Help with feline hyperthyroidism
June 16, 2017 10:50 AM Subscribe
Our cat was just diagnosed as being hyperthyroid. We need some real world advice on how to move forward.
Our 12 year old tuxedo cat was just diagnosed as being hyperthyroid (having hyperthyroidism? Not sure how to refer to it). He's on medication now, but since that means a lifetime of him being on medication, we're thinking of doing the radioactive iodine therapy to eliminate it once and for all.
He seems to be taking the twice-daily pills OK, which is awesome, but the thought of a one time treatment is very appealing, because he may not always be so amenable to taking pills. We understand and are OK with the cost of the iodine therapy, but have other questions about the iodine therapy, to wit:
1. What was the deciding factor for you in choosing to do the iodine therapy vs. just using the pills?
2. How was the cat after the therapy? Not just in a recovery sense, but did it change your cat's personality or behavior at all?
3. What is the after-care like?
4. Given what you know now, was the iodine therapy worth it (was it the right choice for you)?
We've talked to our vet and read the literature, but we're really interested in hearing actual experiences. What else do we need to think about?
Our 12 year old tuxedo cat was just diagnosed as being hyperthyroid (having hyperthyroidism? Not sure how to refer to it). He's on medication now, but since that means a lifetime of him being on medication, we're thinking of doing the radioactive iodine therapy to eliminate it once and for all.
He seems to be taking the twice-daily pills OK, which is awesome, but the thought of a one time treatment is very appealing, because he may not always be so amenable to taking pills. We understand and are OK with the cost of the iodine therapy, but have other questions about the iodine therapy, to wit:
1. What was the deciding factor for you in choosing to do the iodine therapy vs. just using the pills?
2. How was the cat after the therapy? Not just in a recovery sense, but did it change your cat's personality or behavior at all?
3. What is the after-care like?
4. Given what you know now, was the iodine therapy worth it (was it the right choice for you)?
We've talked to our vet and read the literature, but we're really interested in hearing actual experiences. What else do we need to think about?
We had a cat treated with iodine therapy a few years ago. It's hard on the cat, in that there are a few weeks where he'll be miserable and you will not be able to comfort him. Dollars and cents-wise, it probably was not cost effective compared with simply staying on pills for the rest of her life. And, as mentioned above, there are significant risks, though, as our vet explained, the healthier the cat is prior to treatment, the lower the risk to the cat.
However, would I do it again? In a heartbeat. It gave Meg another two years of trouble free life before old age took her (kidneys. In cats it's kidney failure when they get old). It might not have made perfect sense financially, but we are fortunate enough that we could swallow the cost. And for the trouble-free time it gave her, I have no regrets at all.
posted by bonehead at 11:34 AM on June 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
However, would I do it again? In a heartbeat. It gave Meg another two years of trouble free life before old age took her (kidneys. In cats it's kidney failure when they get old). It might not have made perfect sense financially, but we are fortunate enough that we could swallow the cost. And for the trouble-free time it gave her, I have no regrets at all.
posted by bonehead at 11:34 AM on June 16, 2017 [3 favorites]
My cat was diagnosed with this at 14 and we were presented with the same alternatives. Our vet was not keen on the radiation therapy because he felt it would be far too stressful for her to be transported to the city where it would be done and then be isolated for the period directly after, with limited contact for the next few weeks (cat should not lie on or sleep with humans or other pets for 3 weeks after release).
We chose to stick with the daily meds, but instead of pills we used it in a dermal gel--we wiped a dab of Methimazole gel inside her ear twice a day. It was super easy and not too expensive. I also didn't feel bad asking cat sitters to do that but I would've felt bad about asking someone to pill her twice a day. If you choose daily meds instead, I definitely recommend the gel.
She lived to be happy and healthy to the age of 18+ (despite having also had a leg amputated at an early age!) so we were very happy with the treatment we chose for her.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:47 AM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
We chose to stick with the daily meds, but instead of pills we used it in a dermal gel--we wiped a dab of Methimazole gel inside her ear twice a day. It was super easy and not too expensive. I also didn't feel bad asking cat sitters to do that but I would've felt bad about asking someone to pill her twice a day. If you choose daily meds instead, I definitely recommend the gel.
She lived to be happy and healthy to the age of 18+ (despite having also had a leg amputated at an early age!) so we were very happy with the treatment we chose for her.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:47 AM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
We were offered both of these options but also the option of surgery. It was a lot cheaper than the iodine therapy. We chose the surgery and it worked very well; our Tigger had some good years after that and he was clearly happier during those years, and more like he used to be before he developed the thyroid problems. Eventually heart problems were what did him in.
