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The red spots on Gracie's forehead are nothing compared to what lies under that plush fur.

My poor baby, Gracie. It's been FIVE MONTHS since she first had an allergic reaction to something in her environment. So far, only steroids have helped give her any comfort. Thursday, I'm taking her to Riverdale Veterinary Dermatology in New Jersey. I can't wait to get her there.

Because the Vet needs to see Gracie's condition at its worst, I haven't been able to give Gracie a soothing bath or put some ointment on her breakouts. In the two weeks since she last had a steroidal bath she's gotten a lot worse.

Last night she jumped up on the bed, next to my pillow. I reached out to pet her. In the darkness of the room, my hands told me more than my eyes could make out. I was shocked at what I felt. No longer did I find a place on her head or neck that wasn't crusted in large blisters or sores. I could feel the rough surface of crusts, expand across her back. She must be so uncomfortable. I can see it in how she holds her self, curled up on a cardboard cat scratcher in the living room-almost as if lying down in another other position would be too painful.

Her suffering is my own. I need to get to the bottom of this and soon.

Spencer is enjoying the afternoon outside on the deck. He seems so small and fragile-all a facade, I assure you!

Time passes...the sun sinks lower towards the horizon. I decide I better get all the cats inside.

Gracie sees me coming and makes a run for the doorway. She's timid and pretty much runs everywhere.

Bob needed to be herded off the deck and Nicky was already inside. I didn't do a head count once inside. I didn't think any of the other cats even bothered to go outdoors today.

The intercom rings. It's Sam. He says he sees a cat in the feral feeding room. It looks like a new cat. Biggish, dark, not like the gray cat I usually feed. I grab my camera and come downstairs as Sam gives me the play by play the the cat is just leaving. I hustle back upstairs to look out the window. Below me is, indeed a cat. The cat looks up at me. I look down.

HOLY SHIT it's my feral cat, Madison! I haven't seen her for a YEAR. She looks big! I try to take a photo, but I can't get the image focused fast. I want to get a shot before she runs off. Then, I look at the cat again. Madison was black with a white spot on her chest, but this cat is chubby?! Oh no! Suddenly, my mind goes on a hypersonic journey where I begin to realize I haven't seen CRICKET for a LONG TIME.

CRICKET who looks JUST LIKE Madison, only BIGGER!

CRICKET, who didn't show up for lunch.

I look around the room and call down to Sam, asking him if he saw Cricket recently. His answer was; NO. Suddenly, I drop the camera and make a dash out the door. CRICKET IS OUTSIDE, IN THE YARD. CRICKET used to be FERAL. CRICKET isn't just going to walk over to us and let us carry him into the house.

As Sam and I get outside, CRICKET GETS SCARED and RUNS OFF.

SHIT!

Guess what? It's 5pm and I'm STILL in my jammies. I'm outside calling to Cricket. Sam goes after him and Cricket makes a lap around the house back to me. I manage to shoo him into the feral cat room. All he has to do is go through the door and into the house. Instead he HIDES in the feral cat house and won't come out. I stand outside the room, at the opening where the cat door is with my hands over the opening so Cricket can't get back out. Sam tries to get Cricket to go into the house, but all he does is make a beeline for the cat door and my HANDS. I can't see what is going on, but I can feel his claws rip my hands, but I know I can't move them or he'll get out and we may never see him again. Then really freaked out, Cricket tries to climb the walls to get out. I told Sam to stop doing anything, while I wondered if I was going to have to go to the ER-again.

We let Cricket settle down and eventually we got him to run into a small cat condo. Sam was able to carry into the house with Cricket still inside. It's been two hours since Cricket came back. He must have been gone all day! I just saw him eating some food. He was still nervous, but starting to relax. My hand is sore, but fine. Just a few scratches.

I'm grateful that Cricket knew to stay close to the house since he couldn't get back up to the deck. If Sam hadn't noticed there was a cat in the feeding room, we may have lost our boy forever!

Stoopid, stoopid, stoopd!

Oops.

That would be yours truly.

Yes. ME!

It was in the 50's today. Almost warm enough to sit outdoors with a cup of tea, but not quite. The cats, with the remnants of their winter coats, felt it was nice enough to enjoy some fresh air. Who am I to deprive them of anything?

So I opened up the sliding door to the deck and, of course, Bob, Nicky and Gracie bolted out. They tripped and bumped over and under each other to get outside. Within a few moments they were rolling on the deck planks to make sure they had a nice layer of sunflower seed shells and squirrel excrement all over them. Once grossly coated, they looked for a place to snooze.

