Gabe seems to be adjusting, don’t you think? (Scout is sleeping under him, they were both snoring)
He has his first vet visit this week as our vet comes to give the crew a once over. This was supposed to be the week Scout was spayed, but I balked and canceled that. The vet understands because a bad spay/pexi (before I got her and TOO young) is why we lost Bailey before her second birthday. So, we’ll try again in January.
Look at him, resting his little foot on Bixby. “Maybe I can absorb that awesomeness if I keep my foot on him”
I thought it would be fun to check in with our newest members that arrived around the time of Gabe. So I contacted geg6 and jacy to see how Cleo and Mouse were adjusting.
Here’s geg6’s Cleo:
She’s so cute, enough to make me waiver on my “no more kittens, only adults” rule
From geg6:
Here’s some shots of Cleo. She is putting on weight and getting longer. Very healthy now and full of energy. She loves to play, jump, eat and get belly rubs when she wakes up. Still keeping her separate from the pups. We’ve been gating her in the kitchen for a while every day. Dogs are curious but dubious. It’s obviously going to be a process. She goes back to the vet Monday for a follow up and more shots. We love her.
And here is jacy’s Mouse:
He’s growing into such a handsome boy!
From jacy:
Here’s his latest photo. He’ll be nine months old this week, and he’s found out there are birds outside. He has also found out that if he can convince each person in the household separately that he hasn’t been fed, he can receive up to five of cans of food a day. His favorite trick is to rattle the doors to the game room until they pop open, then go in and knock the turtle food over and eat it.
And with that, I turn an open thread over to you. Let’s see your pets, holiday decorations (here’s my tree), or anything else fun you’d like to share.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
re Christmas trees for those jackals ruled by cats: you do realize that you’re bringing in the perfect climbing toy AND THEN YOU’RE COVERING IT WITH DANGLING, SWINGING, QUITE FREQUENTLY SPARKLING CAT TOYS, don’t you?
Seriously, what did you think was going to happen?
Major Major Major Major
Awwww what a bunch of cuties!
I’m going to go look at some apartments now including an enormous one in Turtle Bay that I’m kind of keen on. We shall see. And I finished the beta draft of my new story, exciting!
Otherwise the weather is garbage and I will stay in for the rest of the day I imagine. ??♂️
TaMara (HFG)
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: Chill out dude. My cats are fine with my tree. I’ve had cats and Christmas trees for decades and never had an issue. Way pollute a fun thread.
Schlemazel
Great pictures! Our current cat likes to sleep on the back of the sofa with just one paw on my wife’s shoulder so that pic looks normal to me.
Good call on the delayed spay. In addition to being taken from her mother too soon she was spayed very young & those things have screwed her up
Gvg
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: I learned long ago to tie the tree to the ceiling with an inconspicuous ceiling hook. If you do that, the tree can’t tip over. Non breakable non glass ornaments preferred.
HinTN
Making winter comfort food, roasted vegetables (potato, turnip, carrot, onion) and red cabbage, for this gray day.
ETA: Also watching the birds chow down on their winter comfort food(black oil sunflower seeds) outside the kitchen window.
Jerzy Russian
Kittens (and adult cats) rule, dogs drool! Went to a bookstore in Berkeley called Sleepy Cat Books. Inside, there are two cats who mostly sleep. This store also has books.
Schlemazel
@TaMara (HFG):
Our first year with cats & one took down the tree. I lost some hand blown glass ornaments that had belonged to my grandmother. I was heartbroken. But I didn’t blame the cat.
cain
I miss pets. I walk around here talking to animals that no longer are on this earth to myself. I don’t miss cleaning out the litter though. :-) I need train cats to use the toilet. :D But a nice furball who will hang out with me while I work from home would be awesome.
laura koerber
YOur kitties all look happy and sweet.
I brought Scruffy home, a stray, after feeding him on the street for a year. (I had to get past my husband who was convinced we would have conflicts with our dogs) NO conflicts: I just gturned my art studio into a cat habitat. Anyway about Scruffy: I had to trap him because he is only partially convinced thatg I am not dangerous and he is totally convinced that everyone else is. I took him straight to th evet for neuter, shots etc and picked him up the next day. When I got him home he was wheezing and breathing through his mouth He could barely hold his head up. I called the vet and they said that they were forty five minutes from closing and could not do anything.
I drove him to the Olympia vet emergency center where they diagnoses him with FIV, pneumonia, dehydration, and old age, He’s estimated to be fifteen! I had no idea.
