Sick cat
 

We feed a stray cat. He isn't really a stray, because we have seen him go
into another house down the block. But since he has no collar or chip, we
suspect they don't own him either. At any rate, he is sick. His thyroids
aren't working properly and he is skinny as a rail even though he eats at
least two cans of cat food a day in our kitchen alone, and God only knows
how much he eats from the neighbors. The question is, should we capture him,
give him to our roving vet to have his thyroid removed? This would cost us
around $500, but we love cats and have spent a lot more than this on them in
the past. When one of our other cats, Junie had the same problem, we paid
for her operation, and there are a lot worse ways for us to spend $500.IOW,
it isn't the money that I am asking about, but the morality of us catching
and operating on what may well be someone else's cat. I could talk to them,
but I am afraid that they will think I want money from them, and/or they may
just put poor Max down so he won't be a bother to some nosy neighbor. IOW, I
would prefer to just catch him, put him in a cat carrier, call the roving
vet, get him operated on, and let him go without ever telling anyone else
about it. What do you guys think?

Sick cat
 

On Wed, 14 Aug 2013 12:19:01 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

We feed a stray cat. He isn't really a stray, because we have seen him go
into another house down the block. But since he has no collar or chip, we
suspect they don't own him either. At any rate, he is sick. His thyroids
aren't working properly and he is skinny as a rail even though he eats at
least two cans of cat food a day in our kitchen alone, and God only knows
how much he eats from the neighbors. The question is, should we capture him,
give him to our roving vet to have his thyroid removed? This would cost us
around $500, but we love cats and have spent a lot more than this on them in
the past. When one of our other cats, Junie had the same problem, we paid
for her operation, and there are a lot worse ways for us to spend $500.IOW,
it isn't the money that I am asking about, but the morality of us catching
and operating on what may well be someone else's cat. I could talk to them,
but I am afraid that they will think I want money from them, and/or they may
just put poor Max down so he won't be a bother to some nosy neighbor. IOW, I
would prefer to just catch him, put him in a cat carrier, call the roving
vet, get him operated on, and let him go without ever telling anyone else
about it. What do you guys think?

You will feel better doing what you want to do, and you are like me in
this respect: we do not like to see animals suffering.

--

Sick cat
 

Mack A. Damia wrote:
On Wed, 14 Aug 2013 12:19:01 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

We feed a stray cat. He isn't really a stray, because we have seen
him go into another house down the block. But since he has no collar
or chip, we suspect they don't own him either. At any rate, he is
sick. His thyroids aren't working properly and he is skinny as a
rail even though he eats at least two cans of cat food a day in our
kitchen alone, and God only knows how much he eats from the
neighbors. The question is, should we capture him, give him to our
roving vet to have his thyroid removed? This would cost us around
$500, but we love cats and have spent a lot more than this on them
in the past. When one of our other cats, Junie had the same problem,
we paid for her operation, and there are a lot worse ways for us to
spend $500.IOW, it isn't the money that I am asking about, but the
morality of us catching and operating on what may well be someone
else's cat. I could talk to them, but I am afraid that they will
think I want money from them, and/or they may just put poor Max down
so he won't be a bother to some nosy neighbor. IOW, I would prefer
to just catch him, put him in a cat carrier, call the roving vet,
get him operated on, and let him go without ever telling anyone else
about it. What do you guys think?

You will feel better doing what you want to do, and you are like me in
this respect: we do not like to see animals suffering.

Yes. I would sooner help an animal than a human being. Humans understand why
they are the way they are, and what can be done about it if anything.
Animals don't have this luxoury. They may think that they are suffering
because they did something wrong, and this tears me up. If I were Bill
Gates, I woulod spend all my money on animals and the hell with the kids
with cleft pallats. They can grow up, work hard, save their money, and get
themselves fixed by modern medicine. But what can a poor animal do? And for
those who say, "But you are himan and should help your own kind", I say, "I
am a living thing, and that is more basic than being humal. Animals are my
own kind. They, like me, are trapped in this miserable universe. Only they
have no way to help themselves to a better life.

