This is really a question about an ailment that I have. Over the last
several months, I've had these outbreaks of extreme itchiness on my
forearms, wrists, and backs of my hands. It's a very local kind of thing
(ie, not systemic), that lasts a little while and then goes away (after
I've done considerable damage to my skin from intense scratching). I'll
have an outbreak in one spot one time, another spot another time, and so
on. Sometimes the area takes a while to heal because I've scratched it
badly and it's all scabby and sometimes bleeds.

A friend suggested I might have scabies, so I looked that up on the web.
However, my symptoms don't really match the symptoms of human scabies.
Plus, in order to catch scabies from another person, you need to have
"prolonged contact" with them, and, well, sadly, I haven't recently
engaged in any activities which would give me prolonged contact with
another human. :( Also, according to medical sites, scabies tends to
burron in skin folds and cracks, the hidden areas of human skin - and
my outbreaks are right out there on my forearms and backs of my hands.

So then I looked at information about feline scabies (mange), thinking
that I might have picked up something nasty from one of the cats. (Hey,
prolonged contact with cats is better than nothing! :)) What I found
out was that, although the feline mange mite doesn't live long in a
human host, it *is* transferrable to humans, and will live there for
a short while, long enough to be felt. A person who has contracted
mange from a cat would have a short-lived, intense bout of itchiness
at the site of infection.

This is exactly what's happened to me, and it's always in the area where
I have a lot of contact with my cats - my forearms and hands. All 3 of
my cats will curl up on my arms and sleep while I'm on the computer, and
could lie there for an hour or more. On the other hand, I also frequently
kiss them and rub my face on their fur, and I've never had the itchiness
anywhere near my face. (However, I don't kiss them for an hour or more!)

The other thing is that none of my cats look or seem particularly mangy.
They all scratch, sometimes rather intensely - but I've always assumed
that was from fleas, and I take the scratching as a cue that it's time to
apply Advantage again. I looked at pictures of cats with mange and they
looked terrible - none of my cats look anything like that. Is it possible
that one of them could have it kind of mildly? (Does that even happen?)

Of the 3 cats, Smudge would be the one I would consider most likely.
Her fur is longer than the others, so it's harder to see what's going
on on her skin. Also, she goes outdoors, so maybe she'd be more likely
to pick up mites? Also, I read that it is extremely contagious, so if
one has it, they all need to be treated for it. Roxy and Licky look
perfectly fine.

All of them have fine appetites, Roxy and Licky have good weights
(Smudge seems kind of thin, but not like she's starving, and she does
eat regularly).

Has anyone had any experience with this? Does what I'm saying make
any sense - could a cat have mange without looking mangy, or without
(apparently) infecting the other cats?

In any case, something is definitely infecting *me*. I would go to a
doctor, but I have no income and no health insurance. However, if I
can't figure out what's happening on my own, then I will bite the bullet
and pay for a doctor visit. And a vet visit, too, if it turns out that
I've gotten something from one of the cats, of course!

Joyce