Hi I'm Katie, I'm raising funds for my (and Troy's) cat Bodhi to get a radioactive iodine treatment for hyperactive thyroid.

This 2nd week of January it was clear Bodhi wasn't feeling great, she seemed to have a bruise on her tail. So I got her in the carrier and we went to the vet. Turns out our other cat Stella, age 18, apparently bit her right on the butt cheek. Well, if she had a butt cheek, that's where the bite was. It was a big abscess, as we saw as soon as they shaved the fur off her boney bum, poor baby. Stella can be a touch surly but never has been known to be so aggregious in her crimes.

As soon as I put Bodhi on the scale in the exam room the vet tech said : "5.3 pounds" I thought she was asking me a question, I said no, "8.9 pounds" that was the weight Bodhi was last June. The vet said normally she'd just give Bo a shot and send her home with after care, "but why was she so skinny?" I have been wondering this also, as she seems to be getting skinnier all the time and her fur isn’t as lovely as it once was. She is still eating fine, getting high quality cat food , in fact she has taken to raiding the garbage can to the point where we got a better one to prevent those night time escapades.

After a hefty quote of $455 for a full lab panels in addition to treatment costs for the bite on the derriere I gave them the greenlight to run the tests and the results came back that she has a hyperactive thyroid. Bodhi's body is burning her calories faster than she can metabolism them. Her body is consuming itself.

The three treatments are:

medications 2x daily forever: Bodhi hates being picked up! Every time is an ordeal. It took me several years to get her to sit on my lap, and she still won't unless there is a quilt present.

Special food: no exceptions. No treats, no hunting mice (we live in the woods), nada.

Radiation therapy is the best option. It costs the price of 2 years of the other options, all at once. We would have to drive her 3.5 hours to Lansing where she would stay for a few days and then come back on the mend. A quick read on reddit showed me many anecdotal stories of cats living to 20 after this procedure. Bodhi is now 10.

The best part of this option from my cat mom perspective is when the time comes for me to be the caregiver after my mom's kidney transplant, which we are currently waiting on, and when my boyfriend and I have to leave for our art festival sales, Bo and Stella can have a normal cat sitter check in on them, be in the same room instead of separated by diet, and not have medication given twice a day by a stranger, as I can not even picture that successfully happening.

Some financial help is greatly appreciated as we have several other pressing needs, I need 2 crowns and the house needs a roof replaced (there's a leak, but let's not go there)

Thanks for reading and considering.

Someday we'll look back and laugh about how a bite on the butt saved Bodhi's life. She was probably hyperactively driving Stella nuts. It's time for us all to chill. Spread the peace, thanks.