World without Cats (28 page)

“You are theorizing like a seasoned molecular biologist,” said Noah. “Good sentences, and well-pronounced.”

Vera blushed, then frowned. “What did you say?”

“I said you are theor—”

“No, after that.”

“Oh. I said, ‘Good sentences, and well-pronounced.’”

Vera nodded. “Yes. That. Why does that sound so familiar? What is it?”

Noah grinned. “It’s a line from
The Merchant of Venice.
Portia speaks it in response to something her maid says.”

Vera laughed. “It’s always Shakespeare with you, isn’t it?”

“Actually,” Gary interjected, “many retroviruses, maybe all of them, recombine with host chromosomes and get integrated into the host genome.”

“That’s true,” Noah agreed.

“There’s still the problem of getting this hypothetical genetically engineered FeLV into all the FHF-infected cells,” said Gary. “It’s not just lymphoid cells that harbor FHF. I understand that epithelial cells of the capillaries and arterioles are also infected. That’s why the cats hemorrhage to death. It’s obviously the Ebola part of the virus that’s responsible.”

Vera began pacing back and forth across the living room. “What if one could get the FeLV vector with its interfering genes into fertilized eggs of cats? Then the DNA copy of the FeLV might recombine with the native FeLV genes in the zygote. As the cells of the embryo multiplied, all the cells of the kitten would possess the engineered genes for interfering RNA.”

Noah and Gary regarded Vera, their eyes and mouths agape. Vera giggled. “You guys look like cartoon characters.” For a moment both men remained silent, staring. Noah then asked, “Just how would you go about injecting something into a fertilized egg?”

“Aha!” said Vera. “It just so happens that I have some experience in that area. I carried out a graduate research project in vet school on artificial insemination of cats. It’s really not all that hard. You make a small incision in the abdomen of a female and, with a laparoscope, remove some of the ova. You check for mature eggs under the microscope, and then you add semen from a fertile male. Finally, again using a laparoscope, you deposit the fertilized eggs in the uterine horns of a female. It can be the same female or a different one. In our case, using microsurgery apparatus and a micropipet, we could inject the FeLV vector before implanting the ova.”

“And you could do all this if we were able to manufacture an appropriately altered FeLV?” asked Noah.

“I think I could … sure. We would have to get hold of a microsurgery apparatus. And, of course, there’s the matter of finding cats.”

“I read that there are still sizable numbers of cats in Europe, Latin America, and Africa,” said Noah, “but they’re all thought to be infected with FHF.”

“If you boys will prepare the altered FeLV, I’ll work on getting cats,” said Vera. “I had an idea yesterday that I’d like to explore.”

“What’s that?” Noah and Gary said in unison.

“Well, up to now we’ve been focusing on domestic cats. In other words, cats that are owned by people. All over the world, however, there are populations of ferals—cats that may once have been domestic but have either been abandoned or have escaped. Some of these wild cats live in colonies, others are in remote places so they don’t have a lot of contact with domestic
Felis catus
.”

Gary said, “So, if you could locate some of these colonies and capture some of the cats, you might find that they are free of FHF.”

“That’s the idea,” she said. “Right now, however, I’m exhausted, and it’s past my bedtime. I’ll be glad when I lose this load,” she said, pointing to her protruding belly. “Do you two mind if I stretch out on the couch for a while?”

“Sure, go ahead,” said Noah. “I’ll download the genomes of FeLV and FHF.” He sat down at his laptop and opened the NCBI website. Gary looked over Noah’s shoulder as he worked. The National Center for Biotechnology Information was Noah’s preferred source of genomic data. He quickly located the complete genomes of FeLV, FIV, as well as that of Ebola, and downloaded them. Noah printed out several copies of each and of FHF so he and Gary could work with them independently.

Vera lay down on the sofa and soon dropped off. Noah and Gary sat in the kitchen. Soon they had papers and books spread all over the table, floor, and kitchen counter. Vera slept fitfully. She was awakened from time to time by the animated voices of the two men.

Once she heard Gary say, “We can take twenty-one nucleotides from
gag
and another twenty-one from
pol
.”

She then thought Noah said something like, “We’ve got to include hairpins, of course.” Later: “We’ll use TT in the three prime overhangs” It was all gibberish to her, and it contributed to several bizarre dreams, one of which featured a senatorial candidate she’d once met in Sacramento. In the dream, the politician was vomiting.

