Radioactive Therapy For Hyperthyroidism

[Graceful-Lily]

They don't sell the food in stores. I had to place an order at my vet. Will update once I get it.

 

[Graceful-Lily]

They placed the order but the ingredients are atrocious. I refuse to believe this is the only way. There has got to be something else out there and if there isn't, I'll have to create it myself.

 

[kittyluv387]

You just need it to hold you over until your cat can get the treatment. Really rooting for you and your cat!

 

[Graceful-Lily]

I'm just hoping there is something else not just for Felix but for every cat that will come after him.

But what if after all this, the cost is much too high and my family and I can't afford it? Then what am I supposed to do? I'm having a hard time finding a job.

 

[kittyluv387]

I'm just hoping there is something else not just for Felix but for every cat that will come after him.

But what if after all this, the cost is much too high and my family and I can't afford it? Then what am I supposed to do? I'm having a hard time finding a job.

Well you have 6 months so if you start looking for a job now you'd probably be able to cover the extra costs.

 

[Graceful-Lily]

If someone were to call and say they can have it done tonight, I would not hesitate. Just the stress of everything has me thinking crazy.

I'll ask my vet when I go to pick up the Hill's if they do the scintigraphy. He will also need to be vaccinated because he hasn't seen a needle since he was just a few months old.

Update: Well, just got off the phone with the vet again and he said they may not contact me at all. It's not a definite yes that I will get an appointment with them to treat Felix. This is why I was asking for alternatives. He also said it will cost a few thousand dollars for the treatment alone. Not including his vaccinations and the scintigraphy. This is why they rather I don't get my hopes up about this. There is a shortage of staff and the place that makes the radioactive iodine has been shut down.

The only clinic I could find is in New Brunswick and after much tears at the thought of Felix not being around me, I think I might do it. If they will take us...
Flight: $300 - $500 (not bad at all)
Hotel: $70 a night ($980 for 2 weeks)
Food (for myself): $700
Transportation: $150
RIT: $3,000 (maybe more? I don't know)
Vaccinations: $100
Scintigraphy: ???
Cat care: $200
Miscellaneous expenses: $500

GRAND TOTAL: $6,130 - Probably $7,000? Not too bad at all. And I'd get to go to another province...

 

[Graceful-Lily]

RadioIodine Therapy - Riverview Animal Hospital

I called them and the lady was super polite. She created a file for Felix and left a note for the vet that does the treatments. She said she will call me at the end of the week for more information. They have no wait times at this clinic so if I had the money now to do it next month, they'd book an appointment. I'm going to his vet tomorrow so I will ask them to send a referral. Hopefully, it's not too much money and I can afford the trip and treatment. I'd make it my priority for January!

 

[Antonio65]

Update: Well, just got off the phone with the vet again and he said they may not contact me at all. It's not a definite yes that I will get an appointment with them to treat Felix.

Do you mean that they gave up on you?

Flight: $300 - $500 (not bad at all)
Hotel: $70 a night ($980 for 2 weeks)
Food (for myself): $700
Transportation: $150
RIT: $3,000 (maybe more? I don't know)
Vaccinations: $100
Scintigraphy: ???
Cat care: $200
Miscellaneous expenses: $500

GRAND TOTAL: $6,130 - Probably $7,000? Not too bad at all. And I'd get to go to another province...

Please, mind that if you're going to fly with a radioactive cat on the way back home, some airlines might refuse Felix on board.
Same thing with a hotel (though "someone" told me that the hotel won't know unless you tell them ). Besides, you're not sure that you'll have to stay there for 2 weeks.
I was done in 5 nights.
If the stay is shorter, all other expenses (food, transportation and misc) will be lower.
I'm not familiar with your area, but would renting a car be feasible (and cheaper)?

RIT at $3,000, you still don't know it, so do not assume it is that dear.
Vaccinations, they aren't strictly required before the treatment. Actually, it would be better not to vaccinate Felix shortly before or after the treatment, due to the physical stress he will encounter.
Scintigraphy, I think that the facility should include this cost in the treatment total. Where I went to, they did so.
Cat care $200... what cat care? At the facility? Don't they include it in the cost of the treatment? You could also supply them with the food Felix loves, so they won't charge you for the food they will give him.

I'd advice you to start a fund raising on one of the many platforms on the web. You'll be amazed of how quickly you can raise a good amount of money for your dear and precious Felix.
You could also borrow some money from friends and relatives, and if/when you find a job, you will repay them.
And all will end up perfectly

 

[Antonio65]

RadioIodine Therapy - Riverview Animal Hospital

They say that the cat will be hospitalized for 4 days, so it's a shorter time than 2 weeks.
They still don't say anything about scintigraphy.