Sick cat
 

On Wed, 14 Aug 2013 12:19:01 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

We feed a stray cat. He isn't really a stray, because we have seen him go
into another house down the block. But since he has no collar or chip, we
suspect they don't own him either. At any rate, he is sick. His thyroids
aren't working properly

How have you diagnosed that?

IOW, I
would prefer to just catch him, put him in a cat carrier, call the roving
vet, get him operated on, and let him go without ever telling anyone else
about it. What do you guys think?

I think removing his thyroid is a death sentence if you are not
prepared to give him thyroid supplements the rest of his life.

Sick cat
 

Sick cat
 

On Wed, 14 Aug 2013 15:46:10 -0700, "Bill Graham"
wrote:

I think removing his thyroid is a death sentence if you are not
prepared to give him thyroid supplements the rest of his life.

No. I thought that too, bfore we had Junie's thyroid removed. But with cats,
they don't really need their thyroid glands. My wife has no thyroid, and she
has to take medicine for the rest of her life, or sleep 20 hours a day. Cats
sleep 20 hours a day anyway, and get along fine without any thyroid glands.

Well, there's substantially more consequences in humans than just
sleeping a lot, but I yield to your knowledge about cats.

Sick cat
 

Sick cat
 

On 8/14/2013 6:39 PM, wrote:

I think removing his thyroid is a death sentence if you are not
prepared to give him thyroid supplements the rest of his life.


You are correct. Fatality for thyroidectomy is about 10%. And if the
parathyroid glands are damaged calcium regulation can be upset.
For those interested in treatments for hyperthyroidism in cats read he
http://www.2ndchance.info/hyperthyroid.htm
"Surgical removal of the diseased portions of your cat's thyroid glands
is sometimes another option. But during the surgery, the difficult
decision must be made as to how much of the glands to remove. There is
no precise way to make this decision. If too much of the cat's thyroids
are removed, the cat will become hypothyroid and need lifelong thyroid
medications. If too little of the glands are removed, the cat will
remain hyperthyroid. Sometimes, it is appropriate to remove all of the
thyroid. Cats usually have small islands of thyroid tissue scattered in
other locations in their bodies. These "ectopic thyroid cells" can
usually produce all the thyroid hormone the cat will need. But they can
also lead to the re-appearance of hyperthyroidism months or years later."

and he http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinehyperthyroidism

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Sick cat
 

buglady wrote:
On 8/14/2013 6:39 PM, wrote:

I think removing his thyroid is a death sentence if you are not
prepared to give him thyroid supplements the rest of his life.


You are correct. Fatality for thyroidectomy is about 10%. And if the
parathyroid glands are damaged calcium regulation can be upset.
For those interested in treatments for hyperthyroidism in cats read
he http://www.2ndchance.info/hyperthyroid.htm
"Surgical removal of the diseased portions of your cat's thyroid
glands is sometimes another option. But during the surgery, the
difficult decision must be made as to how much of the glands to
remove. There is no precise way to make this decision. If too much of
the cat's thyroids are removed, the cat will become hypothyroid and
need lifelong thyroid medications. If too little of the glands are
removed, the cat will remain hyperthyroid. Sometimes, it is
appropriate to remove all of the thyroid. Cats usually have small
islands of thyroid tissue scattered in other locations in their
bodies. These "ectopic thyroid cells" can usually produce all the
thyroid hormone the cat will need. But they can also lead to the
re-appearance of hyperthyroidism months or years later."
and he http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinehyperthyroidism

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Well, all I know is that our Junie lived several years happily without any
thyroid glands at all, and without any medicastion, either. Before she had
them removed, we hat to smear some xreme containing thyroid medicine on her
ears every day. After the operation, she needed no medication at all, and
our vet is a very good one who specializes in cats. Not beine a vet myself,
I have little to go on but what my vet tells me and my past experience. The
results with Junie, and the advice of my vet say, "Take them out"....

Sick cat
 

"Bill Graham" wrote in message
...
IOW, I
would prefer to just catch him, put him in a cat carrier, call the roving
vet, get him operated on, and let him go without ever telling anyone else
about it. What do you guys think?

This is what I would do. Say nothing... just have it done. :)