By morning, Noah and Gary had mapped out what they hoped would serve as a workable FeLV vector. “Now there’s an all-nighter I won’t forget,” Noah remarked.

Gary nodded and gave a high five, which Noah matched. “Now,” noted Gary, “all we need to do is synthesize it.”

Noah massaged his eyes. “We’ve already developed procedures for most of the steps from the MEFA research. It should be a snap to put together this FeLV vector.”

Gary frowned. “Doc, you know if we succeed, there’ll be a permanent change in the feline genome.”

Noah took his hands from his eyes and regarded the young man. “Yes, that’s right. So be it.” He suggested that Gary lie down on the sofa and get some sleep.

“Works for me,” Gary replied wearily.

Although Noah was just as tired, he brewed a pot of extra-strong coffee and went over the night’s work, making minor adjustments in the base sequence. Vera awoke around six and shuffled into the kitchen, where Noah was scrutinizing his notes.

“You didn’t sleep much, did you?” she asked, her voice husky with the dawn.

“Actually, I never went to bed. Too keyed up about this FeLV thing.” He nodded toward the living room. “Gary’s asleep on the couch.”

“Oh. I hope I didn’t wake him.” She pulled her robe tight.

Noah smiled. “He’s dead to the world, I’m sure.” Noah stood and took her hands in his. “I think we have a plan for a workable interfering vector. It should recombine with the FeLV region in the feline genome and … well, you know, this was really your idea.”

Now fully awake, Vera whispered, “Noah, that’s terrific! You really did it?”

“I think so. Now we have to construct it in the lab, but I don’t see any technical problems.”

After she had showered and downed glasses of orange and vegetable juice, Vera drove back to the clinic. She looked over several dogs she’d been boarding, but was too preoccupied with FHF to give them more than a cursory glance.

“Kal, I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you’re here to take care of the practice while I’m working on this FHF thing.”

“No thanks necessary. I just hope you come up with something.”

Vera smiled. “Yeah, it’s make or break for cats.” She turned to Jane. “You too. Thanks for handling the business matters. I think I’ll change your title to ‘anxiety-reducer.’”

Jane smiled. “I appreciate being appreciated.”

Vera described the FeLV vector plan.

“Wow!” said Jane.

“Yeah, wow!” Kal echoed.

Vera went on, “There are some unanswered questions. Where are we going to find cats that haven’t been exposed to FHF? Could we locate feral cat colonies somewhere? And, money … how will we pay for the expensive microsurgery equipment? The apparatus and accessories could run to fifty thousand dollars or more.” She sat down at her desk and began a budget estimate. They should probably offer a reward to anyone locating cats that had not been exposed to the epizootic. After a half-hour of work, Vera figured they required a minimum of a hundred thousand dollars. She started to prepare a pot of coffee.

Suddenly, her hand jerked, dumping coffee grounds on the table. “Of course! Dottie!” When her first husband died, Dorothy had inherited a large estate, and she wasn’t a big spender. Most likely, she still had most of the inheritance. Vera had no doubt that Dottie loved cats. Anyone who had kept as many furry friends as Dottie merited a spot in the cat-lovers hall of fame.

She called into the reception room, “Jane, would you phone Dorothy Kraakmo in Atlanta, please. It’s about twelve-thirty there. She should be home.”

When Jane had Dorothy on the line, Vera picked up the phone.

They traded small talk. Angelo was away on one of his investigations, and Vera realized that Dorothy welcomed the chat with an old friend. Vera finally broached the subject of money. “Dottie, I think Noah may have a new strategy for preventing FHF.”

“That’s wonderful!” Dorothy exclaimed. “Is it a new vaccine?”

“No, it’s not a vaccine at all. It involves injecting some protective genes into fertilized eggs. When the eggs develop into kittens, the cats are protected for their whole lives.”

“I see,” said Dorothy, although Vera sensed she didn’t.

“The thing is, the procedure is rather expensive, and we have no money. Because of the recession, there’s no hope of any federal funding. Noah’s institute is also tapped out.” Vera rushed through the pitch. “That’s why I’m calling you. I know you love cats, and I thought you might be willing to help out financially.” Suddenly, Vera felt embarrassed and regretted making the call.
How could I take advantage of such a dear friend …

“How much do you need?” asked Dorothy.

“Well, I figure about a hundred thousand dollars,” she answered, her voice weak.

