Cat Thoughts

I think I told you this wouldn't be about cats, but I changed my mind.

I used to be allergic to cats. My parents had a cat when I was a baby, and then when I was in fifth grade, a cat in the neighborhood moved in with us.  From that point, they pretty much always had at least one. As a kid, my allergies to cats would be okay as long as I washed my hands after petting them (which I still do), and didn't stick my face in the cat.

But when I went away to college and was no longer exposed to cats, whatever immunity my body had built up dropped off entirely.  When I'd visit my family, I would be all sneezes, then all Benadryl.  My niece would want me to play with her, and I'd be loopy/sleepy from the medication, like, lemme just lie down…

My Life in Cats changed when I met Gandhi, the sweet kitty friend of a friend.  He is my friend Rachel’s cat.  And even though I was very allergic to cats, sneezing like crazy, I would still go hang out with my friend Rachel on a regular basis, bringing Benadryl and tissues, and sneezing away while we’d hang out and cook and watch TV or whatever.  Within a year, I realized I’d stopped sneezing.  Rachel and I moved in together, and I could pet Ghandi without sneezing!  I was no longer allergic to cats.

Fast forward two years, and I’m living on my own and decide to adopt some kitties of my own: Luna in September 2013, then Sola three months later, that December.

Unfortunately, my boyfriend is allergic to my cats.  When we came back from visiting family in the Bay Area this weekend, he could barely breathe and had to leave pretty much as soon as possible.

We had talked about what would change when we live together, but the conversation changed. Reset. "Rethink everything."  When I put my Rational hat on, it is an easy conversation, because health/breathing is #1, and I'm not going to let his allergies keep us apart.  But without the Rational hat, I'm fearful.  Indoor cats have an average lifespan of 12-20 years, whereas outdoor cats live only 1-5 years. They die fast out there. And I'm still in the apartment stage of my life. I'd love to live in a house... but I don't think I'm quite there yet.

So we will need some kind of compromise. The boat has rocked and I've tried to settle it, but my brain is still swishing, dizzy, unsettled.