Hotspot? *warning-gross pics*

[libby-at-home]

That's what I do as well, divy up the largest size of Advantage. With 3 cats and one dog, the largest pkg lasts me a full year...course we don't have a flea problem here in the winter. Our vet sells us the largest package, and I think it is the same price as the small pkg.But when we've been short on money, I've bought the cheap flea drops from Wal-Mart. It doesn't work as well, but you just have to use more. As far as I know,we don't have heartworms here in the Pacific NorthWest, thankfully!

 

But please still think about the possibility that there may be some diet related cause..Sophie gets sores on her lower back just like that whenever I feed her completely on Purina One. And it can take awile for it to show up. I switched to 1/2 Iams or Innova, 1/2 homemade( a mixture of raw egg, cottage cheese, and plain yogurt with some lean chicken thrown in) and her back cleared up.Where I purchase the Innova from, the owner said that it costs the same $ per day to feed cheap or to feed the quality food. 1 1/2 cups per day of quality vs 3-4 cups per day of cheap. He says it works out to about 15 cents per day no matter what...I haven't figured it out myself though.....

[Black Watch Debatable]

I hate to be the one to hear hoofbeats and holler, "Zebras!", but that angry hole/spot in the middle of the bare patch makes this look a lot like the embedded foxtails I've seen.

 

/dunno whether Virginia even has foxtails

//yeah, it's a weird spot for a foxtail

///slinks out

 

IIRC, a large trial here in CA was canceled, a few years back, due to an early crop of foxtails.

 

Our state's Encycloweedia.

 

Worst-case foxtail scenario, if not caught early. Warning: graphic pix.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I remember foxtails. Reason #538 that I love living on the East Coast now!

 

We don't have anything even remotely like them here, though that doesn't preclude any kind of normal foreign matter getting in there. Splinter, you know, or a thorn.

 

But Ben does get those hole thingies too. It's like, absessed pores or something.

[prosperia]

The hole does wig me out a bit. I've been using a q-tip to get the antibiotic down in there. I've thought about opening up the scab, but I dont know if that would be a good idea.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Is it clearing up any? Is she still messing with it? It's been a couple days now - Ben's are usually scabbing over by this time if I've caught it in time.

[prosperia]

Its scabbing over. She still wants to attack it every once in a while. Especially when she is walking around with her tail up, it tends to swish over it and tickle her.

[Valhalla]

I have found that the best remedy for hot spots or itchy skin is a rosemary and lemon tea.

 

Cut about 4 lemons in half and add about 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary. Put them in a pot of water (about 3 - 4 quarts) and let it come to a boil. Remove from heat, cover it and let it sit overnight. Next day you can put that solution on the hot spot. I even take a half lemon and just rub that directly on the hot spot (pulp and all). Rook had a hot spot and I used this method ONE time - he never licked it again and it healed very quickly. I keep a small jug of this "tea" in the fridge all the time.