The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Bad
Yesterday we had to put the cat down. Princess Bell Bell had a traumatic life before Jules rescued her from a shelter in Georgia. She traveled with him across the country and was very much his girl. However, she has had skin issues for years and neurotically licked herself. About a year ago she was pulled off all grains thinking it was an allergy and that seemed to help. Then had a complete freak out resulting in steroids to get her to stop attacking her skin. After that, she never seemed to quite heal.

The Ugly
She developed mites. They went undetected by the vet for quite some time and eventually I turned to the Internet to try and figure out what she had. At a certain point, they can't be cured and the pet has to be put down. Mites are one thing that I never want to learn more about. Apparently (and disgustingly!) they are constantly on our pets and even us with no one really knowing much about it. It is only when the immune system gets suppressed or when the populations get extremely high that there are nasty break outs. Once there is a break out, it is extremely contagious. Eeew!

The cat gave them to the dog. Only in a small place and it can be treated since we caught it right away. However, it means the entire house has to be washed, disinfected, completely scrubbed.

The Good

Last night and early this morning, things weren't looking good for the dog. I had applied tea tree oil to the patch of skin on her back which was infested. She was bathed and then Neem oil applied. We have given her tea tree before and had no issues, but late last night she began slight muscle tremors and then couldn't walk. She was lethargic, though alert and seemed to be fine other than her back legs. Apparently, she got mild tea tree poisoning. Thankfully she is now up, eating, and has even gone for a walk. She is actively trying to kill the squirrels in the front yard, though still being tender with her left foot. Guadie seems to be 85% better and on the mend.

THANK GOD!