My entire upper body is sore, from my shoulders to my lower abs, but I'm sitting at my desk wishing I could practice the moves without having the entire IT dept. watching me. Doing that move feels oddly good on the muscles.

In other, happier news: The vet called with Nutmeg's test results and he is ok!! No feline HIV, no feline leukemia, nothing. Just a fucked up eye. w00t!!

Partial happy ending for once!

Update: Not gonna lie...I practiced some undulations in the break room, hiding behind the vending machine.  And I'm sorta regretting it now...that or the new Macaroni & Cheese Crackers.

She was abandon & lived alone in the apartment for 3 weeks beofre the landlord found her. She had feline leukemia, but I took her anyway. Six months & $200 later, the vet told me that the best thing for me to do was put her too sleep. As hard as it was for me I agreed. This poem is for her, I wrote it the night before I put her down.

Cammy

You came into my life unexpectedly,

you loved me & I loved you. We had a bond.

I felt your pain & I am sure you felt mine.

We were only together for a short time,

but it was a great time.

I will never forget you,

you will always have a place in my heart.

When you are gone you will still be with me.

I love you Cammy!!!

Sonny had to take the long, scary ride to the vet today.  He's been losing most of his fur on his sides, causing a little panic in the Troublemaker household.  While there, I discovered that the original vet Sonny saw in November did not document a feline leukemia test, even though they told Mike and me that it was safe to introduce him to Guinness and Scout.  This would have set Guin and Scout into a panic, much like their frazzled mom when I heard, but thankfully after an hour at the clinic we had a confident negative--Sonny is not infected.  Unfortunately, Sonny continued to befuddle the vet and his assistant as they tried to narrow down the reasons for his fur loss.  They had to take blood, pull out hair samples, and slice a tiny bit of skin off his side to look for any ringworm or parasites.  Poor Sonny.  He was so distressed that large tumbleweeds of fur were flying all over the room and clinging to the assistant's scrubs.

If you look closely you can see the thinned out hair and the small spot where he was cut by the vet.

When he returned home, Guinny and Scout had to sniff him over to make sure he wasn't an imposture.

Nope, he was our same sweet Sonny Pie, who we all adore.

He goes back in two weeks to find out more, and to allow the vet to drain more money from my wallet.  Sonny has been the most expensive kitten I've met, but definitely the best behaved.  I'm sure it's simply stress, after what I saw today.  He's been so sick between the feline herpes virus and the worms and the badly worn paw pads and the URI and the new home with new brothers.  That's enough to stress out any kitty, big or small.

It is known that most infections occur before one year of age even though symptoms may not occur for 6 or 7 years. 90% of cats a year old or older are resistant even if not vaccinated. House cats simply aren't going to be exposed - don't vaccinate - ever.

LEUKEMIA TESTING is most beneficial if done on a cat you want to bring home. If it's positive, you don't want it. Testing a pet you already own may be a mistake because, if it's positive, you can't change the progression of the disease. It will only give you a lot of worry and enable the vet to insist on routine, periodic testing which will cost a lot of money and still not change the outcome. Not all positive cats develop symptoms and die but it's not good odds.

Since the LEUKEMIA VACCINATION is classified as a carcinogenic agent by the World Health Organization, it's probably more dangerous to vaccinate your animal, especially if it's over a year of age, than not vaccinate. 22,000 cats die every year from cancer caused by the irritation from vaccinations and leukemia vaccines are some of the worst. Most veterinarians insist on yearly vaccinations for all cats. NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!

What is Feline Leukemia Virus?

Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV), a retrovirus, so named because of the way it behaves within infected cells. All retroviruses, including feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), produce an enzyme, reverse transcriptase, which permits them to insert copies of their own genetic material into that of the cells they have infected.

How common is the infection?

FeLV-infected cats are found worldwide, but the prevalence of infection varies greatly depending on their age, health, environment, and lifestyle. In the US approximately 2 to 3% of all cats are infected with FeLiv. Rates rise significantly - 13% or more - in cats that are all, very young, or otherwise at high risk of infection.

