I was browsing our website today looking at all of our lovely cats available for adoption when I noticed Lady’s picture. I first met Lady when she was being treated in our hospital. She’s a super sweet kitty who looks like any other 11-year-old brown tabby, but she is very special.
When Lady first came to us, she was suffering from a disease called hyperthyroidism. That’s when a cat’s thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone and no matter how much the cat eats, it remains hungry and thin. Other problems like a rapid heart rate, restlessness can occur. Lady was no exception. She was painfully thin and her fur was in patchy and dull.
Most animal shelters put a cat to sleep if it suffers from hyperthyroidism because it’s difficult to medicate the cat (via pills two to three times a day). There’s another treatment called Radioiodine therapy but that’s expensive because cats have to be treated in the hospital for two weeks.
At HSSV, we go out of our way to find solutions and Dr. Andrea Moore, one of our veterinarians was no exception. She called Adobe Animal Hospital, one of our veterinary partners, who had performed several successful thyroidectomy surgeries. That’s where the surgeon removes all or part of the cat’s thyroid glands. Cats usually have small islands of thyroid tissue scattered in other locations in their bodies. These "ectopic thyroid cells" can usually produce all the thyroid hormone the cat will need.
Dr. Dave Roos from Adobe evaluated Lady and agreed to perform the surgery at a discount for us. Dr. Moore even sat in on Lady’s surgery to learn how to perform this amazing procedure on future shelter cats. After the operation, Lady recovered in our animal hospital for several weeks while our staff lovingly tended to her and monitored her thyroid levels to make sure they were normal. They were and now Lady is up for adoption!
I love the fact that community partners like Adobe Animal Hospital are helping us save animals lives and are willing to teach our vets how to perform certain procedures. I love that HSSV looks for creative solutions to help all of our animals, even 11-year-old cats like Lady. It’s a win-win for Adobe, HSSV and Lady.
If you or someone you know might be interested in adopting Lady, her animal ID number is 80335. Click here to view Lady’s resume on our website. Click here to make a donation to help other animals like Lady.
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