A local college student says she can't stay in the dorm where she lives on Purdue's campus anymore because it's making her sick.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WTHR) — A local college student says she can't stay in the dorm where she lives on Purdue's campus anymore because it's making her sick.

"Once I got home, that was the first time I was able to breathe," said Alex Carney.

So, for now, home is right where the Purdue sophomore will stay, commuting to school from Lebanon after experiencing severe allergies in Harrison Hall where she lives.

"It started with sneezing and my eyes itching," she said. "I was having trouble sleeping because I was up all night with the allergies and that's when I knew there had to be a cat there."

According to Carney, turns out, there wasn't just one cat, but two living with students down the hall from her, right across from the bathroom.

"I couldn't breathe at all. I had to take my inhaler twice that day and I almost had to use my EpiPen," she said.

Carney has severe asthma and is allergic to cats. It's so bad, she says she carries the medicine with her all the time in case she has a reaction.

"It's not an easy thing at all. Animals are everywhere. Dander is on everyone" Carney said.

She explained that when she reported the cats to the Resident Advisor, she was told they were certified therapy animals and were allowed to be there.

Carney says the university has offered to move her to a different floor to get her some distance away from the cats living down the hall.

"The airflow's the same, so I'll have allergies regardless," she said.

Carney thinks if anyone needs to move, it's the cats and their owners, but says it's nothing personal.

"I wish I could have cats. I have nothing against them," she said. "I'm just allergic."

So allergic, Carney says a bad reaction could prove deadly and that's not a chance she's willing to take.

For now, she's staying put at home.

"I can't even set foot in my dorm without having allergies and not being able to breathe," Carney added.

Eyewitness News contacted Purdue University about the situation and they issued this statement:

"As this point, no formal complaint or request for assistance in the matter has been filed with University Residences. Until we learn details of the matter, it is unfair for us to comment further."

Carney's mother says she sent an e-mail to Purdue's Director of Residence Life, but plans to follow up with a formal complaint if that's what it takes to resolve this for her daughter.