Need advice on health care for one of my cats. Mittens is about

13 and I took him to have his teeth checked. I was worried about his age and being able to withstand anesthesia. I got a real surprise when the vet said he had a growth on his thyroid gland. He also had lost about 5 pounds and had a heart murmur. She said that a benign growth on his thyroid will contribute to a heart murmur, as well as making him lose weight. Well she took a blood sample and said his (can't remember the medical term here) is in a "gray" area. So I started to research everything I could on a thyroid condition and found that is having a radioactive iodine procedure is in the long run less costly than medication for the rest of his life and more exacting than surgery; one shot and the growth is cured once and for all. So I had to get her signature in order to have this done and she said that we weren't at that point yet, she wanted me to do something else first. It would involve giving poor Mittens a pill every eight hours (7 pills) then bring him in for another blood test. I think this is called a thyroid suppression test. I really dread putting him through this, although I certainly will if this is what it takes to find out what is wrong. Anyone advice from anyone who has had this problem and knows anything about these tests would really be appreciated. Thanks!

just had her 12-year-old kitty operated on for a thyroid growth. She opted for the operation rather than the radiation. I believe the radiation involved several trips and it wasn't local. Katy, the kitty, has recovered and is doing fine.

That's the only experience that I can relate.

I put them on methimazole (anti-thyroid medication) for an initial trial period of several weeks, starting with a very low dose and gradually increasing, and rechecking the blood and urine tests to make sure there are no side effects developing and the kidney function is stable. If the cat can be well-controlled with methimazole and the kidneys are still ok then the cat is a good candidate for I131 treatment. Here in SoCal it involves a one-week stay at a special facility where the cats board in a lead-lined room to pee away the radiation. The treatment itself is one simple injection of I131. Simple, easy.......some followup blood tests to verify a cure, and voila! Not cheap........probably around $800-1000. But this is state-of-the-art treatment.

Surgery is what we used to recommend before the I131 became available. It is NOT considered a permanent cure because of occult thyroid tissue lurking all over the neck and chest. Long-term methimazole can be done, but there is the ongoing expense of blood tests to make sure sll is still well. And it has a risk of side effects.

I have a patient that can't take methimazole (he's hypersensitive to it and many other things) and because of existing kidney dysfunction he is not a candidate for I131 or surgery. So he is essentially screwed. He is ok for now, but will eventually waste away.

thyroid condition. Your description of the I131 treatment fits what I have been told; I would need to travel to Illinois from Wisconsin and the procedure costs $1,000, which is cheaper than the medication in the long run. My vet has already checked out the organ functions and they are ok. Now I will go with that pill procedure I mentioned, although I know it is going to be traumatic for Mittens. He'll probably avoid me completely afterwards! Then I'll go with the I131 treatment if she okays it. Thanks for your help.

The thyroid suppression test was not a big ordeal for us. Maybe it will be easier on Mittens if you put the pills in food (or find/buy 'pill pockets') and give him the pills that way. The actual test is just a blood draw, which isn't so bad.

David wound up having surgery and because the thyroid was so large the vet took out virtually all of the thyroid tissue she could see. For a couple of years I had to give David thyroxin to replace what her thyroid would have otherwise produced for her. During this time the thyroid tissue must have grown again, according to my vet, because her levels had risen to borderline/high and we had to put her back on Tapezol (to reduce her levels of thyroxin).

I *wish* the I131 treatment had been available for David - :(

I am glad that you and Mittens have the option - :-)

Let us know how things go...

never heard of them before. I just placed an order and I think this will take away my dread of "pilling" him.

I never heard of pill pockets either until it was mentioned the other day on another thread. I picked up a package at Pet Smart. It works like a charm!!!! I've been using them for two days now. My cat is none the wiser and I'm not covered in Band-Aids.