49 hours and a thousand dollars later I took him home with antibiotics. He seems to be Okay now except for a worrying cough every now ans then He is very friendly with me, full of purrs, though he does not like to be petted with more than one hand, does not tolerate being lifted, and does not like eye contact. I have stuffed him full of tuna fish and three kinids of cat food and he is no longer skinny.
He isn’t Scruffy any more either He is in fact a very pretty cat witgh soft fluffy gray fur and a white bib. Green eyes.
Major Major Major Major
My mom sent me some waxed amaryllis bulbs. One is starting to bloom. Pretty cool little present!
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’m not a cat person, really, but last night I dreamt that a little white kitten had somehow snuck into my house and was living under my couch (where in waking hours there is no room for even a little kitten, but… dreams) and I was trying to coax her out and talking to my dog, who died ten years ago, about how he was going to have to get along with her.
TaMara (HFG)
@laura koerber: How wonderful of you! And now Scruffy gets to spend the rest of his life happy, warm, fed and being loved and giving love. How lucky for you both.
Jerzy Russian
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
One of our kittens somehow found an open space inside the back of our sofa bed. From the front there is no room to crawl underneath, but apparently there was enough of a space in the back to get inside. We looked for him for about 15 to 20 minutes, and after ruling out every other space in the house, decided to check the sofa bed more carefully. He stopped going in there after a few weeks.
TaMara (HFG)
@Schlemazel: This year, with Scout being so young and the new cat, I left the breakables in the chest and just put out things I wouldn’t miss. I’m not as worried about the cats and I am about the dogs deciding to wrestle into it (despite there being a barrier) and knocking something off with their big butts.
@Gvg: And I love the idea about suspending it from the ceiling.
Funny story – when my brother was becoming mobile around Christmas time, my mom took his playpen (back when they were big, wooden with high sides, and put the tree into it. I thought it was brilliant!
Sab
We used to have a wonderful tall fiberoptic christmas tree, and our two mixed-with-siamese cats shredded it one christmas. Sad for us but they had such a good time doing it. Also too the other cats realy enjoyed watching them do it.
My dad’s cat (now my cat) is going off to be irradiated on Tuesday. He has hyperthyroidism, and it is making him nuts. He slashed my hand yesterday with his claws because I wouldn’t share my onion covered pizza piece. Used to be a sweetheart. Now he is roaring around the house, fighting with everyone, peeing on everything, and eating everything and everyone he can get his teeth into. In spite of all that eating he has gone from 15 to 11 pounds in a couple of months. I thought the other cats were being inhospitable. Now I think they were trying to defend themselves.
Took him in to the vet because Werebear said weird changes in peeing might be medical rather than behavioral. She was, as usual, correct.
Wish him luck. He’s basically a really good guy when he is healthy.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Schlemazel: I saw a meme that read “the last thing a Christmas ornament sees before it dies,” and the pic was of a shiny ball with a cat’s face and reaching paw reflected in it.
Major Major Major Major
@Jerzy Russian: When I was a child we had ferrets. Now there’s an animal that will find hiding places you didn’t even know existed.
jacy
@Chacal Charles Calthrop:
Mouse has cerebellar hypoplasia (wobbly cat syndrome — his cerebellum was stunted in utero). He has a mild case, so it really only affects his gait. He has a kind of a sway when he walks, and he can’t sit down gracefully, he just walks up to you and falls over when he wants to be skritched. He’s unable to jump very high because he just doesn’t have the coordination. So we bought a small tree and put it on the high table in the living room and he can’t get to it. So far he hasn’t been able to figure a way up there, but I know he’s plotting……
spudgun
@laura koerber: Aww, this is a good story – you’re good people!
ThresherK
Happy looking cats!
And is that dough all over Geg6’s fingers?
spudgun
I love this morning’s critters! Cleo is so adorable and looks like a total sweetie, and Mouse has such a regal-looking face. And my fave, Gabe?. My Trixie girl used to sleep on the back of the sofa like that, not on her back but def stretched out with back legs hanging over.
Thanks to you for the pet pix! Pets (even vicariously) make everything better!
pat
@Sab:
Our Susy was hyperthyroid. First we tried medication that had some side effects (I think her hair fell out) so finally I took her to the vet hospital in Madison, WI for treatment with radioactive iodine. Worked great.
Major Major Major Major
Can’t wait to get Samwise back ?
