You may remember, five years ago, when Henry (my cat and the CEO of my eBay biz) was diagnosed with diabetes. I gave him insulin shots twice a day for about one month and then we found out, after a scary low blood sugar episode, that it didn’t seem he had diabetes after all. So many of you sent your prayers and well-wishes, I was sure all of that love cured him. His irregular consumption of water continued though, and then he developed a ferocious appetite. I’m sure many of you already know where this story is going but, turns out Henry has an over-active thyroid. I overheard some coworkers talking about their cats and one of them mentioned similar behaviors from their cat and that it was thyroid. I immediately made an appointment for Henry and told them I wanted his levels checked; his T3 and T4 were both highly elevated. I have to give him ½ a pill twice a day for the rest of his life. Have you ever tried giving a cat a pill? It’s NOT fun! Both of us are getting better at it though. I find doing it while he is standing up works best – I pin his little body between my legs and bend down to pry open his mouth and pop in the pill, quickly shutting his mouth and rubbing his throat until he swallows. This method prevents (mostly) him from using his front paws to push me away (or worse, claw me). I tried lying him in my lap, wrapping him in a blanket, I tried pill-pockets, I even tried the butter trick (he LOVES butter), and I thought about ordering a pill popper, but the reviews said they didn’t work with tiny pills so I didn’t waste my time or money. It’s getting easier and less traumatic, and I’m actually happy to finally put a reason to his constant thirst and hunger - I’ve always worried it was his kidneys or pancreas or something more serious. Besides the over-active thyroid, he is a healthy 16-year-old boy.
top of page
bottom of page