Help me think through this: moving old cats long distance

[Simkie]

Yep, the radioactive iodine is certainly on the table for Puck, but not until after we move. She sees the vet in couple weeks to recheck bloodwork and confirm there’s nothing else going on (sounds like hyperthyroid can mask renal failure sometimes.) She is, for the most part, willing to eat her pill in a little piece of pill pocket–awesome, considering that I can pill her twice (MAYBE thrice) before there is just no way to get it done.

Portia is responding well to the steroid and eating better. Yay, but unsure what that means for long term outlook. Will chat with vet.

CindyCRNA, I certainly wish it were as cut and dry as you seem to think it is, but as I stated in my initial and follow up posts, Portia has been managed for a long time on novel protein, is currently on Z/D and changing her food is difficult. She absolutely Does Not tolerate chicken, which is the #1 ingredient in the food you’ve recommended. Nice that your IBD cat was fine with it, but mine is not.

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=Simkie;8843191]
Yep, the radioactive iodine is certainly on the table for Puck, but not until after we move. She sees the vet in couple weeks to recheck bloodwork and confirm there’s nothing else going on (sounds like hyperthyroid can mask renal failure sometimes.) She is, for the most part, willing to eat her pill in a little piece of pill pocket–awesome, considering that I can pill her twice (MAYBE thrice) before there is just no way to get it done.

Portia is responding well to the steroid and eating better. Yay, but unsure what that means for long term outlook. Will chat with vet.

CindyCRNA, I certainly wish it were as cut and dry as you seem to think it is, but as I stated in my initial and follow up posts, Portia has been managed for a long time on novel protein, is currently on Z/D and changing her food is difficult. She absolutely Does Not tolerate chicken, which is the #1 ingredient in the food you’ve recommended. Nice that your IBD cat was fine with it, but mine is not.[/QUOTE]

You could do the Radiocat after you move, for sure. They have locations all over! There are few things I have been happier with than how THAT worked out. It really is amazing, it’s a cure it’s awesome!!!

[Simkie]

Just out of curiosity, vxf, how much did that cost (ballpark)? Feel free to PM me if you don’t want to share with the class

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=Simkie;8843225]
Just out of curiosity, vxf, how much did that cost (ballpark)? Feel free to PM me if you don’t want to share with the class :)[/QUOTE]

There were 3 places within a reasonable drive of me. All were in and around $2000 (I think the lowest was $1700 and $2000 was the highest). Minor price variations had to do with how long the cat boards there post treatment. PA, NJ, and DE all have different regulations about when the cat can go. PA keeps the longest. NJ was like “take 'em home whenever who cares” LOL. I went with DE because I felt most comfortable with the clinic. They were AWESOME in every way and I am so glad I did it.

[Simkie]

Good to know, thank you!!

[2tempe]

Just a note re the radioactive solution to hyperthyroid: We looked into this for our cat; in addition to length of stay at vet, there are guidelines on how many hours per day you may interact w/ cat (not many); litter must be bagged and handled appropriately - like not disposed of for quite a while, and finally cat cannot interact with other petss for a while after coming home. Recommended to wear gloves, and wash everything frequently. OH - my sister’s friend had a cat done and after some period of time the problem returned.
This is rare but can happen.
Our cat turned out to have significant renal issues, would NOT allow sub q fluids and after a month, with significantly worse numbers, and a halt in eating, we put her to sleep a few days ago.

If your cat is on the meds, have the numbers rechecked after a 3-4 weeks. Dosage may need adjusted or you risk them swinging to hypothyroid.

[Louise]

2tempe, a lot of that depends on the age of the person handling the cat. If you’re beyond reproductive age, there are a lot fewer restrictions. I was lucky that way. All I had to do was bag the litter, and store it for a month in a metal garbage can. I only had to segregate her from the other cats for a couple of days after she came home. Not a big deal.

[vxf111]

I live in NJ, they don’t care if we’re radioactive, and I found the aftercare to be no biggie. YMMV