Home Care Rules
The home care regimen involves nothing special, as far as nutrition and care, but is wholly governed by state and federal laws for disposing of radioactive waste. The rules are:
- Fecal Waste
With flushable clumping litter, all solid material and urine clumps must be disposed of through the sanitary sewer (flushed), for two weeks following the therapy date (the safety period). The alternate, or in the case of non-biodegradable litter, ALL used litter must be contained in sealed plastic bags in an outdoors trash can away from the house for three months after the end of the safety period. They may then be disposed of as normal with household trash.Short of keeping Bubba confined to one room with his own litter box (which is not required), this means that we must dispose of the daily scoopings from all six boxes in the toilet.
- Human Contact
Each family member must limit personal contact with Bubba to 1/2 hour daily. There is no limit to his contact with other cats in the house. I was curious as to the reasons for this. The answer I was given is that any accumulated radiation would take many years before it might result in cancer or other related conditions. Since cats rarely, if ever, live that long, the risk to them is minimal. Using that theory as a basis, I took the reasoning that, should I live another 20 years, my chances of demise to heart attack or even accident, are much greater than to radiation poisoning. In any case, Bubba is quickly ceasing to "glow," and on June 24th will be free of all these rules. - Medical Emergencies
If Bubba were to have a sudden illness or need veterinary care before the end of the safety period, we'd need to make sure our local veterinary clinic is aware of his radioactivity, so they could take proper steps for the safety of their employees. - Death
If Bubba should die before the end of the safety period, his body would have to be stored for three months prior to cremation or burial. - Follow-Up Tests
Bubba will need to be seen by his regular vet at one month and three months after treatment, for T4 level, kidney tests (BUN and creatinine), and routine physical.
At the end of three months, the diseased thyroid tissue will have been destroyed, and any previously atrophied normal thyroid tissue should have regenerated and be fulfilling the normal function of the thyroid.
Indeed, because the entire process is basically so simple, and offers the only chance of a permanent cure for hyperthyroidism, it's hard to understand why we waited so long.
