect challenged and their senses stimulated to maintain their physical and mental health.

So, what do you (as a loving cat owner) do?  Outdoor adventures on leash and harness aren't always practical or possible, even with a nature-loving cat mom like myself, let alone our many friends who live in large cities.  But, for the times when going outdoors really isn't a possibility, we have hit on a happy (if sometimes messy!) solution for ShiShi and Haku - indoor cat forts.  And not so surprisingly, those kitty forts have a great deal in common with the temporary forts that I used to build for my own kids when they were younger.

Whenever something keeps us indoors, as the weather often did this past summer (Florida summers are just crazy hot), that's when I pull out my indoor kitty fort building skills.  It doesn't honestly take a lot on my part - maybe 5-10 minutes of my time, plus the willingness to let my living room be a complete disaster for the next few hours.  ShiShi especially is ALWAYS willing to help with the building part.  Generally she is there inspecting every little layer that I add to the pile of human and cat stuff that turns into the fort-of-the-day.  Haku is a bit slower to the game, but always makes sure to stake a claim once the building process is done!   

Both cats always seem to know that the fort is especially for them, even if I haven't included any of their own toys in it, and they always ask me to play with them in their forts as well.  In fact, they pretty much expect it.  (Those pitiful eyes and flirty mews do me in every time!)  And once the fun and romping around has died down, I'm sure to find at least one of them napping in their temporary castle, guarding it from all intruders.

Do I think that these forts do their job?  The answer is a massive yes!  Any day that includes the building of one of a kitty fort - either simple or elaborate - is also generally a day with far less unhappy pawing at the door for adventures outside.   I also see some of the other adventuring benefits in the form of one (very)picky eater finishing all of her dinner, and more kitty cuddles from both of them.  And distinctively less pawing at that kitchen cupboard!  They also just seem to be more alert and likely to be inspecting the house for more fun, rather than simply sleeping through the day.  For anyone with cats who get into that extra bit of trouble on too frequent a basis, or even cats who have become lethargic and less interested in play, I can't recommend enough the magic or these easy-to-make, temporary forts.

​Happy Building!

1.  Temporary cat forts can (and should) be simple.  Just a few items presented in new way can be very interesting to a cat.  

2.  Claw hair clips and clothespins combined with a sheet or a few scarves and a chair will take you far!  Other items that my cats seem to frankly adore included in a fort are boxes (of course!), baskets, hula hoops, a few of their catnip toys scattered in the structure, and tissue paper.

3.  Some of the all-time favorite forts that I've made for ShiShi and Haku have included one of their cat trees - either moved to the center of the room, or even laid on its side.  Apparently nothing is ever so amazing as one of their own items, made to seem entirely different.

4.  Don't feel obliged to leave the awesome new fort cluttering your space for more than a few hours.  Just like the aforementioned toddlers, cats can also have short attention spans.  In fact, it seems to keep them much more stimulated if one fort disappears, but something quite different appears the next day.  And really, have fun with this - time to let your own inner child out to play!

Woo Hoo!  I'm pretty sure that we just found the best cat walking park, and it was only a very short drive from our house.  Honestly, I  can't believe that we didn't figure out that it was there sooner.  I've probably driven past it a hundred times, and even kickbiked past it (it's a scooter thing) on the way to our local rails-to-trails.  It only goes to show that the best spots to take cats to are often hidden away in our local environment - and it's precisely that hiding that makes them so perfect.  Despite offering a gorgeous expanse of mowed pathways under the trees, very few dog owners seem to have discovered it either.  From now on this park is going to be our secret getaway!

When I say this was a fabulous cat walking park, you should definitely be noticing the irony to be seen in most of the pictures of Haku that we took there.   He quite enjoyed the park - but mostly from his vantage point in the stroller, or an even higher perch in his human sister's arms.  (Good thing she ADORES carrying him!)  ShiShi, on the other hand, was happy to lead us through the whole park like the grand adventurer that she is growing to be.  The only times that she ended up back in the stroller were when we spotted an eagle flying above us during an open field stretch, and when we headed back to the parking lot.  That cat impresses me more with every adventure experience I throw her way.