Jim, Foolish Literalist
OT: if you want to take a moment to laugh at Stephen Miller….
cain
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I usually dream of my cat, Yellow. She was my only companion after my separation and the mast I clung to during storm of loneliness that followed. I’m beyond grateful for what she did for me. Which is why I still tear up when I think about her and still talk to her even though she’s gone about two years now this February. Her picture (as well as my ex’s dog) is on 2019 BJ calendar.
Your dream is very sweet. I would be very tempted by a very white kitten myself. It would bug the hell out of me if there was one under my porch living there! :D
TaMara (HFG)
@Major Major Major Major: I know that’s got to be hard – ajusting to new location is hard enough without having your furbaby there to snuggle.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Major Major Major Major: What’s the holdup? Is he not allowed where you’re living now?
Major Major Major Major
@Dorothy A. Winsor: correct. We’re subletting a master suite from a friend and the flatmates are allergic.
debbie
Such faces!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Major Major Major Major: So are you lining up your own place or is that allergic roomie moving? How long do you think it will be?
spudgun
@Major Major Major Major: Aww, handsome Samwise…I miss his little bow tie!
BruceFromOhio
@jacy: it would be great to see that soulful gaze gracing the calendar hint, hint
MazeDancer
Kittens have been home for 5 weeks. And have grown so fast I keep thinking I ought to be able to see them grow.
They are joy on little cat feet. Haven’t had kittens in many, many decades. Probably won’t again. But it is an astonishing blessing.
Several years ago, a giant British Shorthair cat showed up at the door – the way most of my cats have arrived. Felt like he needed a big name. He is 19 pounds. It is surprising how many bad British King names there are. And how all the good British names are taken by one’s friends or one’s friend’s human children.
So, in an homage to one of my favorite writers – Dorothy Dunnett – he got two names “Jamie McDunnett”.
Felt like the kittens needed to belong to the clan. So their names are Alethia McDunnett. And Kai Luna McDunnett. Alethia means Goddess of Truth. Kai means “ocean” in Hawaiian. And while it borders on cliche to name a black cat “Luna”, she is so otherworldly, so long-legged Nefertiti beautiful, she had to have something inter-planetary. Probably won’t use it much, but it’s there.
Pictures on extremely hidden “Support Staff” page: https://www.postcardpatriots.com/support-staff
Catherine D.
@Sab: I had a hyperthyroid cat back when they isolated them for 6 weeks after the radiation treatment, so I opted for surgery, since only one side of her thyroid was affected.
She came through fine and lived 5 more years to 17. The funniest part was the vet student earnestly telling me to look for signs of hypothyroidism: heat seeking and sleeping a lot. I asked her if she had ever lived with a cat.
Schlemazel
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Thats funny!
MazeDancer
If people don’t have an easy way to post pics, I can add them to the hidden “Support Staff” page for the holidays. Just email me one at PostCardPatriots (at) gmail .com
And be sure to include critter name and your nym.
MazeDancer
@Catherine D.:
Very funny
Barbara
@Sab: aww, poor kitty. I hope the treatment helps to make him feel better. One of my dogs had a syndrome that made him really thirsty and hungry. It took me a while to figure out what was going on.
trollhattan
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
The Goebbels film clip is on the nose. And on point.
TaMara (HFG)
@Schlemazel: Here it is;
https://pics.me.me/the-last-thing-a-christmas-ornament-sees-before-it-dies-38258931.png
rikyrah
All of them look adorable ??
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Jesus, that is spray on hair.
TaMara (HFG)
@MazeDancer: Hey, I sent you an email about the cat foster…did you get it? Any luck on finding a foster?
rikyrah
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Sounds like the story that happened to a guy on Twitter. He found a cat with kittens under his bed. His Twitter feed is hilarious and sweet ?
MazeDancer
@TaMara (HFG):
Had not gotten. Searched. Found buried. So sorry. And, no, nothing yet.
So surprised that no one in Denver area would like a good-paying cat foster gig. But it might not be the best time of the year for seeking same.
trollhattan
Egypt’s latest royal tomb find looks amazing.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@TaMara (HFG): It still makes me laugh
TaMara (HFG)
@MazeDancer: Ok, I have a nibble and will follow up on it. Also, happy to do a full post for any of our lurkers.
TaMara (HFG)
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Me, too!
TaMara (HFG)
Speaking of cats in trees. Still my favorite photo of Harley and I’d give anything for him to still be here, hiding in my tree.
https://whats4dinnersolutions.com/2013/12/09/harley-in-pics/#jp-carousel-25667
opiejeanne
@Gvg: The non-glass stuff mostly goes on the lower branches at our house, and there are a couple of bells at that level so we were hearing gentle little ringing sounds until we piled enough packages under it. These two are pretty good about not messing with the tree but they are curious when we first bring it inside. My best friend’s daughter brought a young cat home with her one Christmas and he knocked over the tree in the middle of the night, and it was a big tree.
