Hello,

   I have owned several cats throughout my life and have never had any kind
of allergic reaction to them at all.  A few days ago, a co-worker gave me a
cat because her young daughter is highly allergic to the cat.  The cat is
"medium haired" (that is what the co-worker calls her, but I do not know
which particular breed the cat is) while the other cats i've had were short
haired.  Within the first day my nose was running pretty bad, and I felt
like I had a cold, but that seemed to be the worst of it.  After having the
cat for a couple of days, I don't seem to be sneezing much and my nose
doesn't run around the cat anymore.  However, when the cat rubs on me, the
skin she comes in contact with will almost always start itching and break
out into a temporary rash if I scratch it.  She lives in my bedroom and
doesn't really bother me much anymore except when she rubs on me and I break
out into a rash.  Should I just take this cat to a vet for a bath?  Is there
something I can do about this?