Thank you, guys. Now I feel even more troubled. I don't know whether I do that refurbishment at all because the best date of uninstallation (or change position if possible) of my A/C unit I got is in three weeks. They have plenty of commissions due to very hot season. The cost is three times what I thought, I almost fainted when I heard the price. Meanwhile, the guys from the renovation company in past two days set everything up to be able to start work on my balcony next week. Tomorrow I'll try to talk with a clerk of the works but it all doesn't look good.
It's confirmed that the mysterious cat disease reached my city. It started on the coast and it seems that it's spreading very fast. Still no cure, almost all affected cats are dead and still nobody knows what and where from it is. Chief Veterinary Officer bureau is involved, they do post mortem examinations. There is no pattern at all. Both indoor and outdoor cats get sick, young and old, healthy and ill. I started to act like in coronavirus times when I come back home.
I’m very sorry to read all this, Ewa. This cat thing sounds scary and yes, pretty much as corona times. It is strange that I haven't read anything yet in our country papers. Not a single mention. Very strange thing. If it is spreading that fast, I guess that will be out of Poland soon. Is there any other country affected yet as far as you know? I really hope your beautiful furry creatures will not get affected.
Troubled. Many difficult things have emerged lately but today it was two things. First is the news about a new disease or virus or who knows what which is affecting cats in my country. The doctors have no idea what it is. It causes very serious symptoms, in great part neurological ones and it is fatal. Veterinarians appeal for keeping cats indoor, not feeding them with raw meat and even for changing and hiding the clothes and shoes worn outside. The other thing is a renovation of the elevation of my building combined with a refurbishment of my balcony. It started two weeks earlier than it was planned but as it's in 50% financed by the homeowners' association, I have no impact on the date. I am unprepared. Have to do something with my A/C unit, most likely uninstall it and the heat is getting bigger. Have also to completely change my work schedule and that seems impossible because some things changed a lot during past weeks. Such as my boss...
lioness, I’m so sorry to hear all this. That’s a Shirt ton of stress on you. Since that’s the case, hopefully only in the short term, please double up on your efforts To take care of yourself, whatever that means to you.
I’m thinking of you as nd hoping these concerns are short lived. Please give the cats a pet from me.
Thank you, guys. Now I feel even more troubled. I don't know whether I do that refurbishment at all because the best date of uninstallation (or change position if possible) of my A/C unit I got is in three weeks. They have plenty of commissions due to very hot season. The cost is three times what I thought, I almost fainted when I heard the price. Meanwhile, the guys from the renovation company in past two days set everything up to be able to start work on my balcony next week. Tomorrow I'll try to talk with a clerk of the works but it all doesn't look good.
It's confirmed that the mysterious cat disease reached my city. It started on the coast and it seems that it's spreading very fast. Still no cure, almost all affected cats are dead and still nobody knows what and where from it is. Chief Veterinary Officer bureau is involved, they do post mortem examinations. There is no pattern at all. Both indoor and outdoor cats get sick, young and old, healthy and ill. I started to act like in coronavirus times when I come back home.
I’m very sorry to read all this, Ewa. This cat thing sounds scary and yes, pretty much as corona times. It is strange that I haven't read anything yet in our country papers. Not a single mention. Very strange thing. If it is spreading that fast, I guess that will be out of Poland soon. Is there any other country affected yet as far as you know? I really hope your beautiful furry creatures will not get affected.
¡Espero que todo vaya bien, un abrazo enorme!
Thank you, Rafa. First tests results was announced today. They come only from three specimens, nevertheless General Veterinary Inspectorate (the highest governmental office) decided to reveal them that soon. Reportedly it's a flu virus, a gov institute conducting the tests said it's an avian flu type H5N1. More results on Monday.
You haven't heard about is as it's a matter of no more than two past weeks. It seems that it's affecting Poland only but it's spreading really fast. There is more than a dozen cases in my city, in the whole country the number reached hundreds. Mortality rate is about 90% but it seems that most of still alive cat patients is in critical condition. In this rate all our neighbour countries may be affected very quickly. The whole thing is very unusual as WHO has reported only two cases of cats infected with avian flu in the whole world so far.
I have some doubts as no one reported stray cats getting sick but maybe nobody cares, I don't know. I'm waiting for the further news and results. I try to behave as in the worst Covid time with all the precautions.
This is a tweet of a known Polish professor of virology and a cat lover with a much telling photo...
