Winston's allergy test is done: He is allergic to...

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

...Kitties, Dust mites, feathers (my duvet) and the yeast that grows between his paws and in his ears when they get infected from all the chewing/scratching (viscious circle).***Update - forgot to Add Pigweed ?!?! What the heck is pigweed???

Here are some pics of his test patch and him in his Bluesfestival Volunteer t-shirt :o) He may not look happy, but he does look super cute and it keeps him from licking his 'patch'.

He's quite irritable from the testing and is snapping at Sophie a bit. I really wish the vet would have sedated him or at least given him some valium. Anyway, what's done is done, and we have a plan for treatment. His bacterial infections (ears, paws and skin) haven't improved despite the two week course of antibiotics he was on earlier this month. She suspects he's become immune to the antibiotics he's been getting. She's doing cultures to learn more about the bacteria. I'm not quite sure I understand this part but she says the cultures she's taken will tell her what kind of antibiotics are going to be most effective for him. She did send me home with drops for his ears and instructions to clean them out with a vinegar and water solution before putting in the drops. On the car ride home I was thinking about how when I went on a yeast free diet I was told to avoid vinegar as it is fermented with yeast. I am thinking that washing his yeasty infected ears with vinegar might not be so great....

I'm to take photos of the patch where the skin test was done in case there are any delayed reactions. That way we can be 100% sure to cover everything in the immunotherapy treatment, which will cost about $700 and she says is 75% affective. So basically, it better work!!

The visit cost me $850 plus a $200 speeding ticket :( but I'm so glad to have taken this step and can now move forward with treating him. Could have done without that darn ticket though.

One more thing, the vet remarked on how well informed I am and was surprised by some of the questions I was asking-I even stumped her once. I have only Karen and the rest of DK to thank for that! Thanks everyone for all your support, and mostly thank you Karen for guiding me through this process! I don't know what I would have done without you!!!

Ok, I'm going to take Sophie to the park, she needs to burn some energy and Winston needs a rest.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

uh oh. This better not be true. I LOVE Elephants! almost as much as I love doodles.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, Sherri! You can still love elephants. It doesn't mean Winnie is allergic to them, it's about the way their skin looks. You know, that wrinkly thick skin you're touching there in that picture? (Not to imply there's anything wrong with cuddling up to wrinkly thick elephant skin of course.)

Very cute photo, but I prefer doodles.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Karen, when I came back from my trip around Asia the elephants were all I could talk about. People had to keep telling me "You Can't Have an Elephant"!!

If only I could ...

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Great shot, I love cows like you love elephants.

Weird thing, last night I dreamed there was a big "furry" elephant in my yard and it ended up sitting on me...wonder where that came from? The fur or the elephant?

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

LOL! I once dreamed that I got into a car accident with a giant blue cartoon elephant. the elephant was driving... dreams can be so strange sometimes.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Bartender, I'll have what she's having!

[Bonnie and Kona]

OMD I have to stop laughing and feed the dogs!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

and I have to pry myself from all this silliness and give Winston a foot soak and vinegar ear rinse.

[F, Calla & Luca]

There's a commercial like that now for something like Singulair.

[Bonnie and Kona]

very cute photo. my daughter wants a cow, sheep and elephant. we live on 1/6th of an acre in town. She is an adult but still talks about it.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Love the photo!

[Chelsea and Bailey]

Sherri, glad to hear that you got the answers you wanted.. (not that winston is allergic to kitties), but just that now you know.  I wonder if a really good air purifier will help with the kitty hair and dust mites and maybe keeping him out of your room (which sucks) but keeps away from the duvet will help. I agree with what Kim/Mark said about antibiotics killing health and good bacteria.. but that usually only matter if they are on a long term antibiotic or steroid. So many things to think about! I hope the vinegar and drops help the ears!