Mean Mr. Mustard

Remember last year when I freaked out that my cat might have mange?  I'm afraid her bald spots have not improved.  There are small patches on each of her front legs and a big one across her stomach.  I realized a couple of weeks ago that these bald patches roughly match the areas that were shaved when I had her spayed.  Each of her front legs was shaved to draw blood (one side clotted too quickly so they had to try the other) and of course her belly was shaved for the incision.  It's been 3 years and the fur isn't back.  I've watched her grooming and she nips the hair.  I think that's why it won't grow.  Part of me says I should leave her alone.  If she wants a Brazilian then it won't hurt anything.  The other part of me says I must fix this problem.  Enter the mustard.

I despise mustard.  My mother claims I ate a handful of hot English mustard at a bed & breakfast when I was 2, then screamed bloody murder.  Who knows if that really happened?  But regardless, I have never liked mustard in any form.  Hot, mild, honey... They're all the same: disgusting.  My sister, Twoofadozen, LOVES mustard so when she visited last summer I bought a bottle of French's just for her.  It's been sitting in my fridge ever since.  This kitty situation has finally presented a use for the yellow atrocity.  For the last few days I've been slathering it on the cat's stomach. Observe:

Turns out she doesn't like it either. I can report that there has been exactly... no progress.  I don't see any new hair growth and she's still trying to groom herself, only now she's making yucky faces.  What I do see is an increase in yellow stains on my blanket.  I'm not giving up yet, though.  If the mustard doesn't work then I'm switching to cayenne pepper.  She WILL grow that hair back.