WATCHING little Amelia Taylor play, all blonde curls and chatting about her fifth birthday next week, it's hard to imagine the struggle for life she has endured. But on June 20, 1996, she came into this world 16 weeks prematurely and weighing just 1lb 6oz.

Worse than that, her mother's waters had broken five weeks earlier, depriving Amelia of all but two tiny pockets of the life-giving amniotic fluid inside the womb. She was born after 24 weeks and one day, the earliest time possible for a baby to survive, and doctors rated her chances at just two per cent. Bright red and covered in tiny white hairs, she could fit in the palm of a hand, and could only manage to swallow a quarter of a millilitre of her mother's milk.

"It's a miracle she's still with us," says her mother Val. "And it wasn't over then. She couldn't breathe on her own and was ventilated for two months. There were so many ups and downs, it was terrible.

"At three weeks, she had to have a heart operation and we thought we were losing her. She also had a collapsed lung, digestive problems and skin problems. Her circulation wasn't right and one leg went black. They thought they were going to have to amputate. Specialists came from all over the country to see her. There were lots of hurdles but she got over them all."

Well, nearly all of them. Being on a ventilator left Amelia's lungs scarred and prone to the rigours of allergies. Asthmatic attacks regularly leave her fighting for breath and have brought more heartache by putting her at odds with Val's other "children", the cats.

Oliver and Chanel had been much-loved members of the Taylor household for the past 12 years, since they were rescued from living wild. Yet the fur, saliva and scurf on their coats were triggering the asthma attacks in Amelia. "I love my cats but my child had to come first," recalls Val, of Nuneaton. "Chanel died and Oliver was going to have to go. I was at my wits' end. We couldn't find a home for him and I was even thinking of having him put to sleep."

Then her friend told her about Petal Cleanse, a new treatment administered to the animals which neutralises allergens. "I would have tried anything. I was desperate. And in three weeks, the difference was incredible. Amelia always wanted to kiss and cuddle the cat and now she can."

There are 7.8 million cats and 6.6 million dogs in the country. Pet allergies are estimated to affect one in three people globally and 50 per cent of the European population. One in five children get asthma, one in six people suffer from skin allergies.

Research by the Campaign for Asthma claims that 46 per cent of asthmatics blame pets for triggering attacks. Other research estimates that asthma costs the National Health Service £750m a year.

Modern living doesn't help. Houses are too warm with poor ventilation, thanks to central heating and double glazing. It's the perfect place for mould and dust mites.

Cats are the worst producers of allergens, followed by dogs, and the problem increases as the animal ages - so fully-grown cats have more impact than kittens. In the past, sufferers have resorted to antihistamines to combat the problem.

Now, British pharmaceutical company Bio-Life claims it has made a major breakthrough in alleviating suffering with Petal Cleanse, which has received a consumer award from the British Allergy Foundation. Its spokesman Carol Peek says: "It certainly seems to work." The treatment is administered to the pet, to neutralise the allergens which cause the reaction in the human. A lotion, it is composed of a balance of cleansers and moisturisers. The cleansers remove the allergens, the moisturisers condition the coat and skin to further reduce the amount of material shed.

The solution, which contains detergents, salts, vitamins, aloe vera, rosemary and lime flower extracts, is put on weekly with a wet sponge or flannel and results are expected within three weeks.

For Val Taylor the results are not in doubt. "Amelia adores Oliver," says Val. "This has saved us so much heartbreak."

The company also operates an allergy helpline (01492) 596660. The phones are manned seven days a week, 8am to 8pm.