You might want to ask whether surgery is an option for your cat, too.
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:48 AM on June 16, 2017
You might want to ask whether surgery is an option for your cat, too.
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:48 AM on June 16, 2017
We had two brother cats, one of which developed hyperthyroidism at 12. I paid the $$$$ for the radioactive iodine therapy for him, and he lived to be 23. The other brother developed the same thing at 18, and it it just wasn't worth the cost for the therapy for a cat that old, so we decided to go for pills. It was not much fun at all, and the pills never worked that well for him and he had to keep having his medicine adjusted. He lived to be 20.
Anyways, looking back I would still have made the same decisions. And in my experience the iodine therapy was worth the money. I can't imagine having to have pilled that cat every day for 11 years. Also, going away with a cat that needs daily medication is a giant headache, as you have to find someone who can do it for you.
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:52 AM on June 16, 2017
Anyways, looking back I would still have made the same decisions. And in my experience the iodine therapy was worth the money. I can't imagine having to have pilled that cat every day for 11 years. Also, going away with a cat that needs daily medication is a giant headache, as you have to find someone who can do it for you.
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:52 AM on June 16, 2017
We went with the pills mainly because of the ages of our cats (multiple! 3 in one household with thyroid issues!) and the fact that our vet never brought it up. Well, and the money aspect too. We get a product called Gourmeds from Wedgewood Pharmacy and 2 out of 3 of the cats just eat them up like treats. The other got a regular pill in a pill pocket. Compared to some of the other issues we've had with these furbags, a 2x/daily pill is nothing.
posted by komara at 11:54 AM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by komara at 11:54 AM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh, and to answer your questions, the cat that had the therapy was back to himself after the treatment. No problems at all. After care involved dealing with the poop properly, isolating him, etc.
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:55 AM on June 16, 2017
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:55 AM on June 16, 2017
Because of his age, we went with the... ointment. You apply it topically to the inside of the ear and it soaks in through the skin. Ask your vet about this if you have a cat who doesn't tolerate pills well.
If he had been younger, we would have done the iodine, no questions. But, his kidney numbers were starting to get borderline, and a lot of times, hyperthyroidism can sort of balance out kidney issues. It's like the two problems hold each other at bay. We were concerned that removing the thyroid would cause much quicker kidney failure.
posted by instead of three wishes at 12:21 PM on June 16, 2017
If he had been younger, we would have done the iodine, no questions. But, his kidney numbers were starting to get borderline, and a lot of times, hyperthyroidism can sort of balance out kidney issues. It's like the two problems hold each other at bay. We were concerned that removing the thyroid would cause much quicker kidney failure.
posted by instead of three wishes at 12:21 PM on June 16, 2017
We had our 14-year old cat treated with radioactive iodine earlier this year. She seemed to feel better almost immediately, although her hyperthyroidism was pretty significant by the time we figured it out, and she is now rounded, glossy-coated, and sweet instead of skinny and antsy. It's basically like having a brand-new cat. Doing the iodine was a bit of a debate between me and my spouse due to her age, but she haaaaates pills, carefully eats around pill pockets, and didn't seem to like the transdermal ear-rubbed methimazole either. So we decided that for everyone's collective quality of life we would do the treatment even if it wasn't really the most cost-effective approach. Plus we got to troll our 6 year old, who recently discovered Spider-man and the Avengers, by telling him that he should keep an eye on Annabelle in case she developed any superpowers.
She had to spend one night in the kitty hospital and then it was another week before we could let our small kids spend much time with her or sleep on our bed. She is skittish around the kids and prefers to sleep in our laundry basket so it wasn't an issue, but if it had been our other, snugglier cat I think these prohibitions would have been harder to manage. We had to store 2 weeks' worth of used litter in tubs in the garage for 3 months due to the risk of setting off the radiation alarms at the landfill. It was January in Colorado so this was not at all a big deal; YMMV in June.
tl;dr: 10/10 would irradiate again.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 12:28 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
She had to spend one night in the kitty hospital and then it was another week before we could let our small kids spend much time with her or sleep on our bed. She is skittish around the kids and prefers to sleep in our laundry basket so it wasn't an issue, but if it had been our other, snugglier cat I think these prohibitions would have been harder to manage. We had to store 2 weeks' worth of used litter in tubs in the garage for 3 months due to the risk of setting off the radiation alarms at the landfill. It was January in Colorado so this was not at all a big deal; YMMV in June.
tl;dr: 10/10 would irradiate again.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 12:28 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
1. What was the deciding factor for you in choosing to do the iodine therapy vs. just using the pills?
She is terrible at taking pills (we give her a twice-monthly injection for another issue and that's no problem, unlike taking pills), we travel enough that we didn't want to trust a petsitter to be able to pill her correctly and on time, and we didn't want to board her when we traveled because she does not take well to being boarded.