“Did you say a hundred thousand?”

“Dottie, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you. I have no right to take advantage of our friendship.”

“But Vera, it’s not for you personally, it’s for the cats! I donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities every year. How should I make out the check?”

Vera was stunned.
Is that all I need to do—just make a phone call?
She hadn’t given any thought to how the monies would be handled. She didn’t even know what regulations had to be followed. “I … I … Dottie, don’t write the check yet. I’m going to have my attorney create a non-profit charity for the project so that any donation you, or anyone else contributes, is tax-deductible.”

“Oh, yes. That’s a good idea. Let me know when it’s all set up, and I’ll get a check out to you. Vera, this may be the last chance for cats. Good luck to you and Noah.” The phone went silent. Vera felt a lump form in her throat. She decided not to phone Noah, figuring he might be asleep after last night’s toil.

Just then, Vera felt a warm, wet sensation on her leg. “What the hell?” she gasped.
My water broke
! Almost simultaneously, she felt a pang in her lower abdomen.
Oh, my God! It’s time.
“Jane,” she called, “would you mind phoning Noah to tell him I’m having our baby and to meet me at the hospital? Then I’d like you to drive me there.”

Jane dashed into the room, Kal close behind. “Did you say what I thought you said?” When she spied the wet floor, she said, “Right. I’ll phone him.”

“Don’t worry about the practice,” Kal said. “I’ll handle everything.”

“Thanks, Kal. I know you will … Aaagh! … contraction …”

Vera had Jane go upstairs for the hospital bag she had prepared weeks before, and they set off for Pleasant Valley Hospital.

Vera sat in a wheelchair, filling out forms, Jane standing at her side, when Noah arrived. He kissed Vera lightly on the cheek. “Can I help with the paperwork?” he asked.

Vera shook her head. “I’m fine.” She turned to Jane. “Now that Noah’s here, I think you should go back to the clinic and help Kal handle things there.”

“Will do. Call me if you need anything.”

“Have you seen a doctor yet?” Noah asked.

Vera smiled wanly. “No. In a hospital, documents have priority over medical matters. My OB-GYN is en route, however. She’ll be here soon.”

“My God! You mean she’s not even here? What if the baby comes before she gets here?”

Vera took his hand. “Will you relax? Haven’t you ever heard of ‘labor’?
A baby isn’t born instantaneously.”

“Oh. Right.”

“You are the archetype of an anxious father, you know. It’s a good thing I had Jane drive me here and not you … Aaagghh!”

“What is it?”

“Another contraction. It’s okay. Everything is proceeding the way it’s supposed to.”

At that moment, Dr. Kingsley walked in. She took Vera’s hands in hers and asked for details of her labor. She had Vera taken to the birthing ward while a nurse tossed Noah a set of scrubs. “You can come in when you’ve put these on,” she said, pointing to a changing room.

Anneke Weiss was working through the complex syntax of HTML for a summer course in advanced web programming. She welcomed the distraction of Jane’s ringtone.

“C’mon over and keep me company,” said her friend.

“Sure,” Anneke replied eagerly. “I can get more studying done there than at home.” Anneke arrived before noon. The two women walked to a Thai restaurant not far from the clinic. Jane told Anneke of the new idea for attacking FHF.

Anneke shook her head. “I’ve got to tell you, I’m surprised that Dr. Chamberlin is so involved with finding a cure. I know, I know—he wasn’t the source of the epizootic … I guess I have a lingering prejudice against him. It’s my problem, not his.”

“Deal with it,” said Jane. She smiled at her friend. “He’s really an okay guy.” She twirled a forkful of Pad Thai. “Getting back to FHF—the big stumbling block is finding cats that haven’t been exposed. That’s becoming just about impossible. Vera had this idea to try to find feral cats that might not have had contact with the virus.”

“That’s a pretty good idea. I could help.”

“What idea? Oh, you mean the feral cats?”

“Yeah. There are ferals all over. Some live in out-of-the-way places and have no contact with other cats or with humans.”

“How do you know so much about feral cats?”

“You know how I feel about animals … and animal rights. Well, I belong to a group called the Feral Cat Coalition. They’re headquartered in San Diego. Before FHF, they used to locate feral cats, capture them, and immunize them against enteritis, rabies—the usual viruses. The FCC would often pay to have ferals spayed or neutered, so they wouldn’t spawn even more feral cats.”