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Do you mean that they gave up on you?



Please, mind that if you're going to fly with a radioactive cat on the way back home, some airlines might refuse Felix on board.
Same thing with a hotel (though "someone" told me that the hotel won't know unless you tell them ). Besides, you're not sure that you'll have to stay there for 2 weeks.
I was done in 5 nights.
If the stay is shorter, all other expenses (food, transportation and misc) will be lower.
I'm not familiar with your area, but would renting a car be feasible (and cheaper)?

RIT at $3,000, you still don't know it, so do not assume it is that dear.
Vaccinations, they aren't strictly required before the treatment. Actually, it would be better not to vaccinate Felix shortly before or after the treatment, due to the physical stress he will encounter.
Scintigraphy, I think that the facility should include this cost in the treatment total. Where I went to, they did so.
Cat care $200... what cat care? At the facility? Don't they include it in the cost of the treatment? You could also supply them with the food Felix loves, so they won't charge you for the food they will give him.

I'd advice you to start a fund raising on one of the many platforms on the web. You'll be amazed of how quickly you can raise a good amount of money for your dear and precious Felix.
You could also borrow some money from friends and relatives, and if/when you find a job, you will repay them.
And all will end up perfectly

I know they may not allow us on the airplane which is why I figured we'd spend 2 weeks there or more as cool out time. I also need a break from where I currently live.

I will look into car rentals and all the other fine details when I get a definite yes from this clinic.

I'm aware that it might be more than $3,000. I was being generous to myself there. And to travel with him, he might need vaccinations to be on board.

I will ask the vet there about scintigraphy. By cat care, I meant litter, food, the necessities.

I've tired fund raising before and it was an awful experience so I rather not go that route, if I really need the money, I'll take out a loan or borrow it from someone. I don't know any friends or relatives that would loan me money however because to other people, he is just a cat.

Just got confirmation that all emergency clinics in Ontario are on "back order". So no one will be getting back to me because there is a long waitlist. New Brunswick is my only hope now.

 

[Antonio65]

I hope the scintigraphy can be done nearby the radio-iodine facility. It would be a pain in the neck to have to travel back and forth for several miles in a short period of time. Not to mention the cost of it.

Probably renting a car could be a way to save some money, the vaccinations for example.

I didn't know that the fund raising was so terrible. I have never did it, but I always read of successful stories on the web.

Please, keep us posted!

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Just as I speculated. OVC (University of Guelph) told me that they are on backorder so no clinics in Ontario will do this treatment any time soon. There is a lengthy waitlist. A shortage of radioactive iodine from the supplier because they have been forced to stop production. All clinics are waiting to be restocked and no one knows when there will be enough for all the cat parents inquiring. Riverview in NB didn't say anything about a backorder like I said before, if I was in the province now, I could have made an appointment for next month. They are my only hope so I need to have all this medical sorted before travel. Do what I need to do here before going across the province. But the vet in charge there will get back to me.

The airport is 16 minutes away from the Riverview clinic so I wouldn't be far at all. Maybe I won't need to rent a car. I'm sure they have public transit.

Antonio65 - A few years ago, I started a small rescue and asked kindly for donations and I was attacked by strangers online. Kijiji and facebook. It was horrible and very damaging to the point that I deleted my accounts because people sent nasty messages daily. So no more of that for me.

 

[Antonio65]

Excuse me asking, what is the issue with you being in a different province?
I'm asking just out of curiosity, because this escapes me.

In my understanding, radio-iodine can't be stocked for long periods. Because it has a short half-life, the facilities have to be periodically supplied so that the dose they inject to pets meets the requirements and is certified for its effectiveness.
This might mean that in order to guarantee a seamless service to the patients in waitlist, the production of radio-iodine must be fully operative.

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Excuse me asking, what is the issue with you being in a different province?
I'm asking just out of curiosity, because this escapes me.

Issue as in why I want to leave?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

RadioIodine Therapy - Riverview Animal Hospital

I called them and the lady was super polite. She created a file for Felix and left a note for the vet that does the treatments. She said she will call me at the end of the week for more information. They have no wait times at this clinic so if I had the money now to do it next month, they'd book an appointment. I'm going to his vet tomorrow so I will ask them to send a referral. Hopefully, it's not too much money and I can afford the trip and treatment. I'd make it my priority for January!

 

[Antonio65]

Issue as in why I want to leave?

No, I mean, why is being in a province or another one so important?
You mentioned this thing a few times in your posts, so it seems to me that you not being in the province where the treatment is done might be a problem.

