After-care for cat treated with radio iodine therapy

[oyster]

So, we got our cat treated about a month after he was diagnosed. He is currently in strict quarantine and we are nearing week 3 of quarantine.
Our hospital advised 4 weeks of quarantine (we have little children and other pets) but our quarantined cat is getting depressed staying by himself. He has always been very social so this is even more difficult for him. We visit him multiple times a day, feed him, play with him but of course, we were told not to have prolonged exposure.
My question is whether we can bring him home and resume normality after week 3. Some web sites suggest 3 weeks and our hospital told us 4 weeks but it is getting difficult containing him. Anyone have experience of integrating their radio iodine therapy cat earlier than 4 weeks? Can I assume it will be safe or should I stick to doctor's orders?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I hope some of the members who have gone through this will soon see your post and offer their input on what their vets said to do, and what they did. In the meantime, here is a link (see below) to a more recent thread regarding what some members were told and what they did regarding quarantine, in case it might help any. It looks as if a couple of these members were told 2 weeks. But, besides the dosage impacting the duration of quarantine, maybe your vet suggested a longer time frame due to you having small children and other pets around?

Cat With Hyperthyroidism

 

[oyster]

Thank you for that response. I gathered from the other thread you linked to that 2 weeks was the norm. Our hospital advised 4 weeks because they are super cautious about everything. LOL
Also, he got the low dose iodine so I am hoping he will be all clear by 3 weeks.
I think I am going to bring him home a week earlier and take precautions around the kids and other cats. I think sitting on laps and sleeping on beds is a no-no till end of week 4 but at least, he can be around us and not get depressed. My other senior cat is going into surgery next week too and I want them to be together before he goes to the hospital. We are almost there!

 

[molly92]

Oh my goodness, that's so long! My cat was cuddling with me 4 days after her injection. They did tell me to wait 2 weeks for prolonged exposure, which I pretty much ignored. She didn't get as high a dosage as they usually used, and she was excreting it very quickly, so I felt pretty safe, but still! 4 weeks-that's ridiculous in my opinion. The urine is where most of the radiation is anyway, so just be careful with the litter and I think you're fine! If you did radioiodine treatment for a cat every year, you'd probably want to be more careful, but if, like most people, you only do this with a couple cats at most during your lifetime, and you're not pregnant, I would not be worried.

Although, there might be an exception if your cat had the rare, cancerous form of hyperthyroidism and they needed to use a very large dose. Was this the case? Do you know how many millicuries of radioiodine was administered?

If your cat had a routine treatment though, I think you can let him out now!

 

[molly92]

Also, he got the low dose iodine so I am hoping he will be all clear by 3 weeks.

Ah, you answered my question. Then yes, bring that cat home!

 

[FeebysOwner]

My other senior cat is going into surgery next week too and I want them to be together before he goes to the hospital. We are almost there!

Oh my! Make sure to take towels from your senior cat to rub on your other cat to help with making them smell more like one another. (Trying to avoid non-recognition aggression, if it is needed.) Ditto when your senior baby comes home from his surgery. Please keep us posted on both of them!!

 

[Graceful-Lily]

They told me to wait 2 weeks too but I think after the 3rd day, he was sleeping in my bed. I understood the risk but I had never been away from Felix for that long for all the years I've had him so it was difficult for me to keep my distance. That and my brain didn't make the connection because he just seemed like regular old Felix. If he was glowing green or something that would be different obviously (they don't actually do that). Hope this makes sense.

 

[vyger]

There has been a lot of rethinking in the science fields as to what are safe doses of radiation. As far as I know the current standards were established back in the 1950's and they were done so without a lot of evidence. One of the reasons for the need for reevaluation was/is what has happened in Chernobyl. They have now done many studies on the impact of the radiation there on wildlife and the results have been stunning. The elevated levels of radiation, considered to be unsafe for life, appear to actually have little impact on the wildlife there. In fact life has been thriving with the return of a number of endangered species that have all produced offspring with no effect. There have even been a few studies that have suggested that the animals and plants are actually healthier than those in other areas. The suspected reason for that is it appears that low level radiation triggers a latent gene that causes the immune systems to become more active in searching out damaged cells. So instead of forming cancers and mutations the animals get healthier because of there immune systems eliminating damaged cells. Some medical professionals are even wondering if this is partly the reason why radiation therapy for cancer works. In addition to killing cancer cells it turns on the gene that turns on the immune system to clean up.
So should you be concerned about the tiny amount of radiation from what they gave your cat? That's up to you to decide but the mounting evidence is suggesting that life in general has no problem with low level radiation. To me it makes sense considering that natural occouring radiation on earth has been here for as long as life has been here.

 

[daftcat75]

You could try a compromise. You could bring him home but keep him isolated for one more week in a play pen. I had to put my Krista on two weeks of activity restriction after surgery to drain her inner ear infection. No climbing or jumping allowed. So she spent two weeks in here. Although by the end of the first week, I was letting her out as long as I could supervise her and make sure she wasn’t climbing or jumping.

