Thursday, January 14, 2021

How can he be sick?

 

Reynaldo seems so content these days! He loves watching the goings on in our home from the safety and comfort of his new favorite box. His appearances in my Zoom meetings are so popular that so far this week, he's received shout outs from both a coworker and a member of my movie group.

Yet my little old man has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. All the symptoms are there -- vomiting, nervousness (no shit, he gets upset every time I leave the apartment, even if it's just to take out the garbage), increased thirst, weight loss -- and the blood work confirmed it.

After consulting with the vet and checking my options online, we're going to treat his condition, not cure it. Reynaldo is 17 years old. (The average life expectancy of an indoor cat is 12-16 years.) With regular medication, he could live three more years. Surgery or radiation could eradicate the disease, but they are more complicated for me and more taxing for him, and he likely wouldn't live beyond age 20 anyway. Of course, if the medication doesn't work, or if there are side effects, surgery and radiation are still on the table. 

The most important thing is his comfort. He deserves to always feel safe and content.



5 comments:

  1. One of my kitties had that and it was just a little medication on her ear every day, as I recall. It just made life more pleasant for her. Hope Rey responds well to treatment.

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  2. Awww...it's always so hard on us when the fur babies get sick. Praying the medicine works.

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  3. Do you have any idea how long before the medicine kicks in? I hope he has a dramatic improvement!

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  4. I hope Reynaldo gets better on his medicine.
    I agree with you. He deserves to always feel
    safe and content.

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  5. Hopefully the medicine will do the trick.

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