Meet Shadow, our MIRACLE KITTY Not only does Shadow deserve to be “Pet of the Month”, she should be labeled “Pet of the Year”!  She is 17 years young and doing great.   We first met Shadow in September of 2004. She came to us for a routine Golden Years work up.  From her blood work, we found that Shadow’s thyroid hormone level was too high.  This is a common problem in elderly kitties and is why we promote yearly thyroid testing.  High thyroid level, otherwise known as Hyperthyroidism, can cause a kitty to have secondary high blood pressure, heart disease, increased appetite, increased metabolism, and weight loss.  Luckily, Shadow only had minor consequences from her hyperthyroidism, such as a heart murmur.  So as a standard treatment, we started Shadow on special medication for her overactive thyroid.  During a recheck, we found that Shadow’s blood work revealed mild kidney enzyme increase, this meant that her thyroid disease was masking mild kidney failure.   Once we got her thyroid disease controlled, her kidney disease revealed itself.  We were able to keep Shadow’s thyroid and kidney disease under control with medication and long-term fluid therapy.   That is until Sept of 2005, when shadow developed a reaction to her thyroid medication and had to receive an emergency blood transfusion.  She scared us for a few days, but Shadow pulled through like a champ.  This left us with a problem, we could no longer safely use thyroid medication on Shadow.  After a few months, Shadow started having mild problems such as seizures and urinating inappropriately.  With that and the threat of heart disease, we couldn’ t let her thyroid disease go untreated any longer.  So that is when we recommended Shadow to have Radioactive Iodine therapy to treat her overactive thyroid gland disease.  Shadow’s momma was very nervous about the treatment because it is a RADIOACTIVE treatment.  We sent Shadow with her momma to see the group of specialists at MedVet, a Memphis veterinary specialty hospital.  They discussed the threats and safety of the treatment and found Shadow to be a good candidate.   After considering this option, Shadow’s momma agreed.  In late June of this year, Shadow underwent Radioiodine therapy at MedVet.  She was sent home with an excellent prognosis!  Its now been about 2 months, and Shadow’s momma says that she acts as if there was never anything wrong with her.  We still enjoy seeing Shadow for her weekly fluid treatment (for her kidney support).  And we are thrilled to report that Shadow’s thyroid level has remained in a safe, normal range!   We love you Shadow, our MIRACLE KITTY!! For further info about Radioiodine Therapy, visit MedVet’s website: www.medvetmemphis.com