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Ohhh I see. Well, I am in Ontario and Riverview is in New Brunswick, I would have to take a plane to get there. It's 2.5 hours away by plane and about 15 - 17+ hours away by car. Because I am currently so far away, making appointments there will be difficult. Our vets will have to be on the same page. If I lived in NB, this whole process would be a lot easier.

 

[babiesmom5]

I may be out of line here, but wouldn't a 5 hr trip by car for a total cost of $1,400 for the I-131 at the facility near Pontiac, Michigan be more affordable than the 2.5 hr trip by plane about 15-17 hrs away and $7,000 cost?

Just scratching my head here trying to understand your rationale.

 

[Graceful-Lily]

I may be out of line here, but wouldn't a 5 hr trip by car for a total cost of $1,400 for the I-131 at the facility near Pontiac, Michigan be more affordable than the 2.5 hr trip by plane about 15-17 hrs away and $7,000 cost?

Just scratching my head here trying to understand your rationale.

A 5 hour car trip won't happen with my parents. They are old and frail. They can barely go half an hour in a car without complaining about some pain or cramp. I can guarantee you, none of them would be up for such a trip. I could ask a friend or family member to drive with me but again, I'm not close with anyone to ask for such a favour. Also, I only have my G1, not a G2 or G so I can't drive such a long distance as my licence is as limited as my experience. If I had my G licence, I'd gladly rent a car and drive myself and Felix. So, if we are going anywhere, we are definitely flying. And I still don't know how much the Riverview clinic will charge me so I'm waiting to hear back from them. I don't know about any clinics in the United States but feel free to post a list if you want and I'll look into it. I also figured going to NB would be a nice change of scenery; I'd like to get to know the country I live in more because I'm thinking about moving out of province. We were supposed to go to Vancouver this summer but that didn't happen. Hope this all makes sense to you...

Okay, I remember your post from before. I will look into that clinic you suggested in Windsor. Sorry about that.

I put Felix in his winter coat to see if it still fits!

6650 Highland Road Waterford, MI 48327 - 1 hours and 10 minute flight starting at $350 (flights to NB are starting at $250 and sometimes less).
Looked into car rentals and it's roughly $600 per week and when you add gas into that, maybe $1,000? I'm assuming it would take a lot of gas. If by some miracle of God, someone could drive me, it would be 4 - 4.5 hours long. A hotel room for the duration of the stay will be roughly $150 per night. If we stay 2 weeks, that's $2,100. This clinic says the treatment is $1,400 (which is almost $2,000 CND). Food for me and my travelling companion would be about $150 - $200 a week maybe?

GRAND TOTAL: $5,200 (roughly) This is if we fly. It would probably be $5,500 with transportation and miscellaneous cost. It's cheaper than NB but it's not NB. Since my mom is on the fence about this, I will be handling all the expenses myself. I said it was too much before because I thought she would be helping me.

GRAND TOTAL: $6,500 (roughly) This is if we drive. Could be more or could be less. I'm talking with a friend to see if she wants to come with me instead of my mom because my mom thinks that this is "crazy". I've been down this road before so I won't waste my energy arguing with her. If she's coming, she's welcome, if not, I'm not waiting for her. I want this done by January. The sooner the better. But we also have to keep in mind the climate. It's late November right now and most of these places will be filling up with snow very soon if they haven't already. What if the car can't handle it? We'd need to rent a 4x4 which cost more than a hatchback.

ALSO, the vet told me that the Hills y/d is $130 from them for just a case of cans and a 4lb bag. They asked when I'd be picking it up and I said I'd ask my mom. But there is no way I am paying that much for garbage food. But I feel bad because they went through the trouble of ordering it for me. I rather Felix enjoy what he eats so I've started giving him less tapazole as it is making him sick.

I sent the clinic you suggested an email. I hope all the points I touched on make sense. It could be less if we stay for less time but like I said before, our vets have to be on the same page and everything needs to be in order before Felix and I are up in the air. I also don't know about travelling with a radioactive cat and when the levels in his body will be safe enough for him to be around others. For some, it's probably 4 days but for others, may be more.

I'm only 20 (will be December 1st officially) but I could probably take out a line of credit or something, right? Just need some cash to borrow up front. Can worry about paying it back later. $7,000 isn't much really. Working minimum wage, I can make that in 2.5 months.

 

[Graceful-Lily]

Could someone help me look in New Jersey, Conneticut, and Florida? I have family in those 3 states that I can stay with while Felix gets treatment. My mom brought up the idea of going to them for a visit and it isn't a bad idea. That would cancel out hotel expenses.