2. How was the cat after the therapy? Not just in a recovery sense, but did it change your cat's personality or behavior at all?
Not at all!
3. What is the after-care like?
We had to retrieve her a few days early from the facility where she got the treatment because she refused to eat (see what I said above about not taking boarding well)--they kept her about four days instead of the seven they usually do. For the rest of the aftercare, we kept her locked up in a spare bedroom for two weeks away from the other cat, because the facility mandated that each person only spends 20 minutes per day with her, and we split the time so she got 40 minutes of human contact , each of us spending 10 minutes with her in the morning and in the evening. We also set up a spare laptop pointed at her napping chair with Skype set to answer calls from a set list of people, so we and our friends could Skype with a radioactive cat.
We eventually set up a camera pointing at her food and water bowl to make sure she was eating, and she was.
4. Given what you know now, was the iodine therapy worth it (was it the right choice for you)?
Absolutely. I was stressed out about it for weeks beforehand, and stressed out during it, but she came through with flying colors, wasn't fazed at all about it after she got home, and we think actually enjoyed two weeks in a room away from the other cat. My only regret is that it didn't occur to me until after the whole thing that I should have set her up an account on Omegle or Chatroulette because if she saw a dick pic, who cares? She's a cat.
posted by telophase at 12:51 PM on June 16, 2017 [6 favorites]
She is terrible at taking pills (we give her a twice-monthly injection for another issue and that's no problem, unlike taking pills), we travel enough that we didn't want to trust a petsitter to be able to pill her correctly and on time, and we didn't want to board her when we traveled because she does not take well to being boarded.
2. How was the cat after the therapy? Not just in a recovery sense, but did it change your cat's personality or behavior at all?
Not at all!
3. What is the after-care like?
We had to retrieve her a few days early from the facility where she got the treatment because she refused to eat (see what I said above about not taking boarding well)--they kept her about four days instead of the seven they usually do. For the rest of the aftercare, we kept her locked up in a spare bedroom for two weeks away from the other cat, because the facility mandated that each person only spends 20 minutes per day with her, and we split the time so she got 40 minutes of human contact , each of us spending 10 minutes with her in the morning and in the evening. We also set up a spare laptop pointed at her napping chair with Skype set to answer calls from a set list of people, so we and our friends could Skype with a radioactive cat.
We eventually set up a camera pointing at her food and water bowl to make sure she was eating, and she was.
4. Given what you know now, was the iodine therapy worth it (was it the right choice for you)?
Absolutely. I was stressed out about it for weeks beforehand, and stressed out during it, but she came through with flying colors, wasn't fazed at all about it after she got home, and we think actually enjoyed two weeks in a room away from the other cat. My only regret is that it didn't occur to me until after the whole thing that I should have set her up an account on Omegle or Chatroulette because if she saw a dick pic, who cares? She's a cat.
posted by telophase at 12:51 PM on June 16, 2017 [6 favorites]
You'll also note from all of the replies above that the length of the aftercare differs significantly from facility to facility. Ours was much more conservative, and kept the animal for 7 days, then mandated them being limited to 20 minutes of contact per person per day for the next 2 weeks (along with the requisite careful litter handling). I was quite happy with the conservative approach, given the history of cancer in my immediate family.
posted by telophase at 12:56 PM on June 16, 2017
posted by telophase at 12:56 PM on June 16, 2017
My late boy got oral flavored Methimazole with a syringe. He did fine with it.
posted by jgirl at 1:10 PM on June 16, 2017
posted by jgirl at 1:10 PM on June 16, 2017
Our cat was just diagnosed as being hyperthyroid. We need some real world advice on how to move forward.
As your vet may or may not have mentioned, hyperthyroidism levels among housecats have risen sharply lately (The Mystery of the Wasting House Cats), and the culprit seems to be PBDE (PolyBrominated Diphenyl Ether) fire retardants.
So I think you should stick with the pills for now, get your cat's PBDE blood levels tested, and if they happen to be elevated, get your house evaluated for PDBE sources.
