By Steve Dale

I was sitting on the plane, awaiting take off when my veterinarian gave me the news on my cell phone.  I couldn’t believe what he was telling me. Our seven month old kitten probably has feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Seconds later, the engines roared, we were soon soaring into sky. But my heart had never sunk so low as it did at that moment.

If there’s one thing I know. And there may only be one thing that I know – it’s that FIP (when diagnosed correctly) means that there’s no cure, no treatment – no hope.

My wife Robin and I were still mourning the loss of Ricky, our Devon rex cat who died in June of 2002 at the age of 5 ½.  He succumbed to Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a kind of heart disease that kills many cats. Sadly, veterinarians are limited about what they can do to treat the disease. That’s for cats lucky enough to be diagnosed in the first place. Sometimes HCM kills without warning; the only symptom is sudden death.

Veterinary researchers need to have a better understanding of HCM, to discover an effective treatment and ultimately a cure. I set up the Ricky Fund at the Winn Feline Foundation, a not-for-profit agency that awards money to study feline health issues. We raised about $30,000. What’s more two research studies have been approved, and have been made possible because of the money we raised. Incidentally, the Devon Rex Breed Club significantly contributed to those funds – as did listeners, readers and viewers – and a bit of corporate help.

I thought, what are the odds of this same disease happening all over again? For one thing, I knew Ringo’s family tree had no history of HCM.  I At least a cat with HCM might live several good years. A cat with FIP might not live several weeks. FIP is the most dreaded disease in cats; there is no cure and no treatment.

My wife Robin and I love the Devon Rex breed, and we carefully hand-picked a breeder, noted as one of the best in country. In September of last year, a little kitten named Ringo became a part of our family. It seemed the perfect name for this little dude. For one thing he has black rings over his curly silver coat on his tail and on is legs. For another, I wanted to teach Ringo to play the drums.

That’s right – the drums. That would only seem right since Ricky played the piano. In fact, Ricky, the cat who passed away last year, was prodigy – he could also  (a jump through a Hoola hoop, and jump over dogs or children who can do a “down/stay.”  Ricky was even trained to scamper up on my shoulder and “request” his heart medication. He did these “tricks” and others on TV, appearing on programs, including “A Pet Story” on Animal Planet and “National Geographic Explorer.”  It’s not celebrity that I was after with Ringo, but continuing my mission to dispel myths people have about feline citizens.

Besides, as an outcome of training Ricky, I learned what is true for working with dogs is also true for cats. When you pair as a team to achieve a goal, the relationship intensifies in a Lassie sort of way. Ricky and I had that kind of intense relationship which most people reserve for dogs. I had hoped to have this same sort of bond with Ringo.

We did purchase several electronic drum sets for Ringo, but they weren’t very practical. It was impossible for Ringo to paw at the drum pad with any result. I later learned that Karen Thomas and Terri Dillitson, who train cats for TV shows and the Friskies cat food commercials had the same problem. You’d think someone would manufacture a drum set for cats. Instead, we settled on a tambourine, which he learned to hit. Ringo also learned to jump through a hoop, and to sit. Ringo’s favorite command was to wave. However, he only waved at girls. Ringo would never wave at a guy.

I harness trained Ringo and began to socialize him to the real world, as I did with Ricky. Ringo enjoyed outings to places like the dry cleaners and the neighborhood stationary store. Shaine, the miniature schnauzer at the stationary store always stayed five feet away from Ringo. Shaine used to live with a cat and apparently learned his lesson years ago. Every time our tiny kitten moved an inch forward, Shaine moved back two inches. It was Ringo’s favorite lesson ever – cats can control canines.

Ringo’s favorite excursions were his trips to the Animal Planet Radio studios, where I host a syndicated radio show. Although, my engineer lived in fear of what Ringo might do next. Ringo once pounced on the console, pushed a button that played a sound effect of a cat going “meow.” On another occasion, he managed to nearly disconnect a listener phone call.

On his first ever visit to the studio, my guest happened to be legendary trainer Karen Pryor. She managed to clicker train Ringo in ten minutes on live radio. It was like going to nursery school and learning the theory of relativity from Albert Einstein.

Using a clicker, Ringo soon had a better recall than our dogs. When I called his name, he came running full speed.

Ringo’s first TV appearance was on WMAQ in Chicago. He was poised in perfect position on my shoulder, as I was about to demonstrate new pet products. That’s until the camera light turned on and the anchor Dick Johnson began to introduce the segment. At that moment Ringo plunged unceremoniously off my shoulder, toppling on a table, knocking over props before tumbling onto the floor. I also had my two dogs with me for this segment  – supposedly perfectly trained dogs. As I let go of the leashes to turn to pick up Ringo (who thought this was all great fun), Lucy and Chaser (the dogs) took this opportunity to prove they had minds of their own too. They bolted off the set. Lucy could be heard off-mike barking, “Woof! Woof! I’m out of here!”

Ringo was most of all, our new bright light.  He slept with us each night – but he wouldn’t sleep on my side of the bed, or on Robin’s. He insisted on sleeping between us. The little dude was happiest cat I’ve ever known. He’d walk around the house “singing” to himself for no particular reason. Today, our home is eerily quiet.
        

Steve Dale is the author of “My Pet World,” syndicated in more than 100 newspapers by Tribune Media Services. He is the host of “Pet Central” on WGN Radio, Chicago (7:30 to 9 p.m. cst, www.wgnradio.com), and syndicated “Animal Planet Radio” (www.animalplanet.com) and “The Pet News.” He is a Contributing Editor at USA Weekend; Special Correspondent at Dog World magazine, and Senior Columnist at Pet Life magazine.
        

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