The Sulphur Sisters

Harriet has been pulling out her fur, licking and scratching. Her coat has bare spots and patches of flakey scabs. It is obvious that she is miserably itchy. When she was spayed two weeks ago the vet did a skin scrape test and informed us that she has cat Demodex mites.
Demodex in cats is extremely rare. It is small parasite that lives in the cat's hair follicle and causes a form of mange. The only safe and effective cure for Demodex is a sulphur-lime dip. Both cats had to go in for the dip yesterday. The girls came back smelling like fireworks. They had to wear cones on their heads for the next 24 hours. We also have to put drops in their eyes twice daily for the next three
days. The total cost of this treatment for both cats was $77 so far. Our vet works hard to keep costs down so I'm sure this is a pretty reasonable price for this process. I am blogging about Demodex in hopes of helping other pet owners. If your cat is pulling her fur out, ask your vet to test for Demodex mites. Cats with Demodex often go misdiagnosed as having allergies, depression, anxiety or even a neurological condition. My vet charged $7 for the skin scrape test. They have to pinch while scraping to squeeze the mites out of the follicles. The vet said he had only seen it once before in his 27 years as a vet. He thinks Harriet has it because her immune system was lowered while fighting off Feline Leukemia as a newborn. She is the sweetest, coolest little cat though. Her kitty hugs and games of fetch totally make up for having the house smell like a fireworks stand!