Miomarmo

Hyperthyroidism and Common Flame Retardants

Dear Matty,
I'm an 8-year-old Siamese cat.  Lately I've been eating like crazy and drinking a lot of water, but I'm losing weight.  The vet says I have an overactive thyroid.  I have two of them, in fact.  What happens is that the thyroid gland starts producing more hormones which trigger my symptoms and juice up my metabolism.   They say it's not unusual for a cat like me to get this.  They're not sure what causes this condition, but it's been on the rise since about the time "Garfield" started in the funny papers. (No connection, just a time marker.)  They also say it might have something to do with the rugs in our home.  Have you heard anything about this?
Hungry in Hilton Head, SC

Dear Hungry,
Yes, there is plenty of information out and coming out about this very common problem in middle-aged cats.  Last year, a US EPA study suggested that household dust containing a common flame retardant may be linked to an increase in cats getting sick from overactive thyroids.  The small study looks at chemical flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which were used in foam, plastics, furniture, electronics, fabrics and carpet padding.  The good news is that PBDEs are no longer manufactured since 2004.  The bad news is that the stuff is still out there.  Another possible cause is high iodine diets, e.g., salmon and other fish.

They probably have you on  Methimazole (trade name is Tapazole®).  This is a pill that you take by mouth or a paste that they dab in your ears usually twice daily.  It's an effective drug, but it doesn't cure you.  As long as you are taking it you'll feel better, but you may have side affects like loss of appetite.  Other ways to go are surgery and radioiodine therapy.

Both options can cure you, but carry risks and costs that you should discuss with your humans.  It's important to remember that the things in your home that may be causing this might also affect the kids and the dogs, so tell your humans to check that out.  So, your vet is probably asking you to cut back on your fish meals.  And, getting rid of all your stuff from pre-2004 is probably not a good idea, but more vacuuming with a HEPA filter will reduce the dust particles that may be carrying PBDEs. 

Let's hope there's some home redecorating  coming soon!

Links to check out:
The EPA study: http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/esthag/asap/abs/es070819.html
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's PBDE web site: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/pbde/
State of Washington's advice on avoiding exposure to PBDEs: http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/oehas/pbde/pbdeavoidexposure.htm

Dear Matty: I think she's allergic to me. Now what?

Dear  Matty: I'm a grey, short hair cat.  My people recently adopted me from a shelter, and now, after only two weeks, the lady of the house is complaining that my fur is making her sneeze and cough.  I'm worried this situation is going to break up our little family.  I really love it with Bob and Sue, and they love me, too.  I'm their first cat and this situation is a surprise to everyone.  Does Sue have to go?   --Annie, hopeful in Ohio

Dear Annie:  First of all, Annie, you need to know that I'm not one of those animals who think "people are better than animals."  I wouldn't say animals are better either.  We're all just different.  But people are living creatures, just like you and me.  So, we have to respect their right live in safety and without fear.  Annie, you have to try to work something out with Sue.  You can't just wait for Bob to kick her out of the house.

Here's where we start: it's common knowledge that people rarely contract diseases from animals, mostly they get them from other people, so you have that going for you.  That said, your human should do a few things before she decides whether you are a good match. 

First off, Sue should see her doctor and get an opinion about her possible allergy.  It's not unusual for some people to be allergic to cat fur or even the protein in a cat's saliva. How bad it might be depends on the human. It's good that you're a short hair cat, you guys have less dander and stuff floating around you.  If it turns out Sue is allergic to you, then here's some things to try:

1. Bob should take you outside and groom and brush you as often as possible.  This will remove a lot of that stuff that makes her sneeze. 
2. Bob should also give you a bath regularly.
3. After a bath or brush, you should get a good vacuum.
4. Air filters around the home work wonders.
5. And, Annie, you keep your tail out of the bedroom!

Tell Bob and Sue, yeah, it's a little work, but aren't you worth it?  If all fails, Annie, perhaps you should be prepared for the eventuality that it will be YOU who goes.  In that case, I'm guessing that Bob and Sue are the kind of people who know other people who would love to have you.

Got a question for Matty?  dearmatty@miomarmo.com

Dear Matty and Id Microchip Compatibility

That’s me in the photo. I’m a dog. I was invited to participate in this forum by my human, Rich Mansfield, because, he said, “we want diverse perspectives here at Miomarmo.” That plus I don’t know what money is.

My role is to take the tough questions from other animals--not just dogs--about their relationships with humans and the environment. What is my perspective?  Well, I guess you could say I'm your average house dog.  I was a shelter dog before good old Rich claimed me about two years ago. I’m probably 3 or 4 years old. (I don’t know what time is either.)   I'm comfortable in my current situation, there’s lots of love and companionship, but all is not chew toys and cheese snacks in this Valhalla. Rich and I have issues that I’ll be sharing with you. You may count on me to be perfectly frank about green diets, proper medical attention, and some touchy subjects like inter-species communication. And, of course, I will be sharing with you my emailed questions from other animals from all over the world.

Animals are notoriously bad typists, so you human readers are no doubt wondering how I do this column and how other animals will participate. The answer, Miomarmo has a Dog Whisperer. Actually, he’s more like a Dog Listener. I dictate to him telepathically; he types. Some humans just have the knack. Our guy is in Wyoming. He says he does horses and most any kind of animals. He’s a regular Dr. Dolittle; you’ll love him if you ever get the chance to link up.  To participate in my column, just send out a telepathic signal to Wyoming, Leonard will pick it up. Or, if your human has the knack, ask him or her to type it up and send the question or comment to dearmatty@miomarmo.com. Don’t be shy about sending photos, too! I’ll do a couple of new Q&A’s a month, depending on the complexity of the question and my nap schedule. Okay, let’s get started!

Dear Matty: I have a sad story to tell that I think your readers should know about. My good friend Alex, a dog, was loved by his humans, but he was an escape artist and roamer. So, although his humans were working with him to change this dangerous tendency, they also had him implanted with an id microchip for added protection. Well, Alex got lost, picked up by the control board, and was put to sleep because nobody claimed him in time. How did this happen? I hear the shelter scanned for a chip, but they didn’t pick it up because Alex’s chip was not compatible with their scanner. Shouldn’t all shelters and chip implanters be working together? The chip is a great idea, and I know it’s helped many of us, but it seems to be making things worse if they give you a false sense of security. –Daisy, a housecat in Illinois

Dear Daisy:  I did some asking around and I learned that a lot of these cases can be traced back to chips implanted by Banfield Pet Hospital, an affiliate of Petsmart. There are more than 350 of these hospitals and they implanted tens of thousands of chips. I don’t know about the whole country, but a reporter in Denver found that 75% of the shelters in that area did not have scanners compatible with the Banfield chips at the time they were implanting them. Banfield, of course, maintained that they are “better” chips, but in response to pressure from humane societies they changed their policy in 2004. At this time Banfield will only use the new chips in a hospital if all shelters in a 25 mile radius of that hospital have compatible scanners. Too late for Alex.  But all you guys out there with chips should check with your human to be certain you are compatible. You can learn a lot more about microchip compatibility at this link: http://www.canismajor.com/dog/microchp.html.