Could My Cat Have "Mad Cow Disease"?

Recently, I started wondering if my cat could have Mad Cow Disease. Mostly in jest, because she is healthy, just a little crazy. But, a lot of us cat owners know that our cat is 'special'. Our cat is two years old and is a big, crazy, grey fur ball. We are sure she is part dog, as she likes playing fetch with the kids. It is a strange sight to watch one of my kids throw a fur and feather laden mouse down the hall and see the 15 pound cat chase after, retrieve it, and wait for it to be thrown again. She also loves to have her belly scratched- very dog-like. Our furry grey cat also likes to chase people, like a puppy playing with kids. If you walk quickly or jog near her, she will jump up and give chase, batting (gently) at your legs as you go.

Just like children, most pet owners give their pets nick-names. Sometimes they are name variants, and other times they come from the pet's behavior. Well our cat's nick-name is R.K.. I know R.K. sounds like a strange nick-name, but it has a good explanation. Our cat often lays sprawled out, flattened, stomach exposed, neck extended, in unnatural looking positions, in strange places- like the middle of the hallway, across the arm of the couch half slid half way off one side head first, or lying just inside the front door where she is likely to be stepped on. R.K. looks convincingly dead, fairly often. So, we gave her the nick-name of R.K. because Road Kill didn't sound very endearing.

We have known that R.K. was special from the time she was very young. She wasn't very interested in jumping onto the furniture, she doesn't scratch it either, and the saying 'cat's always land on their feet' doesn't seem to apply to mine. She has just recently, at the age of two, figured out how to get on top of the entertainment center. R.K. doesn't mind a bath either. In fact, she will sit on the edge of the tub when anyone takes a bath and will jump in when the shower is turned off. She will even drink running water from the faucet. But, her favorite it is fresh ice water. I'm positive she can hear the little sizzle and pops that ice cubes make when they are in water, from a mile away. Every time I get a glass of ice water, she sticks her nose in it as soon as I look away. Milk, she can take it or leave it.

So, I wonder, could my cat have "Mad Cow Disease?" She is definitely a little daft, and would survive in the wild for only minutes. I did a little looking and cats can actually get Mad Cow Disease. I had no idea. It is actually called Feline Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease is called Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy). Turns out that during the Mad Cow Disease panic in the UK, over 100 cats, domestic and exotic, died from TSE's (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy's). After doing just a little research, I have decided to check the labels on R.K.'s pet foods and avoid some ingredients that are known to be at higher risk. Avoid ingredients like meat, animal digest, meat and bone meal, and meat by-product; these are questionable meats added to our pets' foods.

We have always joked that our pet has "Mad Cow Disease", but never thought it could actually happen. While I do think our fluffy grey cat is a bit crazy, I know she doesn't really have "Mad Cow Disease." Though she may be part dog; perhaps we've discovered a new mixed species- would it be called Fenine or Caline?