I have a 9 year old cat that may or may not have hyperthyroidism. We are having to run an additional test to be sure. I work as a technician in a veterinary hospital so I know most of the information for the treatment for the hyperthyroidism for him. My husband and I have talked about it and we have decided that radioactive iodine will produce better results and give our furry friend a better quality of life. I'm not thrilled about him spending a week at the vet office while he is super radioactive but whatever it takes.
My question is I know he will have special requirements once he comes home for a few weeks - special litter, no outsie exposure (he's indoor only anyway) and limited contact with people in general. I'm worried about my kids wanting to play with him and pet him and cuddle him. If you have a cat that has had this done and had kids at the same time what were the restrictions like? How worried should I be over exposure? I know it isn't definite because we are waiting on bloodwork. I just want to be prepared.
i had radioactive iodine treatment too back in college. couldn't sleep near or w/my fiancee for a few days & advised us not to share utensils, but otherwise, there were no other precautions. i'm sure it's a much smaller amount/danger than in a human. idk...good luck
I actually had to have my thyroid dissolved with radioactive iodine because of hyperthyroidism (Grave's Disease). I had to sleep in separate quarters from my husband for three nights and take three days off from work (because I was an elementary school teacher). Other than that, I was free to go about my day pretty much as normal. Having said that, I don't know how much different quarantine measures are for a cat, but as DVMMOM suggested, your vet would be the best person to advise on this question. Good luck and I hope your cat feels better!
HTH,
A.
I am assuming you would have him treated at a facility that is specially equipped and sees these cases all the time, so that would best be a question for the vet and the staff over there - they would be the best ones to guide you. Generally by the time they are discharged home (after several days) the risk of exposure is minimal, but I would imagine it may involve keeping Kitty relatively isolated in another part of the house away from the kids for a short period of time (i.e. basement, etc.).
I'll have to check back for more answers to your question as I have a cat that is going back today for a freeT4 test since the T3 and T4 came back odd. Hyperthyroid on a cat is a new walk in the park for me and all I know is there is low iodine diets and medication. I wasn't aware of this treatment as well.
S.
EDIT: I hope you have been able to find a solution for your cat. Mine is indeed hyperthyroid and we have started her on 2.5mg of methimazole crushed added to canned food. The radioactive treatment is costly where we live and the other option was Science diet y/d and at 2.10 a can and only out for less than a year, the medication seemed to be the way to go.
