Cat Scratch Fever

Ted Nugent power chords played in my head as I read the brochure the vet had given me on Bartonella, "The Cat Scratch Disease Bacteria." (They give me cat scratch fever! Cat scratch fever!) Apparently, the Bartonella bacteria, which is transmitted from cats, can cause 22 human diseases, of which cat scratch disease is the most famous. Who knew?

When we adopted Paulina six months ago, she was a tiny, skinny thing. "She'll fatten up soon enough when you bring her home," the director of the shelter had assured us. But Paulina is just as skinny today as when we got her. She doesn't eat much--sometimes I even have to throw out food that has sat in her bowl for too long.

That was bad sign #1. Then there was the drooling and bad breath, both of which aren't normal for cats according to the various web sites I consulted. But the potential seriousness of the situation didn't sink in until a friend of mine who owns five cats came over and gave little Paulina a cuddle: "She is WAY too thin!" she announced.

So I called a recommended local animal hospital/veterinarian and, luckily, they were able to fit me in that very afternoon. The minute the vet picked up Paulina he became very concerned: "She's nothing but skin and bones!" (Oops, our bad.)

It turns out our 3-1/2-year-old cat only weighs 4.3 pounds.

The vet ordered a bunch of tests--to the tune of $600--and we sucked it up because, let's face it, guilt is a powerful motivator.

Should we have known something was wrong with Paulina? Neither my husband nor I had ever had a cat before, and little Paulina was always so sweet and uncomplaining. Besides, money has been tight lately, and I was afraid a visit to the vet would open up an extremely expensive can of worms (which is exactly what happened).

But then the vet said something about preparing myself for the test results and went on to mention the possibility of needing to have a conversation about "how to deal with the psyches of your kids" down the line. That's when it finally hit me: Crap, could Paulina be terminal?!

Thankfully, the feline leukemia and AIDS tests came back normal. The vet isn't 100% sure what's going on with Paulina, but her gums are red and painful, her white blood cell count is really high, and according to the X-rays (add another $200 to the running total) her intestines are enlarged, while her liver and kidneys are way too small.

The vet gave Paulina a long-lasting antibiotic shot to hopefully treat her inflamed gums and whatever else might be driving up her white cell count, and prescribed some special, hypo-allergenic (and wicked expensive, cha-ching!) food for the irritable bowel disease he suspects she might have. So far, Paulina has gobbled up two bowls of the food since yesterday--more than she's ever eaten in the same time period before--so that's a good sign, at least.

Meanwhile, the Bartonella test results won't be back for a few more days so we don't have any Cat Scratch Fever Disease diagnosis as of yet.

All we can do right now is wait...wait and give Paulina extra cuddles, make room for her on our bed at night, and make sure she feels loved and wanted. Poor little baby.