Dear Doc:
I am trying to mitigate some of my vet rates by narrowing down my feline's itchie disturbance to one or two rather than going through a bundle of tests and an excruciatingly high bill. I would SOOO appreciate some assistance...
symptoms: flaking, itching, probably raw/painful as she gets a bit aggressive if I touch; located on her backside at the base of tail and up her spine. VERY bumpy & dry feeling. Scabby, even. Wherever she lays, thick yellowish flakes fall, along with smaller dandruffy like stuff. She acts at times like its fleas, so I'm inclined to think mite.. but what kind? She is indoor/outdoor. Her fur is not looking too great either - probably from all her licking & scratching. It has spread. She is, or at least mostly, chocolate point siamese (blue cross eyes and all! but broader in face and body than the new inbreeds) - I don't know what else she might be. She was dumped as a kitten on a major thoroughfare. Overall, her health is not doing well. Not horrible, but it's obvious she's not feeling totally up to snuff. Her food doesn't digest well, she vomits alot, she's rather thin right now - I have no idea if its due to this skin thing or if that's all separate. I've put her on soft food in the hopes that she'll retain that better than the dry and gain some weight. I did read all 3 of your itchy pet articles - unfortunately, that didnt really clarify too much for me. Oh, and when I try to look at these spots (which is hard between her touchiness and the fact that her fur seems too thick to really get to them), they do appear to be pink or red - but that's about all I can tell. Please help! I really don't want a $300 vet bill! I figure if i can narrow this down as much as possible - the diagnosis will be much more efficient and less expensive. Thank you!!!

Kristen

just looked again.. appears to maybe be the hair follicles..... ?

The doggie daycare blog also touched on this today. Some vets are asking for fecals and bordetella every 6 months. I balk at the annual heartworm test (that my vet also tries to do on a 6 mth interval).

I'd like to see a good schedule of titers and various tests that doesn't break my bank account.

Hi - are you selling these posters? I would take 10!

Whenever it is important to persuade a dog to expell a fecal sample before going into the show ring, a paper match inserted into the anus never fails! Hope this might spare a few victims the wrath of a fecal rod!

I didn't know I could BYOP to the vet for a fecal. Is there a protocol for collection, storage etc? I would love to save my hound the trauma of the dreaded rod.