That Darn Cat!

I don't know when exactly I developed an allergy to cats. When I was young I loved to play with the kittens at my grandma and various cousins' homes in Idaho and never noticed a problem. A few years ago I learned that both my mom and sister (Laura) are allergic to cats. Maybe it's sympathy pains or the power of suggestion, but now I can't spend too much time around a cat without suffering. It seems like a pretty simple problem--avoid cats and you'll be okay. The thing is, Anthony and I are trying to make friends and be more sociable and many of our new friends are cat owners! You would think it would be easy to tell people you are allergic to cats and would appreciate it if they kept their feline away from you. Most of the time it is, but I'm finding out there are quite a few people who get offended when you tell them that their "baby" is putting your immune system into serious overdrive. If I know we are going somewhere where there will be cats I can pop some Benydryl and the cats don't bother me too much, although I do become incredibly drowsy. Last night at Tony's graduate programs' back-to-school BBQ and game night I was caught unaware and slowly started to look like Hitch while we played Catchphrase! First my eyes got red and watery, then my ears itched, and finally my throat started to close up. For those of you unaware of the ins and outs of Catchphrase!, being able to yell and be heard are essential to your being an asset to your team. So we made an quiet exit politely explaining our (my) situation. As soon as we got home I got out of my contaminated clothes, took a shower, popped some anti-histimines, took some eye-drops, passed out in bed and had some of the weirdest dreams I've had in a long time.
Hopefully none of our kids will be felinophiles like Angela from the Office.