mangy cat

In my last post I said our cat is “broken” – I’ll explain! Broken probably isn’t the right word for it, “sick” is a better one. We actually have 2 cats, Sumo is hyper-allergenic to everything – she literally steps outside and comes back with hive-type scabs on her neck and back. But Sunshine has always been the healthy one, the cat that acts like a cat (the “I’ll come to you when I’m ready” type cat). But lately, she’s acting SUPER weird, and I THINK, according to pictures on the internet, that she has mange. She is breaking out in scabs all over her ears and some of them are filled with pus, and it’s spreading over her nose, chin and over her eyes. It’s really painful for her if we touch it (accidentally, it’s kind of gross), and more so, she is acting really somber, like if we move her she doesn’t even try to get away or fight it, she’ll just lay wherever we plop her down. And she’s shedding a LOT. And I’ve noticed during the days I’m home she just lays in the corner, which makes me feel like I have to check to make sure she’s not dead (because cats hide to die?). I would think maybe it was some type of bug, but Sumo doesn’t have any of the symptoms, plus they are both indoor cats. AND, according to the internet (if my research is right, and if any of you know more about cat illness I’d love your input!) cats don’t get mange unless their immune systems are weak..like they have cancer or something :(. So needless to say, I’m worried!! And our car being broken, it’s kind of hard to carry a cat on a bike…I’m thinking. BUT as of yesterday, our car is no longer broken! (knock on wood) Dusty replaced the starter – apparently he took it in to Advance Auto to have them test it and it blew up their testing machine…probably akin to what it’s been doing to our alternators and batteries!! So Dusty replaced the starter, and yesterday and today it hasn’t acted up. So this week I am taking Sunshine to a vet.

This is her right now, curled up against my leg, and although I love the snuggliness, she normally would not have any part of this. And if you’re wondering, that’s catnip all over her – Dusty’s way of comforting her (she perked up when he got it out but didn’t have the energy to actually go to it) - (and, I asked our vet student friend if maybe it’s an effect of too much catnip, like she’s a crack addict or something, he said that’s a negative).