JPL
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Until I saw that picture earlier, I had no idea that they sold spray on hair.
Schlemazel
@TaMara (HFG): THANKS!!
Schlemazel
@trollhattan: WOW!
Schlemazel
@JPL:
Hair in a can!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yiql8roK3Hc
“THE BABES ARE BACK!”
the commercial is only the first minute of the video
Major Major Major Major
@Dorothy A. Winsor: finding our own place, by February 1.
Sab
@pat:That’s worth knowing about the medication. We thought of going that route, but the prospect of stuffing pills into a large cat with claws was daunting.
@Catherine D.: My stepdaughter had thyroid cancer, and they had to farm out the kids to relatives for weeks, and throw out the mattress. So I guess the cat is relatively lucky.
Mary G
@trollhattan: That is seriously cool, and how nice that the Egyptians are excavating themselves instead of some colonizer, who will bring the treasures where regular Egyptians never get to go.
Amir Khalid
@Mary G:
The Egyptians have learned from bitter experience. Some priceless treasures from their history sit in the display cases of London museums.
Schlemazel
@Amir Khalid:
Not just from Egypt.
Hob
Ours are 8 months old now. We adopted them at 5 months after having fostered tiny kittens all year, so they looked pretty huge to us. But that was nothing— they’re both part Maine Coon and the bigger one is now 12 pounds, and supposedly MCs don’t stop growing till well into their second year. Anyway, they’re great. Usually one or both will go up on the bed in the morning and sit on us and just purr.
JPL
@Schlemazel: I’m imagining what Miller would look like if I sprayed it on. It’s not pretty.
dlwchico
Open cat thread?
One of mine: https://youtu.be/zfhF5KPHfr8
Amir Khalid
The English Premier League’s Sunday programme of three matches has concluded, Liverpool are again top of the table after beating Manchester United 3-1, and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is again the star of his own soap opera. The post-match talk was all about United’s underperformance and Jose accusing an interviewer of calling his players dishonest. (The interviewer had done nothing of the sort.) The speculation now is that Jose will be the next entry in the sack race.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Schlemazel: Trevor Noah did a segment on art stolen from Africa and now in European museums. It was made even more interesting by his being South African. He really called out the condescension of Europeans saying they could do a better job of caring for the art, so they should just keep it.
Schlemazel
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
It scares me when I see what happened to great historical art in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Syria. those make the case that the Brits are not wrong even though they are
cain
@pat:
I wonder if that was what happened to my cat Snickers. She was peeing all over the place, we had to put her on kitty prozac. But I wonder if she suffered from hyperthyroidism.
opiejeanne
@cain: We had a kitty who had hyperthyroidism when we lived in the Sf bay area. The only place she could have been irradiated for it was closed while the vet fought cancer. We were told that she’d be quarantined for at least 6 weeks because of radioactive poop disposal. The other two options were surgery at $1000 and we didn’t have the bucks, and pills. We gave her two pills a day for the next two years until the damage to her kidneys caused by the ailment brought her down and she started peeing everywhere but it only smelled like water. Our vet helped her leave this world, a kind gentle man, and we buried her in the garden and planted a peach tree over her. Those were the best peaches we ever ate and we were reminded of her every time we ate one.
MomSense
My sniffles turned into a full blown pestilence with fever headache – the works. I’ve been cuddling with the pup even though she is a bad dog who steals the ornaments off the tree. All these new kitties are adorable. I haz serious kitten envy.
frosty fred
My cat had gotten very noisy and standoffish, to the point where I didn’t realize she was losing weight until she was down nearly half her body weight (took a while to notice how bony she was when I couldn’t pick her up). She turned out to have both a bladder infection and hyperthyroidism, but we got both organized with medication and she’s been thriving for going on three years since. Only problem is she’s gotten to be so opposite-of-standoffish that she interferes with typing.
ETA: she literally begs for her pill-pocketed meds twice a day.
Amir Khalid
@Schlemazel:
Not just from Egypt, and not only in London, either.
Jay
@Schlemazel:
The Sawdis export of Whabbism and their influence on radical Safilism has had an outsized impact.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_early_Islamic_heritage_sites_in_Saudi_Arabia
The Sawdis have erased their own history in the name of religion and the export of their cults is doing the same elsewhere.
