Martha, a dedicated CAT CHAT® listener on her way home from work every Wednesday, said that if she called in and waited on her cell phone she would be in a “dead zone” by the time I got to her. So she wrote me instead with a question about Greenies:
I love the information on your show and I tell people all the time about avoiding “kitty crack” and vaccinations. I have 5 cats – one older than 20, another 15 (he is the one with the thyroid problem), an 8 year-old, and two who are 17 and 16 months old. I also have 3 dogs: 2 Pugs and one Akitalab.
I have found a web site for pill pockets that my vet suggested to give a pill to a cat who isn’t too happy about it! The only company I’ve found that makes them is Greenies… from what I remember they were very bad for dogs, with claims that they brush the dog’s teeth when chewed? But my question is whether they are okay to give a cat? My cat has hyperthyroidism and we have to give him pills for this as neither surgery nor the radioactive iodine is an option.
So I checked with Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, the Official Vet of the show, and she said that the pill pockets are not that bad. They have a very small amount of sugar and they do work well for cats that are difficult to pill. But Dr. Elizabeth wants to know whether you are feeding dry food? (My website has loads of blogs and Q&As and especially about the harmful effects of feeding dry food, which is known as Kitty Crack around here, as you probably know by now!). She wanted me to ask Martha why your vet says that I131 is not possible? Dr Elizabeth said, “Chances are, your vet is just wrong. If you don’t know why your cat can’t have the treatment, you NEED TO ASK. I know you everyone has heard this tirade from me before, but pet-owners deserve information, not just patronizing one-liners from their vet as though they are too stupid or not deserving of actual detailed reasons for decisions the vet is making on their pet’s behalf. I want to know WHY this cat cannot have the I131. Chances are Martha needs a second opinion, unless her cat has serious renal failure already. She also needs to read my chapter in YOUR CAT on hyperT as I discuss (and criticize) many vet’s views that you cannot treat cats with early CRD with I131.”
So Martha, if you call in to CAT CHAT® and say to my engineer Jimmy “It’s Martha and I cannot stay on hold,” I promise he’ll move you right to the top of the list and I’ll interrupt whatever I am doing to help you. That radioactive treatment is a lifesaver- no more pills (which you have to increase over time, too) and a total cure. You should try to find a “cats only” vet (listed on my website under veterinary care and see whether you can get a treatment and forget all about those troublesome pills!
Tracie
Hi, I don’t know why the cat can’t get the I131 treatment either, but I did want to suggest something in the interim while the cat is on thyroid medication (I’m assuming it’s Tapazole or the generic for it): you can get the Tapazole compounded into a transdermal gel that you apply (wearing gloves so you don’t absorb any) to the center part of the cat’s ear (the hairless part). My previous cat got it this way twice a day because she was next to impossible to pill. There is a good article re the effectiveness of the gel versus the pills here: http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/transdermal_drugs_and_their_use_.html. It does cost more than the pills, but for me, it was worth it. Anyway, just wanted to mention it in case Martha didn’t know about it, but I do think the I131 therapy is the way to go as far as treatment for hyper-T.
Thanks Chet- that is so nice of you to jump in with these suggestions. I know they will be valuable to Martha because she lives too far from a specialty clinic to be able to do the treatment. I’ll post the letter she wrote me in a minute.