Word: cat
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) was first identified in 1964 by a Scotsman named William Jarrett; it has since been determined that FeLV can be found in 90% of all cats with leukemia-like illnesses. But this is the first large-scale study showing that it could be spread from one cat to others. That fact is significant both for veterinary and human medicine. Leukemia occurs in cats about 2½ times as often as it does in man. Furthermore, says Hardy, "dogs and cats live with us. They are under the same household stresses and are exposed to the same...
Clustered Cases. The team's discovery was triggered by the observation that feline leukemia tends to occur in clusters; when one cat in a household comes down with the disease, other unrelated animals develop it too. Intrigued by this pattern of illness, Hardy and his colleagues began testing as many cats as they could for the presence of FeLV, which is carried in platelets, an important blood component, and in white blood cells...
...tests, made at Manhattan's Animal Medical Center, the A.S.P.C.A., and Boston's Angell Memorial Hospital, seem to provide convincing evidence that feline leukemia is contagious. Simple blood tests made on 1,462 apparently healthy pet cats from disease-free households showed that only two cats carried FeLV. But of 543 cats from FeLV-infected households, 177 harbored the virus, and many of these later developed leukemic disease. Of the 148 cats from this group that researchers continued to study, 35, or 23.7%, died within six months-24 of them from leukemia, 11 from an FeLV-related anemia...
Lethal Litter. Hardy has found FeLV in cat blood, saliva and urine; he believes that the animals may spread the virus through their fighting and mating habits, which involve biting, and their grooming practices, which include using their tongues for bathing themselves and their companions. But he also believes that litter boxes are a possible source of the lethal disease. He points out that while many cat owners keep more than one cat, few have more than one box for their animals...
...Cat Dancing has two bright points, which only appear infrequently. One is Lee J. Cobb, who plays the Wells Fargo man in charge of the pursuing posse. Cobb is refreshingly authentic in his role, and his easygoing pragmatism seems to put the film in proper perspective. "A woman once left me," Cobb advises Miles' jealous husband. "I mailed her a suitcase." Cat Dancing's other strong point, its fine theme music, begins and ends the film...