TomatoQueen
At Sam’s Club website, I can load up stuff, but cart view and checkout are all we have no bandwidth try again later. But I need my STUFF!
Hope all the kittehs get well soon. Luca is snoring.
Jay Noble
Umm . . . My front page banner ad is confusing. The Blaze. I hope BJ gets lots of money from them and they get ZERO clicks.
Gelfling 545
@Jerzy Russian: Buffalo has its first cat cafe. The grandchildren have been there but I haven’t yet. I expect tp go with grandchild 1 after Christmas. They say it’s grand.
Schlemazel
@Amir Khalid:
Certainly, the US is not innocent. Neither is France.
I know that Greece has demanded return of their artifacts but I am not sure how that is going or it if other nations are doing the same
Schlemazel
@Jay:
There does seem to be a pattern. I am just not sure if it is a valid reason to continue to hold antiquities of other nations
Yarrow
I’m cat sitting for my neighbor again this weekend. One of the cats left me a nice present of cat puke right by the water bowl when I showed up to feed them yesterday. Thanks, kitties!
MazeDancer
@frosty fred:
This is a gigantic blessing. My Tess kitty who has severe PTSD from her pre-shelter life won’t let me near her. And turns up her nose at pill pockets. Barely will eat the food with the CBD oil in it. But when she does, she is so happy. Let’s me pet her even. Until it wears off and we start all over again.
In it for the long haul. Maybe in a few years she will be calmer. Took my cat the late, great Abigail 2 years to come inside. But she became a happy love muffin. So slow-growing miracles happen all the time.
Jay
@Schlemazel:
It’s not. It’s basically Nazi looted “art” in almost all cases, which btw, many Museums refuse to return to their legal owners.
In addition to many important cultural objects, tools, art, clothing, the Museum’s and “researchers” also looted aborigional grave sites here.
frosty fred
@MazeDancer:
Believe me, I know! and so does the student who cares for her when I’m away.
Cheryl Rofer
On hyperthyroidism: I had it a few years back and had it treated with iodine-131. This last week a friend’s kitty had the same thing. I had to stay home for three days to avoid irradiating anyone. The kitty was at the vet’s for three days. I used the toilet as usual. Not sure with the vet did with the kitty poop.
That should be all it takes. It used to be that people and cats were isolated for much longer, and their eliminates isolated. But the half-life of I-131 is about eight days, the biological half-life (how long it takes to get it out of your or your kitty’s body) about three days. As for dumping it in the toilet, it decays at the same rate at the sewage plant, and it’s diluted on the way there.
The biggest problem is that enough medical I-131 is being used that it can interfere with measurements that try to detect clandestine nuclear tests. But those are detections at very, very low levels.
Schlemazel
@Jay:
Agreed. But I feel conflicted to think giving the things back might lead to their destruction.
But you don’t have to go overseas to find grave robbing as science. The aboriginal people in North America have protested for years to little avail. There was a case in Washington State (I believe) that went to court & it turned out the site being dug was of a group that predated the natives who filed suit so the dig continued. It can be difficult to tell what is legitimate science versus grave robbing although we are doing better now the question will always be where to draw the line
EDIT – I just remembered another aspect of that WA case. The folks who were dancing a happy jig about the decision were exactly the ones you would expect. They did not care about science they were just happy the colored folks didn’t get what they asked for.
Raven
Da Berz!
Litlebritdifrnt
Billie Jean King just had to learn how to say Geraint Thomas. (BBC Sports personality of the year)
rikyrah
Inching toward the 27% crazyfication factor
https://twitter.com/amjoyshow/status/1074319625654018048
Aleta
@Sab: Good luck to him! I’ve read it works very well.
Last summer my cat had lots of the behavior and exam signs for hyperthyroid, and a high-in-the-gray-zone reading from blood work. I researched the options the vet offered and was figuring out how to travel to get the radiation for him. (He’s super anti-pill.) Then he gained some weight back and his 2nd test was high-but-within-normal.
So then the vets said no place would treat him unless he gets worse, because his numbers at present don’t justify. (Said the readings can fluctuate.) They recommended repeating the rather expensive testing every 1 month (one vet) or every 6 months (the other vet).
It’s too late to get any pet insurance that would cover treatment, because the earlier clinical signs would be counted as preexisting. Suddenly it looks like we both may lose our jobs in the next 5 months, so I’m looking for a research place that might want to follow his case.
Pogonip
What is a pexi?
