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closeA time to talk: Radioactive procedure can transform your cat
Mary Magee
guest columnist
Our only remaining pet is a nearly 16-year-old, long-haired, orange tabby cat named Thunder. He’s one of three orange tabbies in our neighborhood, including Max, who’s the same age and very adventuresome, and Quaddy, who was named after his owner’s old school mate.
It’s impressive that these three guys from different homes have aged so gracefully!
However, a while back, we noticed Thunder was not himself. He always was a talker, but now he talked incessantly. He always was affectionate, but now he needed attention every second of the day and night. He ate and drank constantly but was losing weight.
Thunder looked unkempt, like he was using Brylcreem on his coat. Remember that greasy kids stuff?
A trip to the vet and a blood panel made clear that he was suffering from hyperthyroidism, which increased his heart rate, made him anxious and negatively affected his metabolism. If left untreated, his organs would be damaged.
We were told by Dr. Kane at Evergreen Animal Hospital that we had the choice between giving Thunder oral medications for the rest of his life, or having a procedure done that usually solves the problem and requires no follow-up medications.
The procedure is called radioactive iodine therapy, or radioiodine therapy. It’s performed at a clinic that specializes in the disorder, The Feline Hyperthyroid Treatment Center.
While we weighed our options, we talked with a woman at the center who reassured us that Thunder wasn’t too old to make the procedure worthwhile; she said they had treated cats as old as 22.
Pat Dorsey, our veterinarian friend, explained that medicating Thunder for several years might well equal the cost of the radioiodine therapy.
About that time, we also visited with friends whose cat, Sophie, had been through the treatment a few months ago. As my husband and I looked at her dozing comfortably on the back of their couch, her owners commented on how sick she had been and how changed she was now.
That clinched it for us. We had sufficient anecdotal and medical evidence to reassure us that the procedure would be a good choice for Thunder.
At the clinic, Dr. Wackerbarth explained the procedure to us. Based on his examination and lab results, he decides how much iodine to give each cat. The iodine injection suppresses the thyroid gland, eventually bringing the cat’s hormone levels back to normal.
Cats who undergo the treatment are radioactive for a period of days after the procedure and remain at the clinic during that time.
To assuage our anxiety about that issue, my husband and I had some fun imagining that Thunder might be dramatically morphed by the radioactive iodine. We pictured him sleeping on our bed as he usually does and being awakened in the middle of the night by his yowling. We’d see his green eyes bugging out, and huge, iridescent wings growing out of his back.
Would it be because he’d swallowed a fly during the injection? Oh, no, we thought: Just as Peter Parker became Spiderman when he was bitten by a radioactive spider, Thunder could be transformed into Flycat. He would fly around the room, and we’d have to leap from our bed and chase after him. Once captured, we’d search frantically for an antidote, something to reverse this frightening turn of events.
In actuality, no such drama occurred. We brought Thunder home from the clinic, and he’s been improving ever since.
But who knows? Maybe he’s waiting to meet up with his neighborhood buddies, Max and Quaddy, and they’ll all be transformed into a trio of super cats. X-Tabbies!