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 I knew there were potential problems for all three forms of treatment for hyper-t cats:

I-131 Therapy can sometimes turn cats hypothyroid. Also, sometimes the treatment must be repeated. This would be more likely to happen if the clinic that does the I-131 fails to do a technetium scan prior to the treatment.

Surgery can sometimes damage the parathyroid gland and/or accidentally remove it. There is also the risk of anesthesia with an older cat, or a cat with other medical problems, such as coronary disease.


Treating Medically with an anti-thyroid drug such as Methimazole is temporary at best, as the tumor will continue to grow and may turn cancerous, according to Lisa A. Pierson, DVM. Also, both hyperthyroidism and  (sometimes), Methimazole are hard on the liver, according to this article. The third problem with treating medically, is that on rare occasions, the cat may develop anemia, which could be life-threatening, according to Dr. Mark E. Peterson, the veterinarian who first discovered hyperthyroidism in cats.

Jaspurr, pictured here, was already showing signs of early kidney problems when he was first diagnosed as Hyper-T in early September, 2013. Therefore, I was reluctant to chose the I-131 therapy for him. I would not consider surgery for him or any other hyperthyroid cat, because of its potential for multiple problems.

Neither would I consider a fourth treatment I haven't mentioned: that of feeding him a diet of Hills y/d, an iodine-deficient diet, which may maintain a normal thyroid balance, but will not stop the growth of the tumor(s).

  Because I have six cats, and they routinely eat the same foods, I won't give my other cats a "medically-based" diet in this instance. I do make an exception with limited ingredient diets, such as Natural Balance's protein and green pea varieties, which I feed because of Billy's IBD.

Jaspurr's latest blood tests show his kidneys stable, and his thyroid in control. The only downside is that he is slightly anemic. My veterinarian has prescribed a liquid vitamin-mineral product to be given twice daily. We'll have him re-tested in another month, and take it from there. I will update this article at that time.