Ronnie is not doing well.
I was finally able to get the mometamax in his ears. I was able to get it in three days and it worked wonders. I thought everything was fine.
Then, last Friday, I noticed that he'd been licking his underarms. He licked all of the fur off of them. I put some stuff on that's supposed to soothe the itch, but by Monday morning, he'd cleaned off almost all of his chest. No fur, at all. And he started having a problem with his back legs. They were really stiff and he had a very hard time going potty. The vet prescribed pain meds for him this past Monday, he got his thyroid values checked (he's okay) and we got a bottle of Betagen, that's he gets two times. One time a week. I sprayed it on a soft cotton pad and wiped the naked part of him down with it.
The vet also suggested an e-collar or shirt, so he wouldn't lick (the only part of him that has this problem is the part he can lick). She thinks maybe the reason his legs are stiff is that maybe the infection (his wbc was high) had gotten into his joints. It's gotten a little worse each day. He has an incredibly hard time walking. I think it's possible he tried to jump up and pulled a muscle.
He's been having a hard time pooping since his legs aren't working right. And the poops are huge. And the poops are mostly fur. (Yeah, I check all of that out.)
He went a ton this morning, my hands on either side of him so he didn't fall over. Then he walked a ways a way and I followed and he peed a bunch. Since I'm worried about his legs and climbing, I'll be keeping him in the bathroom when I'm not around to keep an eye on him (like at night). I spent four hours on the floor in the bathroom with him last night, just so he wouldn't feel so abandoned. I don't think he slept very much, but he was cuddled up against me. I'd gotten up around two to pee and I checked on him. I thought he was on the bed, but he wasn't. He wasn't in the living room, he wasn't under the sofa. I looked outside and he wasn't in the cathouse. I finally found him under a bed that we got at Costco years ago. I moved that, picked him up, then took him into the bathroom.
I have a webcam set up in the bathroom so I can watch him now. At this point, he's outside. He started licking again and I put the surgery shirt on him. Surprisingly, it didn't bother him in the least. As a matter of fact, he seemed to walk better in it.
I'm hoping we can pull him out of this. His bloodwork was really good last week, his thryoid values are fine, his heart is strong.
The vet believes this is from a flea bite. That it bothered him so much he couldn't stop licking. The licking is spreading the bacteria onto his naked skin and it's getting infected. So, antibiotics (both oral and the Betabgen) and pain killers for the pain.
So, that's the Ronnie update. I wish it was better.
Anyway, right now he's laying out in the sun.
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