And if you do find significant sources, remove them and see whether your cat will improve to a point where further treatment is unnecessary.
This could have the added benefit of reducing your own exposure to PBDEs, which might be important because some investigators think humans are less vulnerable to their effects only because we don't get our noses right down into the most common sources of exposure, such as furniture and carpets, as much as cats do.
posted by jamjam at 1:51 PM on June 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
As your vet may or may not have mentioned, hyperthyroidism levels among housecats have risen sharply lately (The Mystery of the Wasting House Cats), and the culprit seems to be PBDE (PolyBrominated Diphenyl Ether) fire retardants.
So I think you should stick with the pills for now, get your cat's PBDE blood levels tested, and if they happen to be elevated, get your house evaluated for PDBE sources.
And if you do find significant sources, remove them and see whether your cat will improve to a point where further treatment is unnecessary.
This could have the added benefit of reducing your own exposure to PBDEs, which might be important because some investigators think humans are less vulnerable to their effects only because we don't get our noses right down into the most common sources of exposure, such as furniture and carpets, as much as cats do.
posted by jamjam at 1:51 PM on June 16, 2017 [2 favorites]
My cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at 14. She'll be 16 at the end of the month. We were only told about the option of medication, not irradiation, so we've been treating her with Methimazole gel. It's applied to the inside of her ear twice a day. Like a lot of the other cats mentioned in this thread, she started to plump up nicely after a month or so of the medication and now she's stable, glossy and in truly excellent health for a cat her age.
If you do decide to go with medication instead of irradiation, see if the gel is an option for you. You'll have to get disposable gloves (the medication shouldn't touch your own skin), but it's so much easier than cramming a pill down an unwilling cat's throat. In fairness, our cat has a full mouth of razor-sharp teeth and the neck strength of ten pumas, but I think it's probably true for cats of regular strength as well.
posted by kate blank at 2:00 PM on June 16, 2017
If you do decide to go with medication instead of irradiation, see if the gel is an option for you. You'll have to get disposable gloves (the medication shouldn't touch your own skin), but it's so much easier than cramming a pill down an unwilling cat's throat. In fairness, our cat has a full mouth of razor-sharp teeth and the neck strength of ten pumas, but I think it's probably true for cats of regular strength as well.
posted by kate blank at 2:00 PM on June 16, 2017
We had siblings that were both diagnosed with hyperthyroidism when they were about 10 years old and both had radiation therapy. The first, a female, was diagnosed very early and lived for another 10 years. Her personality didn't change, though she got rather crotchety in her old age. The second, a male, had been somewhat overweight and wasn't diagnosed till his case was fairly advanced; the hyperthyroidism was masking kidney disease and we had to put him to sleep about a year later.
We also had a third cat who was diagnosed in her mid-teens; given her age, we opted for the pills and she ended up living about 10 years after the diagnosis. We got really good at giving pills!
posted by mogget at 2:04 PM on June 16, 2017
We also had a third cat who was diagnosed in her mid-teens; given her age, we opted for the pills and she ended up living about 10 years after the diagnosis. We got really good at giving pills!
posted by mogget at 2:04 PM on June 16, 2017
I had my hyperthyroid cat treated with radioactive iodine back in 2007, he lived happily for another 4 years before dying of kidney disease and congestive heart failure. I don't know his actual age since he was a shelter cat. It was absolutely worth it, I had to block him from jumping on the bed so he couldn't sleep with me but otherwise the aftercare was fine from what I recall. Toward the end of his life I had to pill him regularly but it was only manageable when he felt terrible, I can't imagine pilling him for years. My physics grad student neighbor brought over a geiger counter for a couple weeks to track his progress, which was enjoyable.
posted by impishoptimist at 2:27 PM on June 16, 2017
posted by impishoptimist at 2:27 PM on June 16, 2017
For the sake of completeness, there is one more treatment method : an ultralow-iodine prescription diet called Hill's y/d. It can work quite well, as long as the cat doesn't get bored with the food.
posted by metaseeker at 2:39 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by metaseeker at 2:39 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
A note: the radioactive iodine treatment isn't reversible or entirely exact, and some cats that I've known (including one of my own) ended up hyPOthyroid afterwards and actually have to take thyroid meds. So, it's not a guarantee of not having to pill your cat, fwiw. His behavior didn't change, but he did eventually develop small cell lymphosarcoma, and I'll admit I've wondered if there was a connection (I don't mean to scare you -- I don't know of any connection, I just wonder).
