Alexis, if you Google thyroid soy you'll probably find out more than you want to know, some from reliable sources, some not. I was just seeing what Dr. Andrew Weil has to say on the subject. I have more confidence in him than I do Dr. Mercola. Weil says in part: I'm aware of Internet paranoia on the subject of soy and the contention that only fermented soy is safe to consume. That is simply not true. Some of the best forms of soy - edamame, tofu and soy nuts - are unfermented and are much more likely to help you than hurt you. He later addresses the thyroid issue on the same page of his website: click here. I think the bottom line is that soy can possibly interfere with thyroid function if you have an underlying thyroid condition, and can possibly have an adverse impact on supplemental thyroid hormones. As I noted above, it didn't seem to have affected my husband's thyroid at all. And since it's so obvious to me that cabbage affects my thyroid, and yet I notice no change from eating soy foods, I would say soy doesn't bother me. To see if it bothers you, try to take note of the various thyroid indicators, plus how you're feeling. Hate to say it, but I react badly to quite a few other foods, so my diet has been rather limited for some years. What Patti says about reading labels brings up another point: Some experts stress that natural soy is safe, but the same is not true for genetically modified soy. Most good quality tofu is made from natural, often organic, soybeans. That's certainly what we used in our business. But processed foods manufactured by the big food guns (a.k.a. "Big Soy") often contain genetically engineered soy. Not good. Zeetera, there's soymilk and there's soymilk. Do you know what brand your parents are drinking? I know of at least one, 8th Continent, that contains relatively large amounts of sugar. Some other brands, including Silk, come in various flavors and types. I use Silk Brain & Bone Health (unflavored) and Organic Unsweetened (also unflavored). But Silk also sells Vanilla, Very Vanilla, Chocolate, etc.

Thanks a lot! I wonder if the local compounding pharmacy can make the chews here (Raleigh NC)? I will look into it. I can only guess that my vet got caught up in the wild conversation between me and some of the staff that are friends of mine so much that important info didn't get handed to me. I had my dog there for her checkup at the same time and she's the class clown. I blame the holidays also for why the pharmacy didn't include anything other than a flier stating their new (reduced) office hours. I am only guessing what the medication is. I have no piece of paper from either my vet or the pharmacy that states what I bought. The vet phoned in the prescription, the pharmacy called me and I went by and picked it up. The tech told me that I was to pump out 1mg and apply it three times a day, alternating ears. I will be calling the vet tomorrow for more info. My ancient cat has always been a handful. I have had cats my whole life and I've never seen one like her - which is why I said she is mentally ill. She just doesn't do the things a normal cat does. Her bad bathroom behavior has existed her entire life, even when she was a tiny kitten. I'm an ex-zookeeper and can tolerate a lot of poop. She doesn't seem to be seeking out fabric to urinate or poop on because of a behavior issue, its more like she will only take 10 steps away from wherever she is sitting to use the bathroom. She has chosen to claim the basement as her kingdom and there are two large litter boxes that she will use to pee in, poop is a different story. I don't mind, when I get to be her age I imagine I will be painting the walls. She is one of those cats that will put up with any sort of medical treatment first thing in the morning when she's hungry. As long as food is involved I can catch her and do whatever. It is the second and third dose of the day that are my problems. If things aren't done just right she will freak out and hide. She's very good at hiding and I am very busy so I don't have a lot of time to move everything around to find her. Any medical or clean up tasks have to be done by me, no one will help me. I just worry that this whole experience is going to be way too much trouble and with her being 21 years old, it wouldn't surprise me if her kidneys or liver will show some problems after the thyroid is corrected... If she was visibly suffering I would do whatever it takes, but she seems the same as she's always been (aloof and cranky). Any weird stuff is the same weird stuff she's done for 21 years. I would consider the iodine treatment if she was younger, but she isn't. Thanks for your help. I had read most of those posts before I ever learned my cat had the same problem. I read and re-read everyones experiences with their hyperthyroid cats and it just seems like my problem is a bit different, more of a mechanical problem - How am I going to get this cat to put up with this treatment for the rest of her life? This isn't a cat that runs up to me to be petted or fed - she's not that friendly and she'll actively avoid humans for long stretches of time; and I'm busy and work long hours. How long is she gonna live? I've never had a cat live past 15 before.

As a vet, I can say truthfully that NO, vets do NOT get kickbacks from ANY pet food company. I personally don't recommend science diet except in certain instances. For example, end-stage kidney failure and severe liver disease might make me recommend either the Science Diet or Purina prescription diet for life. Short term, I've used s/d to dissolve bladder stones, but back to regular food once stones are dissolved. And very short term maybe an easily digestible food prescription diet for after a major abdominal surgery or severe GI disease. Other than those specific instances, I rarely use any prescription diets, and certainly not the Science Diet non-prescription foods. Even for food allergies, I prefer novel protein and carbohydrate diets such as Natural Balance vs prescription diets (except Royal Canin, which is good food, but we don't sell it) As far as how much food my own dogs get, I feed Eagle Pack Holistic Select, Natural Balance, or Solid Gold. My huskies (37-48 pounds) eat 1 cup of food a day each. My 65 pound VERY active rottie eats 3 cups a day. I'm sure if I fed Iams or Beneful or whatever they'd eat a LOT more. Of course the BEST food is natural whole food, like a raw diet or homemade cooked food. But most of us don't have the time or expertise to cook balanced meals for our pets. Also check your local pet store for good deals. I get the 10th bag of food free...

I think it's really important to take the word "food" out of the equation :-)) It gives a very distorted view of what fertilizers are and how they work. Fertilizers are NOT plant food - plants manufacture their own food through the process of photosynthesis. All a fertilizer does is supply necessary nutrients that may be deficient or lacking in the soil. The plant accesses these nutrients via their root system and internally converts them into starches and proteins and sugars - the real plant food - through photosynthesis. So the first issue is to determine if nutrient supplementation/fertilizing is even needed. And then to supply only what is deficient or needing supplementation. In general, woody plants established in the landscape seldom need any additional fertilization, although annual or edible crops might. If it IS determined fertilizing is appropriate, a controlled release product (CRF) like Osmocote or a granular fertilizer worked lightly into the soil or a liquid fertilizer will work equally as well. Personally, I find CRF's on the more expensive end and use them only with containerized plants. But then I seldom ever fertilize anything other than containerized plants, although I do mulch regularly with compost. It is just seldom necessary to do anything more. And fertilizing when not needed can cause more problems than it solves, not the least of which is pollution of groundwater.