Fuddland
With domestic cats living longer and longer, they’re starting to develop some conditions that wouldn’t have traditionally presented themselves in your average feline — a fact demonstrated by our cat being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.
We’d noticed a change in his behaviour in the last few months: he was always begging for food [being very vocal and following us around the house] but despite us relenting more often than not just to shut him up, he was still losing weight, and had increased bouts of dashing madly around the house for no apparent reason. Some quick googling had us suspecting his thyroid was playing up, and this was confirmed by a blood test at the end of last week.
There are three approaches to treatment: daily pills forever, to control the thyroid gland; surgery to remove all or parts of the gland; or injections of radioactive iodine, which destroys thyroid tissue. Our vet has recommended a combination of the first two, so the cat is having his thyroid activity gradually reduced over a few weeks via pills mixed into his food, followed by surgery to remove the gland — going straight to the operation would put too much of a strain on his system.
[Of course there was always the option to do nothing and just keep his ravenous appetite sated — the strain on his heart would lead to heart failure.]
One thing that’s not quite clear to me is what the effect is of having little or no thyroid gland, seeing as the hormones it produces regulate the metabolism and control a variety of other bodily functions, such as blood flow. And the cost of all this treatment? Just over a thousand pounds. He’d better be grateful! At the very least, he could help with the vacuuming once in a while, seeing as it mostly consists of his hairs.
Update: The vet just telephoned to ask how the cat was getting along after a couple of days on the pills! When was the last time your doctor gave you a call out of the blue to see if you’re feeling any better after a recent visit?
Comments
Jann | 2006 / 01 / 16 – 17:49
If I gave my doctor a thousand pounds and some of my internal organs, I’d expect a phone call.
Incidentally, are you doing this on insurance? I ask because I’m about to “get some kittens in” and have been informed that pet insurance is necessary these days. Judging by your experience I’d say it most certainly is.
David | 2006 / 01 / 17 – 22:15
Re #1: Actually no, for whatever reason he’s not insured for illnesses and treatments. I’ve no idea how much it costs per pet per annum, but I’d imagine it’d be quite handy to have some insurance, especially if you’re getting kittens-plural.
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