The treatment itself is very simple, although done with highly sophisticated, expensive equipment.

1. A preliminary technetium scan is done. Technetium is a short-acting radioisotope, which is injected, then absorbed by functioning thyroid tissue.
2. A very specialized nuclear medicine instrument called a gamma camera takes pictures of the cat, and all the areas of absorption of technetium can be seen. This scan shows the size and location of the thyroid tumors so determination can be made whether they are benign or malignant. The veterinarian can then calculate a very individualized dose of radioiodine for the cat.

1. That dose is given by subcutaneous injection, just like a vaccine. Since the thyroid is the only body tissue that reacts to iodine, the entire dose is absorbed by the abnormal thyroid tissue.

Bubba received his therapy treatment the same day he was admitted. When Carol called later that afternoon, she told me he had involvement of both lobes of the thyroid gland. However, the good news was that the tumors were fairly small and non-malignant. They use a scale of 1-4 with "4" being the largest. Bubba's tumors were "2" on the left lobe and "1" on the right, which means that he needed a relative small dose of the ¹³¹I. Carol said that he was doing well, had eaten a bit, but was a bit grumpy at being closed in a room with a bunch of strange cats. The boarding room is for cats only, and is climate-controlled, with the "day length" set by an automatic timer. Each cat has his own food (we were asked to bring enough for 10 days), and is allowed one toy or "comfort" item, which because of contamination can not be returned.

A radio plays softly in the background - they say that the cats seem to prefer classical music or talk radio.

Carol called again Saturday, and assured us that Bubba is doing very well. He is eating regularly, is not vomiting, and enjoys the attention of Carol and Dr. Melinda. If all continues to go well, she will call again Tuesday with the news that we can pick him up on Thursday.

We miss Bubba a lot. This is only the second time that he has been hospitalized for so long, and on the previous time we were able to visit him every day. Unfortunately state law prevents that in this case. It has been two days since we last saw him, and I still see his "shadow" out of the corner of my eye, or sometimes hear a sound that could be him vomiting, and my heart sinks until I remember that he is not here, and then it sinks again.

I know that he misses his family too, but hopefully, in less than a week, he will be back home where he belongs, and within two to three months, he will be completely cured of hyperthyrodism.