Hoovb, your pal is precious ! Each pet-pal has a way to endear themselves to us, and enter our heart... maybe it's a bird or a gerbil or a 'coon, I was in the pet-food store the other day and a guy came in with a possum riding on his shoulder, she had a harness and leash on and was just adorable, he found her as a baby and raised her and she lives with him, uses a litter-box and eats cat-food... her fur was soft like a kitten, they are almost blind but have extra senses like smell and hearing, etc., and she loved being petted...... so there you go, we all have our weaknesses..... and wouldn't give them up because they sustain us in our times of need...............sally

Billy and Tommy both showed signs of digestive upset pretty much as soon as they started taking methimazole. In Billy's case, his CRF was already causing inappetance, so the only indication that methimazole might be exacerbating the stomach upset was increased lip licking on his part. That's why I switched him to carbimazole, which is supposed to cause less digestive upset than methimazole. I figured there was no value in making him feel even oogier with methimazole. Tommy, too, showed signs of nausea right after starting methimazole, so I switched her to carbimazole after just a few doses of methimazole. In both cases, I took the "start low and go slow" approach to dosing to avoid potential kidney crashes and hypoT. They started on a very low dose of the drug and retested in 3 weeks. Med was adjusted slightly if indicated by bloodwork with another retest in 3 more weeks. And so it went with a small med adjustment followed by a retest in 3 weeks until each cat safely achieved euthyroid. Now that both cats are euthyroid, I will be retesting Tommy every 6 mos unless her behavior suggests the need earlier. Billy will be retested more often because of his other medical issues. Gibby, how long after starting methimazole did you have Boris retested? If you haven't had him retested yet, you should do so right away. Make sure that the retest does/did include a check of his kidney values, since uncontrolled hyperT can mask renal failure. You need to know what, if any, impact the methimazole has had on his T4 and on his kidney values in order to find the best med dose for him. I assume that your vet explained the long-term risks of methimazole. It is a very strong drug that has the potential to do significant damage over time. For this reason, I-131 is a safer treatment option for cats with healthy kidneys. Besides which, methimazole just manages the symptoms. It does not cure the disease. I-131 is a CURE in more than 99% of cats who undergo the treatment. Laurie

(Meg, she stated the cat has had dental work done-at 13 - this means cat was probably on kibble which causes dental issues because it is unnatural for feline jaws and teeth.) Go to www.Felinefuture.com to learn more. I think you should invest in better feeding now before more serous issues happen.- a 13 year old cat is really middle-to getting older age, like 56- 65 in human years, cats should live over 20- unless they are over bred or have birth defects- heart issues/ect.. 13 -14 is "old" for house cats because 70% to 90% of pet cats eat, like people do in 3 world countries ( human rarely live to 50 in Africa for example)

Update on Mr. MouKat - spent a long time at the vet yesterday. X Rays showed that he was not blocked up in the back end as first suspected, in fact he had no back up whatsoever, so that is good news. The bad news is he has a blockage in his intestine, possibly from something he ate that he shouldn't have. He is going to be staying at the vet for a few days, having barium and IV electrolytes to compensate for the nutrition he didn't receive over the days he wasn't eating. The vet did check his teeth and mouth, all seemed fine there. The vet's hope is that the barium may help smooth things out and move this thing along. If it doesn't, he'll have to operate to remove the obstruction. So now I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for cat surgery if it comes to that, whether to send my gifts up to the family 3 hours away or wait and see if I am going to be able to go, and just generally trying to not have a panic attack! My daughter lives with me, and if Mou comes home and is doing okay she has said she will stay home if I want to go North. I'll have to wait and see on that, depends on what after care he is going to need and whether she thinks she can handle it. Fingers crossed that the barium will help him out, a few prayers wouldn't hurt at the moment either. Thanks for the concern, everyone, I really appreciate it. Suzan J