Diane and @davi0937 While waiting for other BMT members to pop in with their experiences with pets post BMT, I thought I’d toss in 3 websites with informational guidelines for ‘when you go home’. These are pretty standard throughout the BMT world.
From Mayo Clinic: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/caregivers-for-bmt-car-t-and-hematology/tab/transplant-journey/#Infection_Prevention
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From Intermountain Healthcare
https://intermountainhealthcare.org/ckr-ext/Dcmnt?ncid=529712509
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Memorial Sloan Kettering https://www.mskcc.org/pdf/cancer-care/patient-education/leaving-hospital-after-your-allogeneic-transplant

At the time of my transplant, we were between pets…so it wasn’t an issue. I know many friends/acquaintences who had several and various pets when they returned home. They got along fine with some limitations for a while.
I spend a lot of time with my daughter’s cat and dog. They’re not allowed on my bed though. If the cat wants to cuddle I wear a large shirt that covers my clothing and remove it after snuggle time. (Toss it in the dryer for a while after). I don’t touch my face with my hands until they’re washed. Same with the dog. Frequent hand washing. Litter box should be someone else’s job for a 6 months or so. After that, just wear a mask when you clean it.

However, during the critical early months of transplant and up until you’re off immunosuppressants and have your vaccinations, pets can pose a potential threat to infections, bacteria, parasites, etc., because of the reduced level of immunity. Your new immune system, initially, will be that of an infant. It will mature over the next year or so. Keep in mind that your new immune system will never quite be as robust as the original factory installed model you were born with. But it works!

With common sense life can resume to a level of normalcy. We don’t go through all of this to live in isolation with no
quality of life! ☺️ Pets are family too!

I had 2 cats. I got my older brother and sister to care for them my 1st 100 days. Sadly one of my cats did not make it through their care. I stayed at my friends house and she did not have pets. She followed COH directions and kept the house as germ free as possible. At 100 days i went home and i did hang with my cat. The flea infestation had just begun. My brother and sister had no noticed. I went to follow up appointments with flea bits. My medical team was happy it was not a rash from GVHD. I only had one cat, so i wore a mask and gloves and cleaned the cat box. Kept my hands washed. If someone else can do that part, that is good. My cat had shots and flea control, so once i had our house flea free we were good. I started walking at my caregivers as soon as i got to her house. I did not wear a mask outside, I was not near people and my medical team said it was ok.
I miss my Hazel cat who i expected to see when i got home. I did have one of those very good eye filters and i keep that on and maintained still.
They encourage walking, the easiest thing to do as you start recovering. Ding ding. I too walked 6 miles or more every day.

Hello @drawlings0803
My husband 14 months out from his BMT for AML. We have a 26 pound doodle and we took special care to put a towel in his lap before she jumped up to perch or take a nap on his lap. She was very comforting to him to be near but we did both allow her to lick his face for the first 6 months to a year. I think she actually was able to get a lick in here and there because she is so fast (haha) but he was careful to wash his face afterward. We just used common sense to keep him safe including not allowing him to pick up her waste. Lots of hand washing and keeping the animal as clean as possible really helped. But he never felt deprived, nor did she I don’t think 😊 to share in their mutual comfort and love.
Our care team was very chill about the pet situation, again with careful management to keep her mouth away from his and his hands clean after touching her, and before eating, so we were grateful to have her with us.

Hope that helps. Wishing you all the best!

Mary

Hi Diane,
We have a dog that I love dearly. When I got home I did wash my hands every time I petted him and yes I did pet him a bit less because I got tired of washing my hands so much - but I did pet him. I think we let him back up on the couch after the 100 days. I had no problems doing it this way.

If your cat insists on being on the couch then maybe put cat, husband then you so it’s not against you,

On the topic of washing your hands, I was surprised to find that every soap in our house irritated my hands and finally found an unscented hand soap called Attitude Super leaves from Amazon - I mention this because my sweet husband went to a number of local stores and could not find unscented. Everyone is different and you may not have the soap issue.

On another note, I know a lot of people said their taste buds changed or they were slightly nauseous for months but I had none of that and could eat anything I wanted from about week 6 on; although I did eat less more often because I got full very fast. So just goes to show we are all different and you may have some or none of the various side effects you may hear about.

Please ask any other questions you have. I remember that feeling of all these little questions and I’m sure someone here will have experienced it to have an answer for you.

Good luck with everything. We’re thinking of you from here.
- Deb