The outpouring of love that you have shown Bialy in the past week is too wonderful to express in mere words. And our bobbly sweetheart is going to need all the love and prayer he can get in the days to come.

Bialy, as captured by wonderful volunteer J.M.

As I write this post, Bialy’s just come home from his sleepover at the neurologist’s office. The doctors and techs at the office were unanimous that this is one amazing little boy. As one tech said, “he purred for two straight days.”

That’s our bobble-baby.

I wish all the news from the neurologist was so sweet. Denise’s voice was heavy with sorrow as she gathered the staff into the Community Room for the update. It turns out that Bialy does, in fact, have hydrocephalus - and a rather severe case at that. This is not what we wanted to hear.

Apparently, the reason Bialy seems to have the symptoms of cerebellar hypoplasia (tottering and teetering around) is that there’s so much fluid sitting on his brain, it’s putting pressure on his cerebellum and mimicking CH.

But, I hasten to add, this is not necessarily grim news.

Bialy may be able to simply remain stable as he is, wobbling but happy and healthy, with no need of any medical intervention. If his motor skills get worse or he seems to be in any discomfort, we will need to put him on medication and/or have a shunt surgically placed to drain the excess fluid. The surgery would be a risk, of course, but we will do whatever is necessary for our little love-bug. If the shunt was effective, Bialy would likely need for it to be adjusted or replaced as he continues to grow.

The neurologist was honest about the worst-case scenario, and so I must be honest with you who have loved this little guy so hugely. It is possible that Bialy has a mean disease called feline infectious peritonitis (FIP)…which is always fatal. It’s a very tricky disease to diagnose, and can manifest in a variety of ways. It tends to move quickly and brutally, as it did in little Marlee last year. The only way to know for sure if Bialy has it is if he begins to decline.

But, here’s the hopeful thing: the longer Bialy goes on without getting any worse or developing additional symptoms, the less likely it is that he has this wicked condition.

For now, the neurologist recommends that we take a “wait and see” approach. In a redeemed and perfect world, someday, a creature so loving and innocent as Bialy will never, ever have to face these scary possibilities. But even our own broken world is shot through with hope, and so I am praying fervently that Bialy will thrive in the years to come. Nine staff members, one hundred volunteers, 90 or so cats and the best hearts in the blogosphere (that’s you) are all praying that this angel-kitten will remain stable, or even - and this is quite possible - begin to improve as he grows.

Words can’t fully express my thanks for all your love and caring for this very lucky, tiny boy. He is just a baby, but, because of you, Bialy has already known more grace than many beings (furry, human or otherwise) find in a lifetime. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

PS: We normally try to avoid posting big news about sponsored Special Needs babies here on the blog, out of respect for the sponsors who are supporting them and donating to get updates. But since Bialy has such a vast and breathtaking fan club, it seemed only right to post his latest news here today. Future updates will go to his sponsors - but Bialy is receiving visitors 365 days a year at Tabby’s Place, and would love to purr in the arms of each and every person who loves him.

It goes a little something like this: Andrea Bocelli’s voice, a golden harp strummed with expert skill, U2, a purring cat…and, at the pinnacle of auditory bliss, the sound of a cat peeing.

At least, that’s the my ears are loving today.

I don’t often write here about my own cats (well, other than Webster). But last night’s personal drama offered a lesson - and some beautiful “music” - that just might save another cat. In fact, if you only have a minute, please skip to the section in red below.

Central NJ, 7:00 pm: Gushy fud time for the unsinkable Dibbles, heart of my heart, tabby of my soul. With his Tender Chicken Feast successfully inhaled, Dibbles gets in his litter box. A few futile scratches and a brief squat later, he hops out.

8:30 pm: Dibbles and his sister, Pippa “Seven Pounds of Dynamite” Townsend, agree: it’s time to annihilate the feathery wand toy thing. But the hunt is brief, ’cause it’s time for Dibby to go back to the litter box and produce…nothing. I am now officially concerned.

10:00 pm: Why aren’t Dibs and Pippa and I watching Anderson Cooper as usual? Because Dibbles keeps going to that blasted litter box, then licking his posterior. I know what to do, but, being a Big Giant Dork™, I decide to look on the internet for confirmation. Note: NEVER A GOOD IDEA. I decide, based on internet, that Dibbles is having a stroke, dying of Ebola and possibly also marrying Lindsay Lohan on Sarah Palin’s back porch.

Route 22 East, 11:00 pm: There’s a profusion of cops out snagging speeders tonight, but none of their sirens can compete with the wail of Dibbles. In the 40 minute ride to the emergency vet, my furious prayers do nothing to still his howls…or my own pounding heart.

Emergency vet, 12:00 am: Dr. NiceVet confirms The Scariness: Dibbles is blocked.

