Phineas, the Cat with Graves’ Disease!!!

Yesterday we noticed that our cat was feeling poorly. He was very lethargic and refused to eat or drink. He seemed to be worse today so I made an appointment and took him to see the vet.  Phineas is known at the Vet Clinic as the “cat with an attitude”. During the initial exam he howled and growled like a cat ten times his size. The ultimate humiliation was when they stuck a thermometer up his rear end. The yell that emanated from that little throat was unbelievable. If looks could kill!

The vet decided it would be best for all if Phineas was anesthetized so they could do a proper exam, give him the fluids he needed and do blood work.  I left while this was going on; I couldn’t handle his howling and yowling.

I got a call about an hour later with the diagnosis; hyperthyroidism. Now there will two of us under the same roof with the same disease.  What a hoot!  Phineas will have to take medication every morning and hopefully we should see an improvement within a week.

Thankfully all his other tests came back normal.  According to the vet he is otherwise a very healthy 16 year old cat.  If that poor creature felt as badly as I do no wonder he has spent the last day and a half hiding under a coffee table. There are many days when I wish I could hide in a similar place.  Apparently he was very dehydrated and the IV fluids seem to have helped.  He is walking around the house letting me know that he is very ticked off with his trip to the “house of horrors” this afternoon.

My life in the last few weeks has been similar to my cat’s life.  I have been lethargic and miserable. I cannot get enough sleep and the bone pain has reached an all time high.