Edit
Translation:
Dear friends, if you have cats 🐈 , please consider not letting them outside for a while and put your shoes in a cupboard when you get home. ☣️
Troubled. Many difficult things have emerged lately but today it was two things. First is the news about a new disease or virus or who knows what which is affecting cats in my country. The doctors have no idea what it is. It causes very serious symptoms, in great part neurological ones and it is fatal. Veterinarians appeal for keeping cats indoor, not feeding them with raw meat and even for changing and hiding the clothes and shoes worn outside. The other thing is a renovation of the elevation of my building combined with a refurbishment of my balcony. It started two weeks earlier than it was planned but as it's in 50% financed by the homeowners' association, I have no impact on the date. I am unprepared. Have to do something with my A/C unit, most likely uninstall it and the heat is getting bigger. Have also to completely change my work schedule and that seems impossible because some things changed a lot during past weeks. Such as my boss...
lioness , I’m so sorry to hear all this. That’s a Shirt ton of stress on you. Since that’s the case, hopefully only in the short term, please double up on your efforts To take care of yourself, whatever that means to you.
I’m thinking of you as nd hoping these concerns are short lived. Please give the cats a pet from me.
Thank you, dear @notkristie
As for cats I wrote above and as for the refurbishment a light in the tunnel appeared, I think. I spoke with a clerk of works today and maybe they will do their job in a way that will let me 1. keep A/C working, 2. save money for uninstallation / installation again, 3. go to work next week which will save me problems with my new boss. Well, new-old boss, as it's my CEO. Today was the first day after my former boss has gone for good and it was very tough for me as I had been designated a kind of a represent of my department to do a great part of her job in the interim period. They are looking for a new manager but they also changed the structure and the new position is in fact higher than my former boss's one was. So I even didn't think of trying to get it. It was pointless.
Anyway, I've got a doubtful pleasure to work on a daily basis with my CEO which is no fun at all.
PS. The cats have been petted
But I don't see And I don't feel But tightly hold up silently My hands before my fading eyes And in my eyes Your smile
I mistook stars reflected in a pond at night for those in the sky.
In general tired because of work, life and too many things around me that I'm fed up with but I'd like to write a few words about so called mysterious cat disease.
It didn't disappear, it's even grown into something bigger. The facts: 20 samples taken from cats have been confirmed by gov institute as avian flu virus H5N1 positive so far. Testing go slowly. Official line is that the source of infection stays unknown although most likely is only one. Most of veterinarians in bigger cities don't notice any growth in new cases numbers, many don't report new cases at all. Today a group of non-gov related scientists announced that they found the virus in one sample of raw chicken meat obtained from a caretaker of one of the dead and positive cats. The meat was purchased in one of the big supermarket chains and the cat was fed with it two days before the symptoms occurred. And the real storm began...
Cats caretakers (sounds better than owners, don't you think?) almost from the beginning suspected raw poultry meat which is part of the diet of very many domestic cats. In most parts of Europe we have an epidemic of avian flu among poultry and wild birds after all. Official institutes and offices seemed to direct the suspicions to wild birds only though. After today's announcement human sanitary-epidemiological supervision started to monitor all known caretakers of infected cats as the virus is a serious threat to human life, even if there are less than 1000 cases known worldwide of people infected by avian flu and no case of transmission cat - human is known. Union of poultry meat producers protested and was trying to backstab the scientists and their tests assuring that Polish poultry is safe and of excellent quality (the latter is well-known bullShirt). Hundreds of new cases of illness and death among cats are falsely reported by people and irresponsible veterinarians as the virus thing. Sort of panic is growing, I read even appeals to put into quarantine all the caretakers of cats and dogs(!).
And I feel a bit relieved as my kittens have never ever eaten raw meat but also uneasy because I don't like what people started to talk about cats. Uncertain too because we still don't have 100% certainty that it was in fact meat. Besides I do realize that so many infected domestic mammals with a hard to infect virus is quite troublesome news and can't be ignored. Right before Covid struck A/H5N1 had been tipped to be a culprit of a devastating pandemic.
But I don't see And I don't feel But tightly hold up silently My hands before my fading eyes And in my eyes Your smile
I mistook stars reflected in a pond at night for those in the sky.
I’m feeling tired of the heat and having the apartment closed up with the aircon on. But more than that, it’s day #9 with no refrigerator. We should get our new one delivered Thursday, another six days from now. In the meantime, this has been our refrigerator. I’m getting tired of fishing our food out of melted ice. We’ve had a lovely visit with my sister but she’s going home in a couple of hours. Getting one last game of Scrabble in now…