Another cat of mine was on Methimazole for a number of years. The gel is an appealing option for that, though I haven't used it on my cats (I should append yet; hyperthyroidism is very common in cats).
posted by vers at 4:14 PM on June 16, 2017
Another cat of mine was on Methimazole for a number of years. The gel is an appealing option for that, though I haven't used it on my cats (I should append yet; hyperthyroidism is very common in cats).
posted by vers at 4:14 PM on June 16, 2017
Our (as it turns out) elderly rescue cat Hepburn has been on meds for her hyperthyroid for a year now and is doing great! For a few months, we had to increase her pill dosage, as her vet determined her thyroid wasn't quite where it should be, but we've been able to scale back and she's pretty healthy overall. She likes the Greenie brand pill pockets, so we don't have to chase her down or try to pop the pills in her mouth (which she definitely wouldn't go for).
Hyperthyroidism can mask kidney disease, and though Hep has shown a slight uptick in kidney dysfunction, it's small enough that we just need to keep an eye on things.
We opted not to go the radiation route because the girl is sort of frail (don't tell her, though) and staying alone at the facility, followed by having to be kept indoors after for a chunk of time (despite our best efforts, Hep is steadfastly an indoor/outdoor cat) would unhinge her....further. We just take her in for blood work every so often to make sure her current meds are still working. The one, the only, Hepburn!
posted by but no cigar at 4:26 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Hyperthyroidism can mask kidney disease, and though Hep has shown a slight uptick in kidney dysfunction, it's small enough that we just need to keep an eye on things.
We opted not to go the radiation route because the girl is sort of frail (don't tell her, though) and staying alone at the facility, followed by having to be kept indoors after for a chunk of time (despite our best efforts, Hep is steadfastly an indoor/outdoor cat) would unhinge her....further. We just take her in for blood work every so often to make sure her current meds are still working. The one, the only, Hepburn!
posted by but no cigar at 4:26 PM on June 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
An FYI that RAI treatment is pretty unpleasant, at least for humans. It makes you violently nauseated during, and for a good week afterwards. It kills your tastebuds and they can take several months to grow back, which is painful. It can cause long term problems with anemia and raises risks of a few cancers. It can cause weeks or months of joint swelling and pain. Above all, RAI, like chemotherapy, is a difficult experience that requires weeks or months of recovery time, and unfortunately you can't explain any of that to an animal. And after all that, there's no guarantee RAI won't make your cat hypothyroid instead (pills anyway).
The gel inside the ear works very well and is non-traumatic for everyone involved. My parents used it on their cat for several years, and I can attest as the occasional cat-sitter that medication delivered that way is pretty easy even for the uninitiated.
posted by Hildegarde at 5:44 PM on June 16, 2017
The gel inside the ear works very well and is non-traumatic for everyone involved. My parents used it on their cat for several years, and I can attest as the occasional cat-sitter that medication delivered that way is pretty easy even for the uninitiated.
posted by Hildegarde at 5:44 PM on June 16, 2017
1. What was the deciding factor for you in choosing to do the iodine therapy vs. just using the pills?
Both of my previous cats, Victoria and Disraeli, developed hyperthyroid (her at age twelve, him around thirteen or fourteen). Dizzy was all "uh, no" when it came to pills, but was perfectly content with the topical treatment applied inside the ear. Vicki, though, turned out to be allergic to the meds, so iodine therapy it was. She lived for about four years after the treatment.
2. How was the cat after the therapy? Not just in a recovery sense, but did it change your cat's personality or behavior at all?
Er, well, Vicki had some strong opinions about being quarantined for over a week in the hospital + having to be in a carrier for one hundred miles each way, but otherwise, she was fine with the situation.
3. What is the after-care like?
I don't have small children and my cats were never cuddly with each other, so isolating her was unnecessary. She didn't have complications or develop hypothyroid. Hanging on to cat litter for several months was, for obvious reasons, somewhat annoying, but not traumatic. The most unexpected problem involved the skin on my hands cracking badly, thanks to having to wash every time I touched her (invest in a good moisturizer!).
4. Given what you know now, was the iodine therapy worth it (was it the right choice for you)?
Absolutely.
posted by thomas j wise at 6:35 PM on June 16, 2017
Both of my previous cats, Victoria and Disraeli, developed hyperthyroid (her at age twelve, him around thirteen or fourteen). Dizzy was all "uh, no" when it came to pills, but was perfectly content with the topical treatment applied inside the ear. Vicki, though, turned out to be allergic to the meds, so iodine therapy it was. She lived for about four years after the treatment.
