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I am undergoing Radioactive Iodidne Treatment for thyroid

Sent to Pet Experts October 25 03:52 AM

I am undergoing Radioactive Iodidne Treatment for thyroid cancer, and want to know if and what I need to protect my 2 cats from radiation exposure

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Status:  Closed   Value: $5
Answer
October 25 6:24 AM (2 hours and 32 minutes and 12 seconds later)
         
REPLIEDCheck Mark

Most physicians suggest that you sleep alone for the first three days following treatment. Also, with people, you should avoid sitting cheek to cheek, holding a baby on your shoulder and you should avoid kisssing because a small amount of radioactive iodine is found in saliva. So be sure to use this same precaution with your pets.

After three days, it should not be a concern.

You can read more about this here:

http://www.thyroid.ca/Articles/EngE12A.html

Then let me know if you still have questions.

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Tammy F. -- Pet Care Expert -- 99% Positive Feedback on 5067 Pet Accepts
15+ years-Pet care, Veterinary shelter medicine and infectious disease, Behavior training, Rescue
Reply
October 25 10:57 AM (4 hours and 32 minutes and 47 seconds later)
         
Reply to Tammy Falkner's Post: Hello - thanks for the answer, but it's not specific enough for cats. I already had recommendations about what to do for people, and it was more restictive for children than your recommendations are for cats. Maybe my phycisians have gone overboard, either way I was looking for a specific more detailed answer from a veterinary point of view about my cats. How far away do they need to be from me - can they be in the bedroom on a chair next to me? Do they need to be kept in a different room? Please clarify. Thanks.
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Answer
October 25 11:20 AM (23 minutes and 24 seconds later)
         
REPLIEDCheck Mark

Everything that I have read on the topic states that they can be in the same room with you and that they can even touch you but not until after the third day. After the third day, you can continue as normal. If they are terribly affectionate and you don't have anyone to help you with them, you might want to consider boarding them for a few days.

Does this help more?

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Tammy F. -- Pet Care Expert -- 99% Positive Feedback on 5067 Pet Accepts
15+ years-Pet care, Veterinary shelter medicine and infectious disease, Behavior training, Rescue
Reply
October 25 8:25 PM (9 hours and 4 minutes and 39 seconds later)
         
Reply to Tammy Falkner's Post: You stated - "Everything that I have read on the topic states that they can be in the same room with you and that they can even touch you but not until after the third day."
Do you mean by this that they need to be in a different room for three days? - or just not be touched for 3 days. Thanks so much for clarifying.
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Answer
October 25 8:36 PM (11 minutes and 22 seconds later)
         
ACCEPTEDCheck Mark

Not touched for three days. They can be in the room with you during this time but you want to avoid touching them. This may be harder on you if they ARE in the same room as you. It's just human nature to want to pet them and to share affection.

So - three days, no kissing, no touching, no sharing a sleeping space. Then after that, you can proceed as normal.

I am very sorry that you are going through this but this treatment has a very high success rate.

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Tammy F. -- Pet Care Expert -- 99% Positive Feedback on 5067 Pet Accepts
15+ years-Pet care, Veterinary shelter medicine and infectious disease, Behavior training, Rescue
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