 

[daftcat75]

To me it makes sense considering that natural occouring radiation on earth has been here for as long as life has been here.

The devil is always in the dose.

 

[oyster]

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions. I will be bringing home tomorrow--it will be 3 weeks! We have been taking the other cat to see him through a window (kinda' like the corona virus situation) everyday. I hope there is no aggression but I will take the suggestions and keep him isolated within our home and let the other cats get used to him again and he to them.

 

[Caspers Human]

Radioactive iodine has a half life of about eight days. This means, after eight days, half of it will have decayed into other elements. After 16 days only one quarter remains, etc., etc.

What the doctor is trying to do is to let the radioiodine decay to a safe level. They gave the cat a particular dose containing a certain amount of iodine which gives off a certain amount of radiation. They want the radioactivity levels to get to a certain place to be sure that people around the cat don’t accidentally get harmed.

There is a lot of math involved which takes a lot of time to explain but, rest assured, your doctors have done that math. They know what they are doing and you should trust them.

The thing that bugs me is that it doesn’t sound like they have explained this to you very well. If they had, you and your doctors should be able to make an informed decision on what to do and when.

Has anybody checked the cat’s radiation levels? If they are working with radioactive stuff, somebody should have a radiation detector. It shouldn‘t be a big deal to check.

Maybe they could let your cat go home if you promised to keep her in a separate room for a week.

This sounds more like a communication problem, to me, more than anything else.

If this was me, I’d be on the phone, asking questions and I wouldn’t be accepting any pat answers.

Without knowing more, I say that it should be okay to bring the cat home but keep her in her own room for a week and keep an eye on her then call the doctor, immediately if there are any problems or questions.

 

[oyster]

Thank you, CaspersHuman! That was very informative. Unfortunately, our doctors assumed we'd follow their suggestions to the tee. LOL! So no, they didn't explain in detail.
I will be isolating the cat from our other pets. The kids have been told to wash hands each time they touch Oyster. No laps, body cuddles, and sleeping with him is allowed for another week.
We are all looking forward to having him home again. I do have the niggling fear of bringing him home earlier than recommended but I will just have to take precautions.

 

[daftcat75]

Thank you, CaspersHuman! That was very informative. Unfortunately, our doctors assumed we'd follow their suggestions to the tee. LOL! So no, they didn't explain in detail.
I will be isolating the cat from our other pets. The kids have been told to wash hands each time they touch Oyster. No laps, body cuddles, and sleeping with him is allowed for another week.
We are all looking forward to having him home again. I do have the niggling fear of bringing him home earlier than recommended but I will just have to take precautions.

Radiation isn't something that can be washed away. Distance is your best protection here. That's why I recommend containing him in a pen. The bigger the better. It gives him space to be comfortable but also puts space between him and the kids and other animals in the house.

 

[molly92]

Radioactive iodine has a half life of about eight days. This means, after eight days, half of it will have decayed into other elements. After 16 days only one quarter remains, etc., etc.

What the doctor is trying to do is to let the radioiodine decay to a safe level. They gave the cat a particular dose containing a certain amount of iodine which gives off a certain amount of radiation. They want the radioactivity levels to get to a certain place to be sure that people around the cat don’t accidentally get harmed.

There is a lot of math involved which takes a lot of time to explain but, rest assured, your doctors have done that math. They know what they are doing and you should trust them.

The thing that bugs me is that it doesn’t sound like they have explained this to you very well. If they had, you and your doctors should be able to make an informed decision on what to do and when.

Has anybody checked the cat’s radiation levels? If they are working with radioactive stuff, somebody should have a radiation detector. It shouldn‘t be a big deal to check.

Maybe they could let your cat go home if you promised to keep her in a separate room for a week.

This sounds more like a communication problem, to me, more than anything else.

If this was me, I’d be on the phone, asking questions and I wouldn’t be accepting any pat answers.

Without knowing more, I say that it should be okay to bring the cat home but keep her in her own room for a week and keep an eye on her then call the doctor, immediately if there are any problems or questions.

While this is true, there's also the fact that radioiodine is being excreted through urine. So it's leaving your cat as well as decaying, which speeds things up but is not as predictable as just calculating half life. You do want to keep used litter somewhere out of the way for a few weeks post treatment, but your cat is getting less radioactive fairly quickly if they're well hydrated.

Also states/countries set their own minimum required radiation levels before a cat can be released, and these can vary, so it's not quite an exact science.

It does sound like this vet decided to just keep all cats for a month regardless of their levels, which seems extreme to me. My cat had the treatment on a Monday, and she met the legal levels that Wednesday.

 

[Caspers Human]

While this is true, there's also the fact that radioiodine is being excreted through urine.

Yes! You're right.
I didn't think of this but I should have.

You do want to keep used litter somewhere out of the way for a few weeks post treatment...

