Arrrgh!!!

After several weeks of discussion, batting the pros and cons around and double checking the budget, we finally decided that we would follow our vet's advice and take our cat to the specialist to be radiated for hyper-thyroidism.

Edward Scissorhands, our grouchy, independent, self-determined cat, started loosing weight toward the end of last year. I took him in for his annual physical early in February, and the vet thought she knew what was wrong. Extra blood tests were called for, and when the results came in, she was right. He had become hyper-thyroid.

There were three options: surgery (which the vet felt was not an appropriate choice), two or three pills a day for life, or radiation. Anyone who knows Ed, knows that the pills were not a choice. The cat would rather die than submit to even one pill a day for any length of time. That left us with irradiation, the most successful of the three options, but also the most expensive.

The vet suggested, that over time, IF we could pill Ed, the cost would end up being the same as the cost for the radiation treatment. She also handed me information about the procedure. Ninety-five percent of the cats who are radiated for hyper-thyroidism, are returned to health. The risk was nil, and the chances were good that he would have more healthy years.

My vet is one of the most pragmatic women I know. I trust her implicitly with my cat's health, and finally it was her faith in the procedure that helped us make the choice. We contacted the specialty vet to make an appointment for the radiation and were told that Ed would have to take a three-week course of pills before they treated him. Apparently, kidney failure can masquerade under the same symptoms, and radiation would kill the cat.

Doc Z. knew how difficult the pills would be to administer, and she knew that I didn't want any delay. She came up with an alternative plan. Ed had to remain inside the house to force him to use the litter pan in the bathroom. From Ed's point of view, that pan is only for the direst emergencies! Doc had us set the pan up with a thin layer of litter, and then a plastic garbage bag over the top. And the waiting began.

I swear the cat planned to hold everything for as long as it took to outwit us. He got a little wider, and a bit wider, until finally he was bulging, but when we went to bed, he had still not used the litter box. The next morning, we discovered that he had finally come through. He'd filled the box, sprayed the shower door, covered the floor and tracked it out of the bathroom, but we had a sample for the vet to test. She had me wait, and came out with excellent news! Ed definitely did not have kidney failure!

Monday, Ed and I went to the specialty vet for a consultation. Two vets looked him over, and announced that they would do the procedure today. I was surprised. I thought he would be coming home with me, but they were ready to move forward.

He was given 24 hours to acclimate to the facility and the room where he will be staying. They confirmed that he was eating and drinking adequately. This afternoon he received the iodine isotope, given by injection. The tech called me this evening to let me know everything was fine.

I spent the day watching the door, looking to see if Ed was waiting to come in. I checked to see if I needed to top off food dishes. Habits are really hard to break. I'll have to adjust, because Ed will have to remain at the vet's until at least Friday afternoon. He will still cause a Geiger counter to tick when he comes home.

Ed will have to stay inside for two weeks. The radiation is flushed out of his body through his kidneys, and it's important that his waste is confined until the radiation levels have dropped. It will be a major undertaking for us, because Ed is an indoor-outdoor cat. It's impossible to explain to him why he must stay in. He'll harass Elegante Mother and knock things off counters. He'll jump up where he shouldn't be, and try to force us to boot him out in disgust.

Unfortunately, we must keep three feet away from him for most of the day for those two weeks, as we wait for the radiation levels to drop.

That's going to be the most difficult for me, because this past year or so, he has taken to sitting on my lap at night, or within the circle of my arms as I type at the computer. But, it can be done. Part of the time he will be encouraged to be in the basement. Most of the rest of the time he will have free run of the house. The specialty vet reassured me that I will be able to pet the cat, but I'll have to limit my contact.

So, you can see why I said "Greater love hath no man..." We're going to make a LOT of changes in the next three weeks for our cat, but there was never a question that he was worth it.