2liberal
what, no NFL thread for the blogfather’s team about to get smoked once again by the patriots?
zhena gogolia
@Pogonip:
I wondered too. Seems to be something called Canine Gastropexy:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_gastropexy
Pogonip
@zhena gogolia: Thank you.
A Ghost To Most
I have been aware of Project Blitz for some time. I’m glad this is getting some press:
rawstory
A Ghost To Most
@2liberal: Fuck the Cheatriots.
Go Stillers.
JPL
@2liberal: Brady’s getting old, but the Steelers shoulda covered Hogan.
Raven
Da Berz!
Schlemazel
@2liberal:
he tweeted he won’t watch because the Stillers are going to get whacked
A Ghost To Most
@Raven: Coach of the Year Nagy?
Schlemazel
The story goes that there were several sealed indictments against Agnew and he was offered a deal, “resign and we will quash these”. He did.
What if Dump’s agita the last couple of days is he and Pence have been offered the same deal? It is a limited time offer because the GOP would be pleased with a Ryan administration. TICK TOCK might be it exactly. Dump does not care about the GOP but they sure as hell care about not having a President Pelosi. So the GOP is hounding him in private because they know he may say no & they still have to defend him
O. Felix Culpa
@Raven: Doing a little happy dance in Munich.
Raven
@A Ghost To Most: @O. Felix Culpa: Hell yes!
A Ghost To Most
WaPo
JGabriel
And here I thought most people had cats because the cute li’l adorable kittens they wanted grew up.
rikyrah
Uh huh ??
Sunday Long Read: It Was Definitely About Suppression
http://disq.us/t/39kln0b
A Ghost To Most
@Raven: Enjoy. I’m enjoying the hell out of watching Josh Allen learn how to play QB in the NFL . I watched him play at Wyoming, and knew he was raw, but had big talent
O. Felix Culpa
@Raven: 1st in NFC North. Woot!
A Ghost To Most
@O. Felix Culpa: Don’t forget to thank Chucky for gifting Kahlil Mack to da bearz.
Raven
@A Ghost To Most: Roqaun and Floyd havn’t hurt either!
Aleta
If anyone’s interested… adding to what @Cheryl Rofer: said about radiation for cat hyperthyoid:
Fwiw, one treatment center whose site I read, said that for several days after treatment the cat poop must be disposed of as radioactive waste, which why they make cats stay during that time. (Maybe they can’t trust it would go into a toilet at home.) The bill for the stay is one reason for the high cost.
After 3-5 days the risk drops to very low and the cat can go home, but their litter must be kept separate from other cats’ and humans wear gloves to handle.
The time cats must stay has been dropping steadily as treatment becomes more precise. (The more precise the targeting + the adjustment of dose to individual nodule size, the lower the dose can be.) One site I read is down to ‘usually 3 days’ stay,’ because they’re equipped to measure the nodule ahead of time and deliver minimum dose.
Apparently in the past a one-size-fits-all dose was used, and a wider area radiated. So that’s a variable to look for. A shorter stay b/c of a lower dose decreases the cost. On the other hand, the advance measurement to minimize the dose makes for an extra cost. (However the site I read tries to offset that by including lab work in their price — your vet does the blood draw but they analyze it themselves, which is cheaper.)
My vet on radiation vs surgery: cost is about the same, but the surgery is riskier for the cat, esp if surgeon is not skilled. Also in a younger cat, it may not be the total cure that they claim for radiation. Pills are much cheaper but side effects may cause other issues over long term use, so age is a factor in the decision.
Aleta
One theory about the cause of cat hyperthyoidism comes from seal populations. For both cats and seals hyperthyoidism used to be rare, but now, just recently, is not. Some cat food uses fish or meal from bottom feeding fish or parts of fish where certain pollutants that may be connected are stored. Seals eat the same. There are other theories too.
pat
@Catherine D.:
6 weeks of isolation? Wow. We chose Madison because she only had to be there two or three days. In Minneapolis it would have been a couple of weeks. So she was still a bit hot when she came home, so what?
Thread is probably dead. I’ve been out trying to photograph the Pied-bill Grebes I found on yesterday’s Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
pat
@cain:
Blood tests! Not cheap, but if your vet doesn’t do a complete blood test every year, find a new vet.
And it seems this is the end of the thread..
Ha, I misspelled thread as threat.
Matt McIrvin
@Jerzy Russian: Every little kitten I’ve known has disappeared to some unfindable place within a few days of being granted some freedom in a new house. Usually they turn up after sending everyone into a panic for several hours.
2liberal
@Schlemazel: they still might but it is too close for comfort