Agreed! You should probably clean the litter box every day and put the used litter in a plastic bag, tie it up tightly then seal it in a 5 gallon bucket with a snap-on lid. You should also keep that sealed bucket in some place, out of the way, like the garage. Some place where kids, cats and other people won't get into it.

I suggest that one person be the designated litter box cleaner-outer for another couple of weeks, until everything is all clear.
You'll probably want to wear rubber gloves and a dust mask while the box is being cleaned, too.

Also states/countries set their own minimum required radiation levels before a cat can be released, and these can vary, so it's not quite an exact science.

You inspired me to do some extra reading on this subject.

I have read that landfills and garbage collection facilities have radiation detectors that could be set off if your contaminated cat litter goes through one of these facilities. If that happens, the Feds will have to be called in to investigate. If so, there is a small but distinct possibility that a couple of men in dark suits will show up on your doorstep.

They advise people with cats that have undergone radiation therapy to store used cat litter in an out of the way place for at least 90 days until the radiation levels subside before throwing it out.

That, I did NOT think about!

I'm not saying that there is any great danger, here, but I used to work in a factory that used a lot of industrial chemicals and I'm the kind of person who likes to dot all of his "I's" and cross all of his "T's." It's always worthwhile to take all sensible precaution. Right?

 

[molly92]

Yes! You're right.
I didn't think of this but I should have.



Agreed! You should probably clean the litter box every day and put the used litter in a plastic bag, tie it up tightly then seal it in a 5 gallon bucket with a snap-on lid. You should also keep that sealed bucket in some place, out of the way, like the garage. Some place where kids, cats and other people won't get into it.

I suggest that one person be the designated litter box cleaner-outer for another couple of weeks, until everything is all clear.
You'll probably want to wear rubber gloves and a dust mask while the box is being cleaned, too.



You inspired me to do some extra reading on this subject.

I have read that landfills and garbage collection facilities have radiation detectors that could be set off if your contaminated cat litter goes through one of these facilities. If that happens, the Feds will have to be called in to investigate. If so, there is a small but distinct possibility that a couple of men in dark suits will show up on your doorstep.

They advise people with cats that have undergone radiation therapy to store used cat litter in an out of the way place for at least 90 days until the radiation levels subside before throwing it out.

That, I did NOT think about!

I'm not saying that there is any great danger, here, but I used to work in a factory that used a lot of industrial chemicals and I'm the kind of person who likes to dot all of his "I's" and cross all of his "T's." It's always worthwhile to take all sensible precaution. Right?

Oh yeah, it's pretty interesting! I had a professor once who told a story of our local sewage plant having a problem because they detected high levels of radioactivity. A person had undergone the radioiodine treatment, which is less difficult for people to manage because we flush away our waste, and this dilutes it with water so it's not at a dangerous level. Except, when processed, it got re-concentrated, and suddenly it was at unacceptable levels of radioactivity again.

I'm not sure how credible that story is (that professor tended to exaggerate), but radioactivity can be tricky!

 

[Caspers Human]

It sounds like the prof. was trying to illustrate a point, factual accuracy be damned.

I had a prof. named "Norman Bates" who took the name to heart.

 

[oyster]

Updated: Oyster came home today. The other pets greeted him in typical cat fashion--with a good sniff. No aggression--just curiosity. That lasted about 5 minutes and then, things went on as before. Each cat found a room and isolated themselves. Normal behavior for my cats anyway.
I kept food/water bowls away and locked him in a room for meal times. Bowls are picked up after every meal anyway and washed separately. As radiation in saliva is the biggest factor, I was careful there. He was very clingy and I allowed him to sit on me for about half an hour. The kids petted him and washed hands right away. And just to be extra cautious, we locked him in a spare room with litter, food and water for the night. All his waste is double bagged and kept away. We were told to keep it for 30 days and then throw it away in regular trash. The heat and waste in our garage do not make a pleasant combination so we will be thankful when it is all gone in a week.
We are going to continue letting him out during the day and locking him up at night. He is not interacting with our other cats so much where I have to worry about them grooming each other. It is too hot for them and they just lie around anyway. So, I hope we have reached a happy compromise with his health care officials.
Thank you all for your valuable insight and for sharing your experiences. This allowed me to bring him home a little earlier.

 

[daftcat75]

Just FYI, powdered activated charcoal can go a long way to reducing the waste smell. Before I figured out Krista's inflammation trigger in her gut, her poops were sometimes three rounds before she was done. Only the first round was solid. These could come at any hour. I used doggie bags to contain them, poured in a healthy scoop of activated charcoal, and then stored the tied off bags in an airtight container (flour jar) until it was a respectable hour to shuttle down bags of poop to the dumpster. Before the activated charcoal, it was truly miserable opening that flour jar. After the act. charcoal, it still wasn't roses, but there was a definite reduction.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LCVVTZ9/?tag=thecatsite