Since it was still so chilly, I put out two big seat cushions so the cats could relax in style.

It looks so innocent doesn't it? Just a nice almost-Spring-day...cats relaxing in the sunshine...

The cats have ADD, they like to run in and out of the house to continually check to see if there's any more FOOD to eat or to take a crap. Since the bugs haven't started to fill the skies, I decided to just leave the screen door to the deck open, instead of keeping it closed. Yes, I knew I was risking a bird flying into the house or a mad squirrel making a dash for my sofa, but I thought it would be fine. If I left the screen door shut, Bob would invariably RIP RIP RIP on the screen to be let in, then RIP RIP RIP on the screen to be let out every two seconds or so.

Selfishly, I wanted to get some Twittering done and I know the deck is too high off the ground for the cats to go anywhere. Yes, I know this because in the 18 years I've lived here, the cats have always STAYED on the deck. I've seen a few feral cats climb UP onto the deck, but mine never leave.

They NEVER leave the deck, so I don't have to supervise them ALL the time, right?

Ha ha ha ha, WRONG!

Party on Twitter tonight for all the anipals who help the Furpower Challenge. Check out #stpaws and #catparty on Twitter AFTER you make your donation to the Furpower Challenge!

See you tonight at 8pm EST!

Don't forget your hat!

Help save a life for a BUCK! FURPOWER $1 Donation Challenge

Romeo the Cat is on a mission to raise $1000.00 for Animals in Distress. and The Humane Society.

"Animals in Distress is a non-profit, tax deductible sanctuary for animals who have little or no hope elsewhere. Its programs are designed to prevent suffering and to save lives. We believe that there is a special home somewhere for every pet if there is enough time to find it. We keep every animal admitted, providing medical care, behavioral rehabilitation, good food, shelter, and, most important of all, love, until a suitable new home can be found. No animal is killed because it is unwanted, too old, or injured."

This is a great idea. Lots of folks, with just a buck, CAN make a huge difference in saving animals lives. I made a donation in honor of the kitties of Covered in Cat Hair and I hope you'll considering joining this noble effort, too. Please read Romeo's BLOG for more information about how you're donation will make you eligible to win a FURminator deShedding Product!

Now open those wallets wide!

:-D

Nicky, Spencer and Bob wait patiently for their dinner. Will it be Turkey & Salmon again tonight or perhaps it will be a lump of Paw Lickin' Chicken? Please just make it snappy. They don't like waiting!

Check THIS out!

Poor Gracie. It's been five MONTHS and she's still suffering with some sort of Milliary Dermatitis (allergy of unknown origin). Tomorrow we go back to see Dr. Larry.

What I've done to help reduce her exposure to dust mites and mold:
• Removed a big wool rug from the master bedroom (where she hangs out), in case 
 it had some sort of chemical treatment on it from the cleaning it got last September.
• Had the rug re-cleaned with no chemicals
• Stored the rug out of the room
• Got rid of mildew/mold in master bathroom with a good scrub of TSP and Bleach
• Decided to have the master bathroom re-painted which involved removing yucky 
 OLD gross wallpaper. 
• Used non-VOC paint!
• Made sure none of Gracie's food has NO beef in it (she has a slight allergy to it)
• Gave her a bath once a week, at least, for the past month

Her torso and belly seem to have improved, but her shoulders and head, especially her face and top of her head are COVERED with crusty and bloody scabs. Last week, after her bath, it seemed to get better right away, then a few days later it got a lot worse. Her shampoo has steroids in it. It's the only way I dare to give her any since she's had two shots and I can't risk blowing out her pancreas with more shots.

I'm at the point where I need to either get her to a Specialist or suck it up and start her on the course of hyposensitization therapy shots. It will mean locking her up in a room by herself or with Petunia for a few weeks. I don't want to do this for a number of reasons, but mostly because it's mean to lock her up, alone, just because I have to give her a shot every few days or once a week and must have guaranteed access to be able to give it to her. She's SO untrusting of me and before she was skittish and now it's even worse with all the Vet trips and baths. I can't risk not being able to treat her on a schedule. If I mess that up, what's the point of giving her shots?

I'm really on the fence. I can also have her blood work redone if we can count her blood as "clear" for no steroids if the shampoo doesn't count. If she has any medications in her blood it will effect the test results. I really want to re-test to see if the same sensitivities come up again. Can a cat REALLy just suddenly become seriously allergic to dust mites like this?

I'm so frustrated and stressed for her. She looks awful and I bet she's uncomfortable. My poor baby!