Topic: Nuclear Kitty!

[eigenvector]

I took Ted (my cat) up to the vets on Monday to have his thyroid tumors treated.  He's the cat in my signature.

Vet was very nice, knew exactly what they were doing, but strangely I had to buy his food from the store - they wouldn't just tag on a little extra to the bill.  It's sucks because Ted's on Urinary SO (treatment for bladder stones, crystals, and other kidney problems) and it's 40 bucks a bag.  Kind of pissed me off actually.

Regardless, the treatment for hyperthyroidism is an injection of Iodine-131.  Pretty radioactive substance - but the nice thing is that only the thyroid will absorb it and then only the tumor in the thyroid will absorb it.

They have Ted until he's done pissing out all the radioactive material.

Here's the punchline:
I cannot come into close contact with him for 14 days after he's released.
He can't leave the house for 14 days
He can't go near children or pregnant women for 14 days.
I have to store his litter in a sealed can for 80(!!) days or I risk the garbage man fining me for improper disposal of radioactive material.

This is a cat that has literally never left my side since I adopted him 10 years ago.  He will not leave my side when I'm home.  So my expectation - I won't have to worry about tripping over him in the dark, the green glow will be a dead giveaway.  He will spread fallout all over the house because frankly, his litterbox habits suck.

[BomberMann650]

[demon78]

Tell Ted to hang in there.
Bill the demon.

[switchum]

 I hope for his speedy recovery.   As a huge cat lover, I know how you feel not being able to have him on your chest while you are sleeping.

[TwoBigCats]

been there, done that a number of years ago.

it's important to note that this treatment can significantly reduce your cat's motility ... the digestive process that pushes food, hair, etc, through their system.

we were not told this and our cat (Maine Coon, long haired cat) developed a MASSIVE hairball that almost killed her and affected the remainder of her life. suggest you keep an eye on this aspect.

all the best for a successful recovery.
hal

[RAFster122s]

Hope that Ted pulls through OK and you don't have fallout all over the house or on you...
Some pretty weird stuff, you can't make that stuff up...

I like cats but my mom who is 78 and my aunt hate them... We never had animals growing up. I can't stand little dogs but like larger dogs.  Neighbor had miniature poodles growing up and I grew to despise them... Yippie little ankle biters as well.  I have had to fight off a large dog when I was around 10-11. Caught all kinds of crap from my dad for it as he had to go retrieve the bike of my brother. He dumped it near the dog's house and it came down a 6 ft gully and back up all teeth and hackles raised and ready to eat us. There were two of them, my brother and I couldn't get away and we had to turn and attack as they charged to send them packing long enough to get away.  They were usually penned up but that day they were out and the owner was away.

I made the mistake of sneaking up on a farm cat and trying to pet it, not realizing it was asleep in the sun. It tagged me good on one finger as it went into high gear getting away.  Just wanted to pet it, but it was a mouser and a bit on the wild side... It would come up to my uncle when being fed but he didn't pet it.  I'm not sure if it would have let him.

David

[vfourfreak]

It is sad to see a loved pet in pain, but at least there are procedures available now that can extend the life of your best friend.

My cat Koshka is a wild ol thing, rarely stays in the house but patrols "her" territory (my vast garden) with a stern paw. I have seen her take on Toms twice her size and send them packing. But there is no way I will ever be able to get her to a vet, she has had no shots, only worming tablets. I know some day she just won't turn up any more, but for over 6 years she has been as loyal a pet as one can ask for. Independant, but loyal.

Hope Ted gets on the mend.

Kev

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

My cat beat cancer two years ago; it required reconstructive surgery but she made it.  Brave little cat.

[eigenvector]

Well Ted is back at home safe and sound.

Talked to the vet and she indicated that the literature they hand out about the radiation was state mandated and I could disregard it.  Well not totally, she did say he was radioactive, but it was such a low dose that it ain't gonna hurt me.

The ride home from the vet was HELL!  2 in the afternoon, hot and muggy, heavy traffic, 40 mile trek.  Ted wouldn't shut up the entire trip, King County Metro almost crushed us because -  hey it's King County Metro and they don't yield to anyone!  Half way through Ted started panting heavily, scared the hell out of me.  To top it off he vomited in the truck - which now smells like sour milk.

He appears to be back into his groove though.  Ate, prowled the house, meowed at me, ate, meowed some more for good measure, now he's prowling the backyard.

With any luck he'll leave me alone so I can (attempt to) pull the carbs from the Sabre and clean them.

[Gene]

Did this with one of my cats (who is sadly no longer with us - at least it was age and not the cancer) 11 or so years ago.  We started handling her after 5-6 days.  The vet told us the amount of radiation wouldn't mess her up too bad, she has a short life span compared to us - the humans - and the radiation could screw us up later.

We, too, called her the Radioactive Kat.  Glad to hear Ted is home.

[RAFster122s]

No one has pet cockroaches as they can be microwaved for 15 minutes without harm and withstand over 5 times the amount of radiation as a human. They can even "live for two Weeks without their head.

We had big assed cockroaches in Tucson that were called Sewer roaches for obvious reasons. They were  about 2 inches long and 3/4" wide. El gordo la cucharecha  (spanish is rusty...)
Truely disgusting creatures. I trapped /caught one in a clear container and kept it until it starved...hated those sucker... When they got bad in the summer you called the city and they would come out and bomb the sewer and that would make them disappear for a month or so, until they had repopulated. They came up through the sewer lines. Didn't matter if you kept a spotless apt in some parts of the city.

[BomberMann650]

Rafi, that's one more reason the Great Northwest is so great!

Hardly any roaches or termites.  Carpenter ants otoh.

When I was younger my home would become a hostel for an adorable infestation of ladybugs.