How is FeLV spread?

Cats persistently infected with FeLV serve as sources of infection. Virus is shed in very high quantities in saliva and nasal secretions, but also in urine, feces, and milk infected cats. Cat-to-cat transfer of virus may occur from a bite wound, during mutual grooming, and (although rarely) through the shared use of litter boxes and feeding dishes. Transmission can also take place from an infected mother cat to her kittens, either before they are born or while they are nursing. FeLV doesn't survive long outside a cat's body - probably less than a few hours under normal household conditions.

What does FeLV do to a cat?

Feline Leukemia virus adversely affects the cat's body in many ways. It is most common cause of cancer in cats, it may cause various blood disorders, and it may lead to a state of immune deficiency that hinders the cat's ability to protect itself against other infections. The same bacteria, viruses, protocoa, and fungi that may be found in the everyday environment - where they usually do not affect the healthy animals - can cause severe illness in those with weakened immune systems. These secondary infections are responsible for many of the diseases associated with FeLV.

What are the signs of disease caused by FeLV?

During the early stages of infection, it is common for cats to exhibit no signs of disease at all. However over time - weeks, months or even years - the cat's health may progressively deteriorate or be characterized by recurrent illness interspersed with periods of relative health. Signs may include:

• Loss of appetite
• Slow but progressive weight loss, followed by severe wasting late in the disease process
• Poor coat condition
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• Persistent fever
• Pale gums or other mucus membranes
• Inflammation of the hums (gingivitis) and mouth (stomatitis)
• Infection of the skin, urinary bladder, and upper respiratory tract
• Persistent diarrhea
• Seizures, behavior changes, and other neurological disorders
• A variety of eye conditions
• In unspayed female cats, abortion of kittens or other reproductive failures

What are the two stages of FeLV infection?

FeLV is present in the blood (a condition called viremia) during two different stages of infection:

Primary Viremia, and early stage of the virus infection. During this stage some cats are able to mount an effective immune response, eliminate the virus from the bloodstream, and halt progression to the secondary viremia stage.

Secondary Viremia, a later stage characterized by persistent infection of the bone marrow and other tissue. If FeLV infection progresses to this stage, it has passed a point of no return: the overwhelming majority of cats with secondary viremia will be infected for the remainder of their lives.

How can I keep my cat from becoming infected?

The only sure way to protect cats is to prevent their exposure to FeLV infected cats.

• Keep cats indoors, away from potentially infected cats that might bite them. If you do allow your cat outdoor access, provide supervision or place them in a secure enclosure to prevent wandering and fighting.
• Adopt only infection-free cats into households with uninfected cats.
• House infection-free cats separately from infected cats, and don't allow infected cats to share food and water bowls or liter boxes with uninfected cats.
• Consider FeLV vaccination of uninfected cats (FeLV vaccination of infected cats is not beneficial). Discuss the advantages of vaccination with your veterinarian. FeLV vaccines are widely available, but since not all vaccinated cats will be protected, preventing exposure remains important even for vaccinated pets. FeLV vaccines will not cause cats to receive false positive results on ELISA, IFA or any other available FeLV tests.

I hope this has helped inform you of the risks out there and to seriously consider getting your cat vaccinated. I never thought it would happen to my cat and it did. She hardly left the yard when she went outside, she was a scaredy cat about roaming around the neighborhood, and still she caught it. Please do me a favor and check on your cat... if everyone took better care and diagnosed their cat, this wouldn't be becoming more of a common problem. I now have to keep Skittles indoors and worry about her getting all sorts of infections bringing her to the vet every few months. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

This is my skittles... her eyes are light blue, so it's hard to get a good photo of her eyes looking normal:

She also loves to sit on your shoulder like a bird ever since she was a kitten. Here she is with my boyfriend... chilling on his shoulder: