The Cat Free Zone

Today is the day I begin working on the "cat free zone" within my humble abode.  For the record I don't necessarily want a cat free zone, but as I've grown older I have apparently become extremely allergic to cats.

How allergic?

Well according the the testing I underwent, anything greater than 0.1 on whatever scale they use means that there is an allergy to whatever is being tested against.  For example, on my lab results I showed a slight allergy to dogs, with a reading of 1.35.  Anything greater than 4.0 is considered "highly allergic".  My cat result?  45.1.  I think this means that the fluid in my bloodstream consists of red cells, white cells and cat antigens.

Now that I am breathing better (and want to stay that way), my first line of defense against future trips to the Emergency Room is to create a place where I can sleep and not be inhaling cat dander.  That's where the cat-free zone comes into play.  The actual work here breaks down into three parts:

Step 1 - Actually put a door on my bedroom.
Right now I don't have a door going into my bedroom, which makes for a mighty ineffective cat free zone.

Step 2 - Throughly clean the bedroom.
I have a rug shampooer on loan from my brother that I'll use as part of the "cat dander removal" phase of the project.  I'll also vacuum every single square inch of the place, from floor to ceiling.

Step 3 - Get an air cleaner/purifier.
I may not actually do this until the Fall.  From my limited experience over the past two weeks, my breathing is actually better when there is fresh air flowing, so during the warmer months having the windows open and the air flowing seems to be helpful.  Once it gets colder and I end up closing windows, I will need something to clean the air.

I'm sure that my cat, Jean Luc, will be unimpressed by all of this...in fact, the whole door thing may really cheese him off.  Given the alternative recommended by my doctor..."get rid of the cat"...I'm thinking he is actually making out rather well in this arrangement.  Besides he will still have the run of the place, well except for my bedroom.