SOS: Save Our Simon!

If you're reading this, thank you for coming this far and please consider saving multiple lives today.

Simon is a smart, silly, amazing, precious little floor goblin. Simon is my best friend, my baby, and my only family. He is my medically approved Support Animal and without him the risks to my own safety increase significantly. For both our sakes, please help Save Our Simon:

While undergoing a routine check up last October, his veterinary team discovered that he had developed hyperthyroidism and that both his thyroid and kidney levels were ridiculously high. He was put on a treatment regimen first topical, and then oral pill form, of Methimazole. Methimazole was presented to me as "the only known treatment for hyperthyroidism in cats." They told me it was generally very well tolerated. Well, surprise! It was not for us.

Poor Simon first developed a horrible peeling, discoloring rash where the topical cream was placed, and then presented with the same side effects from the pill that he had experienced on the topical. He was losing his appetite, having gastrointestinal upset, refusing to eat for days at a time, and throwing up regularly.

The silver lining of all this was that despite the unmanageable side effects, the medication was working. During a check in in December, his blood work showed all things good and in normal health range. This meant his kidney elevation was likely due to the hyperthyroidism and not necessarily due to any separate kidney disease, and it also meant his thyroid was responding to treatment. But when I begged them for help with his nausea and vomiting the vet said, "he either needs to take the meds or if he can't, maybe it's a quality of life issue." They were just going to let him die. I felt so painfully abandoned by yet another clinic that was supposed to be the best in the city.

And so, I went to the internet. And you know what? Another treatment exists. And not just a treatment - a CURE. That's right, there is a cure in the form of Radioactive Iodine and one (1) clinic performs this treatment in the greater Grand Rapids area. And this is where you, dear friend, come in:

Radioactive Iodine will completely neutralize the thyroid gland, but it does take time and money. First we have to complete pre-treatment testing to be sure he is a successful candidate (this is currently scheduled for Monday, May 5th). Assuming his testing comes back ok, Kentwood Cat Clinic will then administer a radioactive pill that costs somewhere around $1900.00 all on its own (price varies depending on the specific dosage needed).

Next, he will need to be boarded for approximately a week and a half at the clinic. This is because he will literally be radioactive for that long, and he must be kept in isolation or be kept boarded and only exposed to medical professionals in proper PPE. Because Simon is a very picky eater who will only consume wet food and no water, and he sometimes has to be offered eight different kinds of wet food before he will eat (yes, I've tried to hold out and it doesn't go well!) there is simply no feasible way for me to care for him at home while needing to keep him completely isolated. Between the testing, administration of the radioactive pill, and the long boarding process, we are expecting a total treatment cost of $3500-4000 dollars.

And then, he comes home! At this time, this is the best possible option we have to save Simon. He's a good, happy, energetic boy who still loves to run and jump and play, who loves to walk around the apartment with me following behind to pet him while he touches all his favorite things. He loves to eat his food, he loves "Uppy Time" (this is when I hold him while standing in a dark closet because for some baffling reason this is one of his favorite things); he has so much life left to live. He is, outside of his rude little thyroid, a nearly perfect boy. And I truly believe he has many years left if I can just get him through this part.

Please help us keep this little gremlin alive. Please help Save Our Simon!