 It's a little difficult to estimate how long our walk actually was, mostly because of how the tree path area was laid out - there was another substantial area of field pathways that we didn't walk - mostly because of the eagle circling above our heads.  (I've heard enough bad cat/eagle stories to be extremely wary in that situation!)  There are also a separate dog walking field and a lovely community garden  there.  But, I'm thinking that the area we explored was a bit over a quarter mile??  That may sound small, but there was SO much to sniff and explore in there that the feeling was much larger.

The park is absolutely gorgeous, and filled with quiet spots that would be perfect for a picnic or stringing up a hammock while the cats explore.  In fact, both of those activities are high on my list when we get the chance.  There was even a tiny waterfall, but with water so shallow that I'd never feel the need to worry about a sizable gator.  Despite poking around there for at least an hour, neither cat ever got unhappy.  The worst moment was when Haku's stroller went out of sight while he was out exploring!  Oh - and when ShiShi startled me with a sudden lizard/tree jump that was attempted through the old barbed wire that the field pathways are defined with for some odd reason.  Fortunately, all was well in both instances, and the four human family members who went on our walk all voted that was easily our best cat hike-adventure ever!

So, ya'll have probably figured out by now - I really love the Pet Gear stroller that I purchased for the cats a few months ago.  It has completely opened up the adventuring world for us in more ways than I could actually cover in one short blog post.  But the biggest improvement of all has been my ability to take out both of my cats at the same time for short neighborhood adventures. 

Many mornings my girls and I now take a break from our homeschooling routine to pop the cats into their harnesses, grab the stroller, and walk one of the long blocks around the area we live.  Neighbors are actually getting quite used to seeing ShiShi and Haku, and stop us to ask how they are doing.  And the cats, while still nervous of strangers on the street, are in turn becoming much more used to new people, dogs of all shapes and sizes, and even traffic.  ShiShi usually comes running when I get things ready for our walk (and often spends the rest of the day once we are home sleeping either on top or inside her precious stroller).

The really huge part of this spectacular stroller story, though, happens after that first walk around the block.  That's when I drop my girls off at our house so they can get back to school, and I take the kitties off by myself to visit the Bridge.
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Two amazing (and critical!) things are at play on these new adventures that ShiShi, Haku and I take to the Bridge.  Well, three if you count the fact that we wouldn't be able to go together at all without the means for me to transport two cats at once.  (Tandem backpacking did not work well at all for us!)  This stroller has felt a minor miracle, since I  don't often have a backup person to help me walk two cats at once, but very often have cats begging to go outside.

Best of all, my kitties are riding together.  This might seem obvious, but it means that there is far less for ShiShi and Haku to be nervous about as we stretch their comfort zone more and more.  Whenever something happens that would normally make one of them feel worried, they have the other to take cues from.   If something strange or unexpected happens (all the time!) they recover their happy curiosity many times faster than they would if on their own with me.

​And, both kitties have quickly grown to associate the stroller as a 'safe' place.  It happened quite naturally as both dogs and people are held at bay while the cats can peer out curiously from inside.  Also, once they are out and walking on their own four paws, there have been times when I spotted a bigger dog heading our way (big dogs make them nervous) and quickly popped them back in for a safety break.  Incredibly for both them and myself, they seem to feel invincible once inside.  Now, if  I'm even thinking that either cat is acting a bit nervous (for instance when ShiShi heard a startling sound while we were out today), I just stick them back in with the screens still partially open, and then they can choose when they want to hop back out again.

And - hopping out really is the best part of all!  Our habit right now is to stroll to the edge of Turtle Bridge, then open up the compartment for the kitties to hop out and explore.  Note here - sometimes Haku elects to just stay in the stroller and observe from his safe perch!  After a bit I tell them it's time to go back.  My adventure cats then actually lead the way home, sometimes at a pokey/sniffy pace, but are generally pulling me along by the time we hit the sidewalk.  They've even (mostly) figured out that they need to wait for each other and walk together.  To put it mildly, I am so proud of them and impressed.

Mind you, I'm still in love with our longer park adventures too.  But it's impossible at this point in my life to have that kind of adventure on a daily, or even weekly, basis.  I also adore the idea of real backpacking/camping with my guys one day.  But the very real benefits, right now, of day-to-day outdoor explores are ours thanks to that well-beloved stroller.  Pawsome!