Originally Posted by Skogafoss

The facts:

My kitty is 18 and has recently been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Her free T4 test was over 100. (10-50 is normal) One vet said that he thought he heard a heart murmur, another couldn’t hear it. They agree that apart from her hyperthyroidism and a possible heart murmur, she is a healthy cat for 18. She’s gone deaf and has a slight limp in her back leg – probably arthritis.

There are 4 options for the hyperthyroidism:

1. Pills for the duration of her life. She’s not a fan of taking pills and I’m not really interested in fighting with her every morning. Plus, we travel a lot and that’s an unfair burden to place on our cat sitter – even though he has offered to undertake the task. But pills aren’t a cure; they are just a Band-Aid. And, there are numerous side effects.

2. Surgery. She’s too old and it’s only 70% effective. Lots of risk and very painful for the kitty.

3. Radioiodine treatment. They irradiate my kitty with iodine that is supposed to only target the thyroid. Kitty stays for about a week and then comes home cured. 98% effective. If she has any kind of heart condition then she is not a candidate so we have to get her heart checked first. And, when she comes home her urine and feces are radioactive for two weeks. But from what I found online, there are no side effects or any other issues associated with this treatment.

4. Do nothing. She’s lived a long and happy life. Let her live out the rest of her life in peace and make her as happy and comfortable as possible.

The question:

Why is it that I can’t find any down side to the radioiodine treatment? Everything I read sounds like propaganda. It sounds too good to be true – which leads me to believe that there is something I don’t know. Is the treatment really painless for the kitty? Are there really no side effects? Is the only down side really just the cost?

I’d love any feedback and/or opinions.