Dealing with Allergies as a Consultant: What Would You Do?

[pcsharon1]

Okay, so I've been a consultant for many years now - but I have always been a very part-time, almost hobby consultant. I've done about 250 shows - breaks down to about 2-3 a month (I took almost a year off when we moved to Germany). Anyway..........

I have a allergy to cats. It's not so severe that I can't be in a house with them at all, but at times I can have a really bad reaction. Lots of factors such as what type of cat, is the cat a "people" cat that likes to be around all the time, how often and WELL does the owner clean. I am easily susceptable to airway issues anyway - regularly have strep (I know that not really an airway issue), brochitus that often turns to pneumonia, sinus infections, etc.

Now the issue ~ tonight I met a lady at my son's basketball practice who is interested in having a show and her husband is pushing her to become a consultant. They were talking about how many people they know and how well their house is set up for a show, etc. I'm super excited. We are military and when you find someone who has been in a location long enough to know a lot of people it's GREAT! Plus they live on post so I know the set up of their house and even if the weather is crummy, they are only a couple of miles away. The issue (Cause it all sounds great right)? She mentioned off hand while talking about something else that they had SEVEN cats. In their house! What do I do? I know I won't make it through an entire show at her house. Normally I can take a benedryl before a show and make it through the show and not have any sort of reactions until I'm home and then they aren't too bad but SEVEN? How would you handle it? Clearly I don't want to give up this potential host/recruit.

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

Just kindly tell her you have a cat allergy and then follow up with a question like "Do they like to be around visitors?"
All you can do is be polite. You can even say that you're not worried about pet dander, mostly just concerned whether they'll be around you while you're there.

 

[Sheila]

Be honest with her. Tell her you have a severe allergy to cats & that you won't make it through the show if they are in the same room & can't guarantee that you'll make it through the show if you come into contact with a lot of the cat hair. I'm sure she'd be willing to put them away for the show.

I love cats and would be a cat owner, but my allergies don't love them as much as I do!

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

My sister and her kids are allergic to cats. It doesn't matter if we put them in the basement and vaccum each piece of furniture.

I'd look into an outdoor show if at all possible and explain it to her.

 

[jbdowd0798]

Would you be willing to host her grand opening show at your house?? If yes, than mention your allergy and concern but be very positive about it and your willingness to help her.

What I can't get over is that if she lives on base, how does she have seven cats?? Base housing has always had a 2 animal limit!?! We've lived on base and yes I know people don't register their animals when they are over the 2 but 7! Just thinking out loud- how does she get around maintence coming in and seeing them? Hummm weird! lol

 

[nikked]

...What I can't get over is that if she lives on base, how does she have seven cats?? Base housing has always had a 2 animal limit!?! We've lived on base and yes I know people don't register their animals when they are over the 2 but 7! Just thinking out loud- how does she get around maintence coming in and seeing them? Hummm weird! lol

I was thinking the same thing!

Does your post have clubhouses? If you don't want to hold it at your house, that could be an option too!

 

[ChefCKHall]

Same predicament for me. I have a severe allergy to cats with an asthmatic reaction. One of my upcoming hosts just posted online that she needed help placing someone's cats and that she already has five so cannot take them. I have to call her today to discuss this. They will need to be sequestered and the house really cleaned for me. Also, I will need to remember to not touch my face/eyes/etc while there. Inhaler and Benadryl too. Grrrrr......

 

[minirottie]

I'd also suggest either hosting at your house or finding an alternative location.

 

[cincychef]

You have some great suggestions, but if they don't work, I would sign her up and have her do the show. You can explain your allergy and tell her that you will give her all the training before the show so she can be comfortable doing it. Then she will get the host benefits and the commission.

 

[pcsharon1]

My house is TINY compared to hers. I'm guessing that because they live in "New" housing, they haven't had to have maintenance come in. When she was first saying it she said "we are sneaking past housing and have one more pet than we should" and I thought that meant she had three because my understanding was that you were allowed to have two also. Then she said "we have seven cats instead of six" and I know they have a dog as well. I didn't think there was a difference. I thought it was two pets - cats, dogs, etc. She clearly thinks she can have 2 dogs and six cats - not that that stops her from having more. I'm gonna check into what it takes to use the community center and then I'll talk to her about that and about her doing the show herself.

 

[ShellBeach]

Sounds like a good plan!

 

[esavvymom]

ok...this may sound bad...but anonymous call to report the number of animals?? Let post take care of the problem.

 

[Sheila]

LOL, that's not really an option on a military base Bobbi. They don't follow the same rules as city/state agencies. There's not really a sense of privacy with our information here like you'd find in the states.

Heck, they don't even follow HIPPA laws here. They will talk openly about your medical issues in front of anyone.

You pretty much loose all your privacy options when you join the military (you become government property) and it's pretty much the same for people who marry into the military too.

 

[chefa]

It could be mailed to the post anonymously. Just be sure to there are no security cameras where you drop it in the mail box and wear gloves so you don't leave any fingerprints. :-D

 

[ShelbyMichalek]

It could be mailed to the post anonymously. Just be sure to there are no security cameras where you drop it in the mail box and wear gloves so you don't leave any fingerprints. :-D

You wouldn't really need to take those extremes They don't really care who tips them off - what Sheila is say is that if the person they're "investigating" asks "who told you?" then they just tell them it was you - they don't care if it was anonymous or not.

 

[minirottie]

ok...this may sound bad...but anonymous call to report the number of animals?? Let post take care of the problem.

Or just leave them in peace with their animals and if they're discovered later, then they deal with it...if they lose them, then they may end up dead or in a shelter (and then dead)

not trying to be rude here..I work in dog rescue and while I appreciate some rules/regulations (we have city limits here), I also know that the animals may not get rehomed...

 

[dannyzmom]

I am VERY allergic to cats (eyes tear and itch, nose runs, sneeze sneeze, sneeze, etc) so I just take a Zyrtec before any show that I know is in a pet-ful house and I try to remember to always carry some in my bag just in case.
Oh, and I have 2 cats of my own -- one that likes to sleep on my head...go figure.