Smokie - Update

 

The last I posted about Smokie is that he had stopped throwing up.  We gave him 1/2 a can of wet and that stopped him from throwing up.  His stomach has healed.  However, I noticed he was also loosing weight.  After some time he went down from 10lbs to 9lbs and when he was around 8.5 lbs I brought him into a new vet.  Dr. Sharpe DVM of Brightside Animal Clinic.  I liked her MUCH better than the other vet.  She seemed to care a lot more and be more intuitive with
Smokie.  She seemed much more knowledgeable as well.  She said that it could be just old age setting in, and that tests were not needed as of yet because the last blood work from the other vet was normal.  She said to wait a few more months and if he was still loosing weight to bring him back in.  Three months later I brought him back in as he was starting to throw up a little more and he was down to 7.5lbs.  She decided to do a full blood panel, and I received the results on January
21, 2011.  Smokie was positive for Hyperthyroid.  She suspects that the prior vet did NOT run a thyroid test, and should have.  I'm glad I changed vets!  She started him on the Meth at 1/2 a tablet a Day, and then in 2 weeks wanted him on 1/2 a tablet twice a day.  A friend from a Cat forum had pointed me to the direction of the Yahoo group for Hyper T cats.  I'm SOOO glad that I found them.  They cautioned me that even 2.5mg a day is WAY to much to start him on. So he's been
on 1/4 a pill 2x Daily. And since he's gained 1.5lbs back and I couldn't be more thrilled!

I had to wait a while to be able to bring him in for testing as I said before $60 is my cat budget for the month which only includes food and litter. Nothing else.  So over the Christmas break, the online store that I have which benefits Peaceful Paws and my kitties raised $160 so that I could bring him in to the vet to be tested. 

I also received awesome news that I'm getting close to $500 back in taxes which will go to help Smokie get stabilized. I'm continuing to sell from my online store. I am hoping to raise the $1200 needed to get his i131 Radioactive Iodine Treatment.  This would cure him. But for now we are working on getting him stabilized.  He is doing such a great job!

I'm also trying to start a fund that would benefit Hyper T Cats.  It would help owners who couldn't afford the curing treatment to get the treatment that they need for their cat.  I am currently talking with other fund starters to find out how to start it on my own and what I need to do.

I am also currently looking into starting another side business as a Pet sitter of sorts which would help people when they go away and leave their pets behind.  I would clean litter boxes, feed and pill their animals. Make sure that they are safe and happy while they are away.

So hopefully those endeavors will be fruitful and pan out.  This would all go to help smokie and other cats get the treatment that they need.

I will be posting hopefully daily with updates on Smokie and his current treatment status.