It can definately be the cat litter too. Do you scoop it yourself? I actually wear a mask when I scoop litter because I have asthma/allergies and the litter is quite dusty.
Your situation really sounds like what I went through. I adopted one cat ( a short-hair) and had him for 3/4 months before I adopted another. With my first cat I was fine, but for a few sniffles here and there. With the second guy (medium hair)..holy!! It was horrendous. I really considered taking him back. My eyes were red and puffy and tearing, my nose was all stuffed up, I was sneezing every second but my chest wasnt tight. I got used to him eventually .....though I did eventually develop asthma with the symptoms you are describing. When I visit my brother his DSH gives me no symptoms whatsoever. So yes, i really believe you can have different symptoms to different cats.
Does claritin relieve your symptoms? If it does, take it every day (my doc said taking claritin everyday was totally fine) and eventually you wont really need it anymore - hopefully- as you get used to your cat, as I did. If claritin does not work, I suggest going to your doctor and getting a prescription for something stronger. I dont know if zyrtec is OTC now - heard it was- but I got a prescription for it years ago (for a rash unrelated to the cats, before I had them) and still have some left over...have discovered that using zyrtec for my cat allergies really helped more than claritin.
Another thing you may want to try for chest tightness is drinking hot water with honey. Honestly it really helps. Honey is considered a natural remedy/aid for asthma. Maybe it just also helps sooth you, the warm drink. The thing is when you panic when your chest gets tight its just likey to get more and more tight.
Finally, if your asthma symptoms persist I would take an appt with your doc and get medication. I currently have a turboinhaler symbicort, which I use maybe once or twice a week. My prescription is actually for it to be used 4 times daily but after the inflammation went down I didnt need it as much. Sometimes you just need medication to get the inflammation of your bronchi/ airways under control.
Hope everything works out for you
