New Black Death, pt. XII

here:

BERLIN (AP) -- The deadly strain of bird flu was confirmed Tuesday in a cat in northern Germany, the first time the virus has been identified in a mammal in the 25 nations of the European Union.

The cat was on the northern island of Ruegen, where most of the more than 100 wild birds infected by the H5N1 strain were found, the Friedrich Loeffler institute said.

In 1994, I stayed for a couple of days in Ruegen with my friend Gino. At the time, the place seemed still very much like East Germany. Instead of staying at one of the gargantuan Soviet-style hotels, we rented a room in some dour woman's house, where there was an adorable little cat. "Katzen sind nicht doof," said Gino, discussing the relative intelligence of cats.