Cats with itchy scabby skin
I have six cats ranging from 2-5 years old all neutered. Right now, three of them are having exactly the same skin problems as one another. They have itchy, scabby skin above their eyes and sometimes as far up as their ears. They also have itchy nipples, and are licking them raw. The first cat developed this about 2 to 3 years ago. It came and went, and never got too bad. The second cat developed this about 6 to 8 months ago. The third cat develped it about 3 weeks ago. His was worse than the other cats, although occurring in all the same places. I took him to the vet a week ago. He had never seen this. He did skin scrapings and asked about products around our house. He also cultured for ringworm. We dosed him with Revolution, and he seemed to be less itchy and his sores started drying up. He was also put on antibiotics. Unfortunately, his itchiness is back and his skin looks like it did a week ago. They are all indoor cats. We have dogs that go in and out. We have birds and a rabbit. The cats and dogs are usually on Advantage drops. None have any fleas at this point. The doc didn't see any sort of mite under the microscope. We use only one king of cleaning product...Advanage....it's supposed to be non-toxic, safe to use around animals, made of natural stuff, etc. Does this sound like an allergy, parasite, toxic reaction, dietary deficiency??? (we have hard water, is that significant?)??? Any ideas??? Right now the cats are on a vegetarian diet...but only for the last 3 months. Prior to that the cats were eating a variety of mid-grade commercial cat foods. |
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Dog with problems walking
When I came home from work yesterday, Sparrow(6yo female neutered mix breed), who stays in my basement with access to the crawl space under the house, was having trouble going up the stairs. She seemed sick - hot nose & depressed. She has a knot midway up her tail about the size of a quarter. Her hindquarters are slightly swollen and tender. Her behind was dirty with dust, some fecal matter, and little black dots that looked like flea eggs (she doesn't have fleas - she's on med from the vet.) It seemed she had been dragging her bottom on the ground. My gut feeling is that she may have been bitten by a spider or god forbid a snake (in my basement?!!) but I'm also worried that she's hurt her back. She can still walk - even jump on the bed - but she is not moving correctly. She is still eating and drinking. She's not any worse this morning, but no better. She's not limping, but she acts stiff - is not moving her hind legs with ease, but I don't see where they look out of whack. For example, when she goes up steps, she just goes one step at a time, very slowly and carefully when she usually bounds & skips steps. It doesn't look like she's knuckling over, and her feet and legs look normal. Another thought after babying her this morning - she has had trouble in the past with her anal glands being blocked. Usually I try to massage & expel them when I bathe her. I haven't noticed her dragging her butt, which usually happens when her glands are filled and need expelling, but is it possible this could be the problem? Or constipation?
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