My first thought at your description was Leukemia which is not uncommon in cats.
It may not be a poisn at all. It may be Feline AIDS or Leukemia or a host of other diseases. Here is a hub that I wrote on such things: hubpages.com/hub/Feline-AIDS and another one: hubpages.com/hub/The-Importance-Of-Spaying.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.