"So I have a problem that I need help with, folks. Tank has this huge area of bald skin on his back. Its been this way for MONTHS. The skin doesn't seem to itch or bother him at all, there are some places in the batch where the skin is darker than other areas. The biggest issue that I have noticed is he gets cold: FAST! He does a lot of blanket burrowing and what prompted the email is that he got under the blanket with me this morning and his back was like ice cold feet!
So any ideas of what this could be? I've not seen seasonal alopecia in person, so I can't say yes or no to that. He never fusses about the cold, hasn't got any pain or discomfort and never seems to notice when we touch him there, its like he is oblivious to the baldness.
I put a t-shirt on him and he could not pee with the shirt on. LOL! His coat no longer fits, as he and I have both suffered horribly in not being able to go for walks anymore. I have no idea how much he weighs but it's too much: the tuck is almost non-existent. Please don't yell at me, I know: green beans and exercise! I just can't do it."
The following are Shelly's photos of Tank.
Aww poor Tank! Mack has similar looking -tho smaller- spots. Turned out he's hypothyroid ~ he's been taking .8mg Thyroxine twice a day. The spots are still there, but not quite as bald as they were before the Thyroxine. We pay $32 for a 2 mo supply of pills from the vet's office. The blood test ($123) gets done twice a year to make sure he's on the proper dosage.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laurie! We have an appointment at noon today. I was really happy to get him in so quick! I'll keep you updated.
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