Radiocat, Here We Come...

You know how sometimes, when you have to make a really tough decision, you're relieved when the decision gets made, whether it's right or wrong?  Just knowing that it's done and that the agony of deliberating over it has finally ended, it leaves you with a feeling of relief.  That's kind of how I'm feeling right now.

So, the naturopathic Resthyro worked, at least partially.  Mister's last bloodwork showed that, though he was not quite back to normal, his thyroid levels had improved significantly.  He still hasn't gained any weight, but up until this week, he hadn't lost any either.  Our vet was pretty impressed by that. 

Only problem is, now Reggie has taken his stalking of Mister to a whole new level.  Last night I was woken a number of times because Reggie decided to tangle with Mister, and they usually ended up under our bed by the end of the extended tussle.  You try to sleep with a cat fight taking place underneath your bed--it ain't easy.  And it's all because of all the animosity we're creating by giving Mister mush twice daily while the other buddies have to look on, salivating and feeling sorry for themselves.  We've created a Sibling Rivalry Monster of near biblical proportions.  Mister thinks the arrangement is just dandy, thank you very much, but the rest of the cats...not so much.  It has become abundantly clear that, while the Resthyro is indeed working, it's not going to turn out to be an ideal long-term solution in a six cat household. 

So today, after much deliberation, and after finding out that they are actually going to be doing this in Greenville, SC after all, we decided to go ahead and make the appointment to do the radioactive iodine.  It's through a company called Radiocat (I know, cute, hunh?), and they travel around the country performing this service at select vets across the US.  We originally had Mister set up to go to Marietta, GA, but that's a full four hours away, and Mister is not a happy traveler.  One and a half hours is much more manageable, and it turns out to be on a really good date, to boot!  We were worried that the Greenville date might interfere with a pre-planned out-of-town trip, but luck smiled on us and the date turned out to be a different one.  I went from feeling absolutely sick about having to do this, to kind of feeling like this might be the right thing to do after all.  It will give the Resthyro a chance to work a little longer, and give us a chance to get Mister "fattened up" a little more.  Poor little guy is down to 9 pounds at this point, and doesn't really have any more weight to give up.  I was concerned that, since Mister has really only bonded with Sean and me, he might end up going on some kind of misguided hunger strike once he is separated from us for a few days.  Which, incidentally, is the longest he's ever been away from our house.  Sean thinks Mister is going to treat it like a spa weekend...woo hoo--no Reggie, Elroy or Otto to torture him around the clock!!  I'm not so sure about that.

So, it's hard.  And it hurts to think that he's going to be scared out of his wits for four whole days, and he might end up glowing a little (hopefully not).  And that when he gets home, he's going to have to be sequestered on his own for two weeks with limited Big Buddy time and his Big Buddies scooping his poop in haz-mat suits (hopefully not).  But at least I'll get my Mister back at the end of it all.  He may not understand what's going on (who am I kidding...I  barely understand what's going on), but he will forgive us for this, and he won't have hyperthyroidism anymore, and we will all be happy.

And that's all I can really hope for, anyway.  The real question is, how am I going to manage showering and brushing my teeth without his keen supervision?