Depiction of a dangerously blocked male cat's urethra

12:35 am: I just barely restrain myself from kissing Dr. NiceVet when he tells me he’s gotten Dibbles unblocked. His vet tech eagerly shows me a tube of Dibbles’ urine, pointing out the crystals that make it “look like a snow globe.” Crystals in earrings, goooood. Crystals in cat urine, not so much. I learn that Dibbles’ Fancy Feast days are over, but he can live long, happy and crystalless on a prescription diet.

Route 22 East, 1:15 am: Homeward bound. All the lights are green, all the songs on the radio are good, and all the saints and angels are singing in heaven, because Dibbles is OK.

Central NJ, 1:45 am: Forget saints and angels for a moment, because the real heavenly music has just begun: Dibbles is peeing freely. I thank my Mom, Jonathan, Danielle, and all my praying friends. I thank Dr. NiceVet. I thank the brilliant people who invented the prescription diet that will keep my love alive. I thank God with all my heart.

Today I am a grateful, exhausted girl. But through it all, I’ve been haunted by the thought: what if I didn’t work at Tabby’s Place?

I wouldn’t know that an in-and-out-of-the-box cat was a Very Bad Thing.

I wouldn’t know that a non-peeing cat may mean a blocked cat.

And there’s a very real chance that I wouldn’t have my tabby angel alive and well today.

So I write this saga as a sort of public service announcement. If a cat near you shows the following symptoms, please: do not stop, do not pass “go,” do not collect $200, go directly to the emergency vet:

• Getting in and out of the litter box, with no urine produced
• Straining to urinate (which may seem like straining to defecate)
• Excessive licking of the urinary opening

These were Dibbles’ only symptoms. Before my tenure at Tabby’s Place, I would have just assumed my boy was constipated, and given him a gentle tummy rub to keep things moving. That wouldn’t have saved his life.

Knowledge is life-saving power - and, under the right circumstances, a peeing cat is a symphony. Here’s to many, many years of unblocked bliss for every cat we love.

Just a few days ago, the FDA issues an alert about Vetsulin®,  a type of insulin created for cats (and dogs).  We have quite a few diabetics at Tabby’s Place.   Most of them use glargine, but two of them were on Vetsulin.

I suspect some of you have diabetic cats, so I wanted to make sure you knew of this, in case any of your cats are using Vetsulin.

The problem with the insulin is that the product does not have consistent amounts of cystalline zinc.  It is the zinc that gives the insulin its “timed release” action.  This poses a potentially dangerous situation, since the length of time over which the inslin is active is crucial.  If the time is too short, hyperglycemia occurs (which is dangerous over long periods of time)-.  Even worse, if the insulin acts for too long, then hypoglycemia can occur.  Hypoglycemia is very dangerous and can lead to death very quickly.

We started using Vetsulin for our diabetics that were well-regulated, because it is significantly cheaper than glargine.   We go through a lot of insulin each day.

But we have now become worried enough that our vet has advised us to switch all the cats to glargine, to be safe.   (Note: if you decide to change insulin types, you must consult with your vet.  This is not something you can just jump into on your own.)

As a side note, another advantage of switching is that we now only have to deal with one klind of insulin syringe.  You see, Vetsulin uses U-40 syringes, while virtually all other insulin types use U-100 syringes.  You have to be careful to use the proper syringe, as a U-40 ‘unit’ 2.5 times greater than a U-100 ‘unit.’  A mistake could be fatal.

The two kinds of syringes are only distinguishable bv looking closely.  We’ll be glad to relegate the U-40 syringes to the storage room.

So, how effective are cats at reducing rat populations in urban envrionments?  Scientists from  Johns Hopkins University and the University of Florida recently studied this question, coming to some surprising conclusions.

The scientists performed the study in a natural environment: alleys in Baltimore.  The study required that the scientists introduce some am,using new measurement units: “rats/alley”  and “cats/alley”  (I’m thinking these are not likely to become internations standards any time soon). The cat population averaged around 3 cats/alley during the period of their observations of 20 alleys.  The rats were measured at upwards of 50 cats/alley during this time.

 The study (which ran for three years) came to two surprising conclusions:

1. The rat population was not affected by the cats predation.  Conversely, the cat population is not affected by changes in the rat population (done via artificial means).
2. The cats overwhelmingly chose smaller (typically younger and healthier) rats, as opposed to larger (typically older and and less healthy) rats.

The first point seems counterintuitive, but I suspect it holds true in crowded environments where the species’ natural reproduction rates are very high, but the actual reproduction rate is limited by space.  In other words, the rat population will expand rapidly to fill available living space.  Once filled, reproduction slows down to the point where it is just frequent enough to replace dead rats.

So, no matter how fast the cats can eat the rats, the rats will reproduce fast enough to fill the available space.  Note, that even with no cats munching on them, the rat population will not expand greatly.

Beware: I am an amateur and could be completely off base here.

