In other news, Merlin finally managed to ring a positive on one of the seeming billions of diagnostics I've had run on him, and he is the proud carrier of Bartonella henselae, otherwise known as Feline Bartonella in cats, or Cat Scratch Fever in humans. Granted, the seroprevalence of Bartonella can be up to 93% in some states, so Merlin testing positive shouldn't be all that shocking, but I've grown accustomed to his mastery of the "normal bloodwork, normal PE, barf all over the house" style of presentation, so this is a little exciting.
Bartonella is a bloodborne bacteria that is transmitted to cats by fleas. Areas with high flea population also have a lot of Bartonella, and up until recently it was assumed that while cats carried the bacteria and potentially passed it onto people, they didn't actually suffer any ill effects from it. This has recently been called into dispute, and while there is no hard data to support it, a lot of vets are beginning to think that Bartonella may influence diseases like stomatitis, diabetes, and cause chronic upper respiratory symptoms.
The problem with this, of course, is that when you have a population of cats of whom 93% could potentially be positive for Bartonella, you could link just about anything to it. Broken tails? Sure, 22 out of 25 cats with broken tails have Bartonella, that must be it! So, while I'm excited that we've finally found something clinically abnormal and treatable in Merlin's bloodwork, I'm not sure the treatment will ultimately make a difference. I'm certainly going to treat, I just won't hold my breath for a miraculous recovery.
Oh, and for those suddenly panicking at the idea that I'm living with a disease vector, relax. Merlin has almost certainly been carrying Bartonella since long before I adopted him, plenty of cats carry it without most people ever knowing (up to 93%, remember?), and Cat Scratch Fever affects less than 200,000 people in the US. Not exactly terrifying. I'm far more worried about Minnow's poorly disguised plots to kill me and take over the household.
As for school, it's been going well. Last week we went off into the woods, tracked down a Sasquatch, wrestled it to the ground, chopped it's arm off, and used it to practice blood draws on.
See? And you didn't believe me.....
2 comments:
Ok that arm is gnarly, what the hell is it?
a cardboard tube wrapped in fun fur with an IV line full of kool-aid running through it =)
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