2. How was the cat after the therapy? Not just in a recovery sense, but did it change your cat's personality or behavior at all?
Er, well, Vicki had some strong opinions about being quarantined for over a week in the hospital + having to be in a carrier for one hundred miles each way, but otherwise, she was fine with the situation.
3. What is the after-care like?
I don't have small children and my cats were never cuddly with each other, so isolating her was unnecessary. She didn't have complications or develop hypothyroid. Hanging on to cat litter for several months was, for obvious reasons, somewhat annoying, but not traumatic. The most unexpected problem involved the skin on my hands cracking badly, thanks to having to wash every time I touched her (invest in a good moisturizer!).
4. Given what you know now, was the iodine therapy worth it (was it the right choice for you)?
Absolutely.
posted by thomas j wise at 6:35 PM on June 16, 2017
My own tuxedo cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at 14. I opted for the iodine and have zero regrets. The fun thing about this treatment is that it is actually more effective and less invasive on cats than on humans - it's about a 95 - 98% success rate on cats with one treatment and much lower for humans (like 60%).
1. What was the deciding factor for you in choosing to do the iodine therapy vs. just using the pills?
My cat is pretty chill about most things but she hates taking pills. We were doing the ear ointment twice a day, which was fine but she was getting kind of grumpy about.
Working out the cost of the ointment for her for another few years (she's otherwise totally healthy) as well as the toll on our relationship and the difficulty of getting someone else to do it when they cared for her whenever we were out of town, the radioactive iodine treatment was the better and cheaper option.
2. How was the cat after the therapy? Not just in a recovery sense, but did it change your cat's personality or behavior at all?
Long term: She is back to her usual self and is generally happier and less food obsessed, as well as less gaunt. There are no long term side effects to speak of.
Short term: We picked her up after about five days at the vet and she was upset that she had been there, but otherwise totally fine and normal and happy to see us. It was sad that we had to limit our contact with her to half an hour a day and have her sleep in the back room and not in our bed like she was used to, but it was only for two weeks. You can totally pet your cat once he comes home, as long as you limit it.
3. What is the after-care like?
Easy. The only annoying part was that we had to scoop the litter religiously every day (which we should do anyway, so really WE are bad people) as well as take her to the vet for blood and urine tests one month and three months after the treatment, rather than on her usual six month schedule. The only noticeable difference in your cat will probably be that they'll have shaved a spot on the back of his neck to administer the radioactive iodine.
4. Given what you know now, was the iodine therapy worth it (was it the right choice for you)?
Yes. 100%. I would recommend it if your cat still has a number of years ahead.
posted by urbanlenny at 12:00 PM on June 19, 2017
1. What was the deciding factor for you in choosing to do the iodine therapy vs. just using the pills?
My cat is pretty chill about most things but she hates taking pills. We were doing the ear ointment twice a day, which was fine but she was getting kind of grumpy about.
Working out the cost of the ointment for her for another few years (she's otherwise totally healthy) as well as the toll on our relationship and the difficulty of getting someone else to do it when they cared for her whenever we were out of town, the radioactive iodine treatment was the better and cheaper option.
2. How was the cat after the therapy? Not just in a recovery sense, but did it change your cat's personality or behavior at all?
Long term: She is back to her usual self and is generally happier and less food obsessed, as well as less gaunt. There are no long term side effects to speak of.
Short term: We picked her up after about five days at the vet and she was upset that she had been there, but otherwise totally fine and normal and happy to see us. It was sad that we had to limit our contact with her to half an hour a day and have her sleep in the back room and not in our bed like she was used to, but it was only for two weeks. You can totally pet your cat once he comes home, as long as you limit it.
3. What is the after-care like?
Easy. The only annoying part was that we had to scoop the litter religiously every day (which we should do anyway, so really WE are bad people) as well as take her to the vet for blood and urine tests one month and three months after the treatment, rather than on her usual six month schedule. The only noticeable difference in your cat will probably be that they'll have shaved a spot on the back of his neck to administer the radioactive iodine.
4. Given what you know now, was the iodine therapy worth it (was it the right choice for you)?
Yes. 100%. I would recommend it if your cat still has a number of years ahead.
posted by urbanlenny at 12:00 PM on June 19, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
Unfortunately, I also have to share this story: A friend's cat was given the same diagnosis. I told them about the success of Missy's treatment. Their cat had a very bad reaction and died a few months later. I'm still wracked with guilt over this.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:06 AM on June 16, 2017