Back on May 16, I described in some detail how my cat, Muldoon, was about to be treated with radioactive iodine, designed to kill a benign tumor in his thyroid, a small tumor that had -- unbeknownst to me -- been causing his thyroid to work overtime.
Too much thyroid juice circulating in his system was straining his heart and other organs -- and straining my ears from his frequent yowling.
Unfortunately, the specialist who does this work decided that Muldoon had some intestinal bug that needed to be cleared up before his little body could be strained with radioactivity.
His intestines now seem to be working fine. While I was off galivanting around the Grand Canyon, leaving Muldoon alone and fuming at home, I received a phone call from the hyperthyroidism specialist's office wanting to reschedule.
So I will take him up to Shoreline on Thursday, after -- having learned my lesson last time -- dosing him first with Gabapentin (avoiding the temptation to swallow a couple myself) to ease his anxieties. (He sits curled up on my mouse pad next to my hand as I write this, oblivious to his impending fate!)
I had been planning to abandon him for a second straight long weekend, while visiting relatives in Oxnard, but he now will be waiting for several days at the hospital while his radioactivity drops to an acceptable level. I thus kill two birds with one stone.
When I get him back, after my return from California, he will still need to be handled carefully. He will still be emitting gamma rays to some extent for a few more days. I'm supposed to limit any close cuddling to about an hour a day for the first week.
But by the time I get him he won't be glowing in the dark. He won't serve as a night light.
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