Robin the Cat

So it seems that Robin the cat has hyperthyroidism. Despite not having any actual symptoms of it, that is. He’s just as healthy, shiny, calm, and weird as usual. Yes, he’s lost some weight, but he’s been playing more. Not in a manic “I have too much energy because my thyroid is on SPEEEEEEEEEEEED!!” way, but in a “I will chase the dog until it bores me” way. The rest of the time he’s just as mellow and content as always.

With Sa’am, we knew there was a problem. He got nervous, frantic, paranoid, aggressive, and ate everything that was either smaller than his head — or could be made smaller than his head — and he was still losing weight. We’re not seeing any of that with Robin. But his thyroid levels are high, apparently. He had a regular vet checkup and his rabies and distemper boosters, and the vet suggested a blood test just to be sure everything was okay.

Well. Damn.

Now we have two options (three, but surgery isn’t a practical option, especially considering his age). One is a pill twice a day every day for the rest of his little catty life. We did that with Sa’am, and that’s probably the route we’ll take. Even though it’s a hassle, will make planning vacations hard (with Sa’am we always had to make sure there was someone who could medicate him), and will be a slow and steady financial cost. The other option is a radiation treatment. One injection, a few days in the vet’s, and then some isolation until he’s not radioactive, but that’s the end of it. That, unfortunately, costs over a thousand dollars. I realize that with the cost of the vet visits and the cost of the medication combined with the fact that my cats tend to live insanely long, we’re probably looking at well over a thousand dollars. But it’s spread out over years and years. The radioactive treatment would be one lump cost, at once. That’s not something we’re able to do.

Adding to the woes: the toilet is not working correctly (again), the bathroom sink won’t stop dripping, the front step desperately needs to be repaired, the kitchen is falling apart, the windows really need to be replaced, the car insurance is due soon and I can’t find my login, the oven doesn’t seem to be heating right, and I have lost all interest in writing.

At least the hot water heater and the furnace are both new and under warranty.

Anyone particularly good with repairing brick steps? There’s lunch (or dinner) in it if you can help? The toilet and sink are things I can handle. The kitchen and windows… those are best left for spring or summer, anyhow. But the steps are a priority.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 18:36 and is filed under Cat, My Woes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.