Point two I find very confusing.  General biological wisdom holds that predators weed out the weakest, sickest prey, primarily because they are easier to catch.  The opposite appears to be in play here.  There is obviously come aspect of natural selection that we are misunderstanding.

I encourage you to read the full article, though it is a little technical at places.

You won’t be surprised to hear that I am particularly interested in the evolution of felis catus (house cat).  It is a tricky area and good information was hard to come by, especially for an amateur like me.  I was, therefore, thrilled to find this wonderful article in the June 2009 Scientific American.I highly recommend this article, which uses clues from genetics, evolution, archaeology and palenontology to answer some of the long-standing questions about house cats, such as

• Did house cats descend from different species of wild cats, or from one species?
• When were cats first domesticated (the answer will surprise you)?

The authors also ask the why cats became domesticated, since they have no obvious utlity to humans.  This part of the article contains a quote that I think captures the essence of the cat

“… whereas other domesticates were recruited from the wild by humans who bred them for specific tasks, cats most likely chose to live among humans because of opportunities they found for themselves.”

Perfect

Weird Cat Disease #1 is feline vestibular syndrome, a disease whose symptoms can be particularly frightening.

A few years ago I received a frantic call from a friend who had recently been adopted by a stray cat.  Susie said that Bootsy appeared to be having a seizure: he kept falling over when he tried to stand and his eyes were vibrating quickly in the horizontal plane. Bootsy was rushed to the vet and diagnosed with feline vestibular syndrome.

Rusty

This disease occurs when part of the cat’s biological balance system (specifically, the peripheral vestibular system, located in the inner ear) goes out of whack.  If you’ve ever been really, really dizzy you know how bad this feels.

Sometimes, a specific cause can be found, such as an inner ear infection or a tumor.  But, most of the time, there is no explanation for the sudden onset of this disease. If no cause is found, your vet may prescribe an antibiotic, in case of an unseen infection.

Assuming nothing serious is found, the syndrome typically corrects itself within a few days.  A strange side effect, however, is that some cats are left with a permanent heald tilt.  You can see this on Ruby (at the beginning of this post) and Rusty, both of whom are currently at Tabby’s Place.  Even in these cases, the cats seem unaffected by the head orientation.

NOTES:

1. This disease is not quite unique to cats.  Old dogs and rabbits are also susceptible to this syndrome (lagomorph vestibular syndrome?).
2. You should not attempt to diagnose this disease yourself.  The symptoms could be due to something requiring immediate attention.  Should you see these symtpoms, see your vet immediately.

Researchers at the The Sakano Laboratory at the Universoity of Tokyo have made some amazing strides in understanding the biological origins of fear, using mice and cats.

The scientists bred mice that lacked certain nasal cells, which inhibited their sense of smell.  The result was that these mice showed no fear of cats.  I assumed that the sight of a cat was enough to trigger a mouse’s fear response.  But it ain’t so.  Fear of cats is hardwired at birth.

In case you’re wondering whether any mice were injured in this research, the lead scientist is quoted as saying they, “chose domesticated cats that were docile and thus less likely to pounce.”  Regardless, my cats ordrered a case of these mice just yesterday. 

You can read a non-technical article on the research here.  As far as I can tell, the study was published only in Nature and is not available for free.  I find this stuff fascinating.

Samantha Johnson, seventh grade, purple ribbon and state science fair trip for her project “Can Cats See Color?” She also won the Thin Film Technology Corp. independent research award of $50.

I have always been fascinated by evolutionary biology, so I immediately sought out the item, only to be disappointed by finding only this same blurb.

So I started doing some online research and found some interesting information from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, which said that while cats can see some colors, they don’t distinguish colors as well as humans, since this capability is not crucial to their surivival.  What intrigued me was the assertion that

It is not possible to see well in the dark and have excellent color vision.

This intirgued me and gave me pause to try to think this through.  My mwent back to high school biology and the fact that the huma retina is covered by rods and cones.

A quick web search reminded me that rods are specialized for vision at low light levels while cones are capable of color vision. This led me to the following theory:

1. Cat’s eyes are similar to human eyes (and so also contain rods and cones).
2. There is limited real estate on the retina and evolution will select for those characteristics that most benefit the animal.
3. Excellent night vision is more important to a predator of small animals than color vision.

Therefore, evolution selected for excellent night vision on the cat, at the expense of color vision.  Furthermore, cats must have a higher porportion of rods to cones than humans.

A little more research confirmed this when I found the following excerpt

A cat has more rods and fewer cones than humans do and this is why they can see in the dark so well.

on a site about cats. 

I love this kind of investigation into evolutionary biology, especially when it involves cats.

Of course, there is a lot more to discuss regarding cats’ eyes, such as the tapetum lucidem, which explains why cats’ eyes glow so evilly in the dark.  But we’ll leave that for another post.