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.

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Me too now that she told me what it means lol!

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

well, that could have been much worse, thank goodness he isnt allergic to pollen, grass etc as they would be super difficult to control.

What does this mean for poor Penelope?

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

The vet says she stays!! She said "Winston needs his kitty". I like this vet :o) The immunotherapy has a 75% chance of working, and having her around won't change the fact that he's still allergic to other things so she might as well stay. if the immunotherapy doens't work, well... I'll cross that bridge if I come to it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jack has a mild/moderate allergy to cat dander (scored a 2) and he did just fine with the cat once he was at maintenance level. The only thing the immunotherapy didn't help so well is the ragweed pollen.

I like this vet, too!

[Bonnie and Kona]

WHOO HOO!!! Hooray for the great news about Penelope.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I like this vet too :) Thats good news!

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Yeah Penelope!!!

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Wow!  You all have been through so much lately, Sherri!  I sure hope things get better for you all!  Winston is such a cutie!  I'm sorry he is going through all this, BUT I am SO GLAD he found you!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Thanks Traci. despite all the hard times I'm so glad I found Winnie. He's an amazing guy! Everyone who meets him falls instantly in love and this vet and all the staff there were no exception. They gushed over him. :) I'm the lucky one!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sherri, did you get any paperwork that gives the scientific names of the particular dust mite species and/or yeasts that Winston tested positive for, or the strength of his reactions to each? They're usually graded on a 0-4 scale, with 0 being no reaction and 4 being the most severe reaction.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

yes! and darn it! I left it in the car. Back outside into the cold... be right back.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Malassezia pachydermatis and D.Pteronyssinus 1/5000 w/v.

everything is 2+ so not too terrible.