Thanks so much Dreamtree and Serendipity for the wellwishes
This has been pretty awful and I hate seeing my girl deteriorate
. Soybean's affectionate and bubbly personality keeps me smiling though
Serendipity - yeah it's really odd, but that's a very interesting theory about a possible allergy setting it off. I know these kind of diseases are thought to be genetic, but that their expression is triggered by some stress on the immune system, which is why I naturally assumed the eye infection was the culprit... but that's a great theory about the allergies.. I've immediately ordered some Fitch just in case (it certainly can't hurt
).
The vet didn't give me a specific name for the disease, and I was so overwhelmed and shocked to get the news that I didn't think to ask at the time! But I am also interested to know, and will be talking to him in a week or so, so will gather a host of questions for him. Is there anything else you'd be interested to know? I'm happy to ask him.
In terms of Cushings, we ruled it out fairly early on because firstly she was drinking as normal, and her urine concentration confirmed that. Usually in Cushings the first thing people notice is excessive drinking. Secondly the hair loss usually begins at the back in a symmetrical manner, and progresses forwards. It was pretty much the opposite for Soybean. However, given that she is sable and I know with Cushings it tends to be a 'sable thing' , if the steroids don't work I may pursue this further.
I'm going to try and get some pictures of the affected areas to post here as a reference.