So, he's a duck?

After a trip to the vet we have come to the conclusion that Bleys must have come into contact with some fleas. It sort of boiled down to the only logical answer despite any evidence of their presence. A little over a week ago I noticed that Bleys was getting super itchy, taking a closer look I noticed some hair loss on his noggin. Four little tiny bald spots each with a little scabby bit in it. Hmmm...interesting, they seem to be in the shape that would correspond to a hind paw being repeatedly drawn across the scalp with force. He was also nipping at his hocks and licking at his forepaws. All the things that would lead one to think fleas. Now, we have him on a monthly heartworm/flea preventative and Frontline every 21 days (rather than the usual 28 days) because he is allergic to flea bites. However, living in an apartment we can't really control what goes on in our 'yard.' Some of our fellow dwellers don't even pick up after their furballs, so chances of them having them on any sort of heartworm or flea preventative are on the low end. So every time PW demands poopsies we are probably exposing him to fleas. Anyway, as soon I noticed the signs I grabbed him and started looking. Nothing, no fleas, no flea dirt, no bites. Ok, let's try giving him a bath and see what happens. He is also allergic to certain grasses and food items so perhaps he made contact with one of them. After the bath he seemed to calm down a bit for about 24 hours. But then, more itchies. I tried to prevent him from doing more actual damage to his skull, but man was he itchified.

Another day later and still no improvement so I called to make an appointment with the vet. Unfortunately she is a very popular lady so the next appointment was not for a week and a few days (yesterday). I settled in to wait it out which was hard because he was clearly very itchy and uncomfortable. I got through like 3 days and couldn't take it anymore. He was still doing all the things that make a person think of fleas. I got out the flea comb. I started going over him pretty much every evening when we were all just sitting around watching TV or using the computer or whatever. Nothing. More nothing. Then about Sunday or so I did find one! Eureka. Thank goodness. What? Fleas are a good thing? At least it was something. I only found the one and I've been using the flea comb on him everyday. I though maybe after finding that one he would have his itchy reaction for a while and then it would calm down (just in time for the vet appointment), but he continued to itch.

Finally the day of our appointment arrived and we went. Doc Cindi looked him over and like me didn't find any evidence of fleas, except the symptoms that pointed unerringly toward them. She even expressed his anal glands to check for any issues there (which is awesome because then I don't have to do for a week or two). Finally we decided to give him a Capstar, switch him to Advantage for a while (possibly permanently), add a EFA supplement on top of his food, and put him on Tavist for a while. So now we are getting him on all of that and hopefully it will help.

Then I got the bad, bad, bad news. The vet remember that I have him on Eukanuba K/O and she told me that it isn't going to be available anymore. Apparently kangaroo isn't going to be allowed into the US anymore or something. Crippity Crap. I was happy with the K/O and so way Bleys' tummy. So now I'm going to try to pick up a bit of it before the supply line runs out and then think about switching to F/P maybe? I'll probably ask Doc (the original) what she recommends.