Hi Blip, this is S here updating for Annie. I'm afraid I have bad news.

KB was diagnosed with feline leukaemia virus today. He won't survive it and the vet has told Annie it would be kindest to let him go before things get really bad.

Feline leukaemia is caused by a virus, FeLV. It's a retrovirus, an immunosuppressant like HIV in humans. A cat can contract it from its mother before it's even born, and - as Kit was a stray - the vet believes that may have been the case with him. It can stay unsymptomatic for years, or manifest in fits and starts where the immune system is not fighting off illness as it should be.

Kit had some periods where he lost condition for a while, or seemed lethargic, but never bad enough to indicate an underlying illness. This past week, however, he's been off his food and has dropped a lot of weight in a short period of time. Annie brought him to the vet, who ran tests and found the FeLV rampant and his body no longer able to fight back.

Annie is terribly upset (as am I, although obviously not to the same extent; the clinical wording of this post is my fallback tone when I would otherwise be too emotional to get through it). I'm not sure when she'll feel like blipping again, but those of you who have her email, I'm guessing she would appreciate hearing from you.

Kitty Boy was a wonderful little personality in the house, a constant stream of chatter, a bringer of unasked-for and de-feathered cat 'presents', and a great friend to Annie. He ate like three cats, ruled his territory with an iron paw, and never missed an opportunity to inform my dog how terminally dim he believed her to be. A few years was too short, and we will miss him dreadfully. 

Thanks, all x