Three of our star characters have had individual manifestations of the itchies all week. Sola, the calico, who had just had cortisone shots three weeks ago, had another outburst of hives and scabs that confounded us since for the two weeks prior, the shots had cleared up her condition, miraculously.
Cleo's been chewing on her butt something awful such that it seems almost compulsive and I have to put a stop to it when I see her. I feel really bad for her, though, as she looks completely preoccupied with little else.
Coco - we thought - was a different case. He has developed this twitchy leg thing. He's lying around, keeping us company and his hind leg starts to kick like when we scratch him in his ticklish spot along his ribs. But now it happens even though no one is touching him. It looks entirely involuntary, as it happens spontaneously and repeatedly, with no pattern that we could see. In the middle of the night and on our wood floors, it sounds like intermittent but constant drumming. It can drive us batty, but mostly I'm concerned that he's not getting any quality sleep since he wakes himself up with each tremble and so it takes longer for him to really get to sleep.
So, it was time for a family field trip to our local vet, whom we adore. I piled Mom, Coco, Cleo, and Sola (in her crate) into the tiny blue car. Mom's SUV would have been more practical but Coco can't jump up that high any more and we're not strong enough to lift the 90 plus pup. So, little car it was. Right away, we knew the 5 minute drive would be a challenge. Sola cried bloody murder from her crate at a rate of one meow every 4 seconds. Coco tried, desperately, to balance in the reduced space and ended up sitting with his hindquarters on the seat and his front paws on the car floor. Cleo proceeded to give everyone headaches with her squeals and yelps. She's terribly excitable and makes these whistling squeals mixed with grunting that are hilarious for the first three or so minutes. Then the volume gets turned up as we actually start the car. Eardrums are in a very real danger at this point. If another dog is spotted during the trek, then all hell breaks loose and she lunges and barks at the window with a fervor never before seen. Our little psychopath.
Our vets (two fantastic women who work as a team) were happy to see Coco and Sola ("Hey! It's Corn Cob Coco!") and were a hit with Cleo right away, too. These ladies seem to have bought the business from our prior vet, also a wonderful guy, and at first we were concerned but now that we've seen them twice, we're really liking them. One huge bonus for me is that Cleo didn't bat an eyelash at them.
I got Cleo from the pound when she was still a puppy but already large. The first conclusion I came to with her was that whoever had her before me had beaten her. She was terribly skittish and not at all trusting. It's taken lots of work and bonding over the years, but she still sometimes does a double take if she sees one of us holding a broom, as I suspect that this was a favorite beating implement from some inhumane person from her past. The second thing I noticed is that she does not respond well to men. Smaller, leaner men are sort of ok, but tall or sturdy men are a real sore spot for her. At best she is distrustful and she steers clear. At worst, she barks and won't lay off until I have to intervene, either pulling her away from the culprit or (assuming the culprit is friend or family) giving him a hug and showing her that he is "friend, not foe". Even then, she only stays away from that kind. Again, I suspect that this was the body type of the bully who used to abuse her. So, to have two petite women attend to my little ADD child is a happy and welcomed change. She seems to have no problem with them.
We all piled into the examining room and there were hugs and kisses all around. Turns out Coco's kicking might be due to the itchies as well. His dry skin might be just tingly enough that it sets off an impulse to relieve it by simply moving his leg compulsively, like when a fly lands on an ear. His physiology just has him shaking off the itch instead of scratching at it. So we're going to attempt an oatmeal shampoo twice a week for a couple of weeks (I see an after-work project for me) and then see if that doesn't help.
Sola has been declared ultra sensitive to flea allergies such that the strong dose of cortisone only scratched the surface. She will be on oral medication for a while as we see whether she responds to it or not.
Cleo is somewhere between the two. She's allergic to fleas, but doesn't have any and the cortisone shot seems to be able to take care of the sensitive skin for her.
All our pets are on drops. Neither has fleas and I was relieved to have the docs attest to that as they did a thorough inspection of all three. So the fascinating thing was that each of them was manifesting a skin sensitivity in their own way. We're home now. The adventure is over and I have one over-exhausted Cleo sprawled on my bed next to me. Coco is in the hallway and I hear his leg shaking over the wood floor. Sola has run off, likely back to hanging out with the opossums. Mom has gone off to run errands including the purchase of the oatmeal shampoo.
I'm going to be cleaning out the fountain today. I've gotten more presents for the fish and can't wait to see how they take to them. More on that later.
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