One day, Jeanne Prins' six-month old kitten Paris was playing
actively; the next she was like a limp rag. "I took her to the
veterinarian," recounts Prins. "We assumed it was an abscess. He
gave her a shot and said to bring her back on Monday if she
wasn't better. I took her home and she couldn't stand up. On
Sunday morning, my 20-year-old cat Sanibel couldn't walk. I
assumed it was coincidental. But then on Monday, my one-year-old
cat, Higgins, also couldn't walk. My 10-year-old cat, Kitten,
stopped eating and I took him in, too. Then A.J. couldn't climb
the stairs. The virus hit us like a tornado." Prins, a
veterinary supplies salesperson from Reisterstown, Md.,
discovered last November that she ultimately lost three cats to
what was confirmed, upon autopsy, to have been a virulent
systemic strain of the feline calicivirus. Two of her cats,
Paris and Higgins, survived the illness, while the five others
never showed a single symptom. Prins is now an active advocate
in her community for vaccinating against th