The FURensic Files - Don't fear the smear

In the premiere episode of The FURensic Files, host Justin Louis talks with Christopher Lee, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, DACVM (Parasitology), to unravel the show’s first medical mystery: a cat with a soaring fever and no clear cause. From the hospital workup to a late-night discovery under the microscope, Lee shares how a back-to-basics test led to a diagnosis and a happy ending.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity.

Justin Louis, Host, The FURensic Files: Thank you so much for being here. So, this is the premiere episode of the FURensic files, and we're going to start with a bit of a medical mystery, a blood borne mystery, if you will.

Christopher Lee, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, DACVM: How often do we see cats with the fever of unknown origin, right? It's the F.U.O, and we sit there and we wonder what to do. These cats have these fevers; they're sick. They have just generalized signs, and it can be hard to diagnose and hard to treat.

Many of them, we start them on antibiotics, but it just doesn't fix it. And as veterinarians we always are working with our clients with the limited budget that they have, and that is also part of it. Our reference labs have really wonderful fever of unknown origin panels, but not every client can can pay for that.

Watch above for the rest of the conversation