The hair (and you) looks great, Aims.

Poor Toto. Poor VW's bank account.

I have fluid in my ear that's not draining. I waited three hours at urgent care to find that out. Also to find out that there is nothing I can do about it except wait until it turns into an infection in a week or so.

That reminds me of my trip to the doctor this week. I went because there's something wrong with my tongue. Anything that's hot, sour or even slightly spicy makes it feel like I'm swishing my mouth out with sulfuric acid. He prescribed a mouthwash that numbs whatever it touches, but doesn't actually fix anything. Then he said "Don't eat hot and spicy things," which is practically the joke: "Doctor, it hurts when I do this." "Don't do that."

That sort of medical response makes me nuts.

I'm sharing yuor pain on two fronts. Not only is the antibiotic the vet gave Bartleby seeming to make the problem WORSE. But the great new filling I got in the weirdly fell-apart tooth I got fixed two freakin' weeks ago, just fell out again.

What the everlovingfrak is up with all of this?!

vw -- I hope everything works out with Toto.

I have to take Rose to the vet, luckily since the adoption hasn't happened I can take her to the vet she's been going to and I won't have to pay. Well Mom will probably be taking her since I won't be able to get time off from work. Rose has been losing fur along her back near her tail. She's had Advantage put on her and I don't think I had fleas here in the apartment. But she had the fur when I got her and she's been losing it fairly steadly since she got her. Plus she has an odd place on the inside of her ear.

I guess if she has fleas I'll have to flea bomb the apartment.

If Rose has had Advantage, the fleas should die off without needing to bomb, shouldn't they? They bite and then die.

Bartleby gets Frontline, which also sterilyzes the eggs, etc. We had a doggy friend bring fleas into the house and I saw exactly one on the Bboy, total.

Better living through chemistry.

What does the spot in her ear look like? Has she been scratching that you noticed?

I'll so look in my reference books to see what they say about hair loss.

t feeling very Willow-y

Oh, poor Toto! And poor vw. You need this like a hole in the head. Also, sorry that you're in the position of looking forward to an upcoming ear infection.

We went to Sears to help the economy by buying a new dishwasher. Thank you tax refund!

In other exciting news, we got a free carpet cleaning from this guy: [link]

The spot on her ear (which I could only see once, she's been hiding again) wasn't like a scab, it felt like a scab, but it was flesh colored, and underneath the skin was pink and there was like clear..liquid or something. Not like she scratched it and it bled. It's inside the ear flap , to the top.

On her back the hair is totally gone in two strips along her spine (the fur on her spine is there, but thin) and she has several red spots that look like bites.

I know my Mom's cat loses his fur when he gets a flea bite, but he's indoor/outdoor cat and she keeps Advantage on him, but he still gets fleas occasionally.

I was thinking that maybe she's rubbing against the slats on the box spring and maybe that's rubbing the fur off, but.. she definitely had fur when she moved in with me.

Oooo! Aims! What did you use?

I chickened out and went to the Aveda institute in town.

I was thinking that maybe she's rubbing against the slats on the box spring and maybe that's rubbing the fur off, but.. she definitely had fur when she moved in with me.

Hm. Still checking.

Okay, my books say this: Hairloss can be caused by allergies and, particularly in cats, can result from poor protein intake. If she has had an inadequate diet, there are some homeopathic remedies that might take some looking to find.

Also, ringworm and hormonal disorders should be ruled out.

It seems odd that the balding would be linear if fleas are the culprits. It's been a while since I had cats, but I'd expect flea allergies to effect the belly, 'arm pits' in addition to the base of the tail.

Rubbing against box springs also makes sense but it would take a LONG time for that to appear. Plus, if you don't see skin irritation (abrasions), I'm thinking it is more a 'chemical' problem.

A cat has to rub against something pretty hard to cause fur loss. If it is not a direct reaction to the anti-flea stuff, then perhaps she is over-grooming as a stress reaction? But yes, definitely a vet. consult is called for.

I'm not sure if she's over grooming. She kinda stays under the bed during the day (tomorrow I'm going to pull her out and close the doors so she has to stay in the main living area).

She kinda sits in a loaf position and there's not a lot of clearance for her so I was wondering maybe that was doing something. I don't know.

I need to get her some cat food, I don't think she's too keen on canned and that's all I have right now.

Actually she does come out. At night. To jump on the bed and want to be loved on after I've gone to sleep.