Sunday afternoon, DH and I were to take Mike in for sub-q fluids from
the vet tech when she was there to feed the boarders; however, when we
arrived TED himself was there instead, and we were able to talk
uninterrupted for a bit while the IV bag emptied itself into Mikey.  I
am not entirely sure what's going on with Mike's kidney function -
what TED said Sunday was not really the same thing as what he'd told
me on the telephone Thursday night, and was far more pessimistic.  (I
was too upset about it to post an update, frankly.) He did say,
though, that he thought we should consult an internal medicine
specialist.

I'd previously tracked down a feline specialist on St. Simons Island,
GA, which is appx. 60 miles from here.  No sane person would have gone
to the islands in the past few weeks, but now that the G-8 Summit is
finally over, DH and I went today and talked to her.  I certainly want
to give her a try - this is by far the closest feline specialist, and
we liked her.  She had four gorgeous office cats - 2 black girls, an
orange tabby boy and an enormous tuxedo boy.  She said that if our vet
is willing to work with her, she'd be happy to do so, and may be able
to suggest some things we can do right now that will help.  She says
she sees probably about one hyperthyroid cat per day, whereas Mike is
only the second hyper-t cat our vet has *ever* seen.  And the other is
having no complications at all - she's doing beautifully on the
tapazole, and has gained weight and is marvelously healthy.  (I try
very hard not to have mean and petty feelings about this other cat.)

The only thing that gave me pause is that she mentioned (just
mentioned in passing, didn't recommend this for Mike or anything like
that) the possibility of surgery to remove the thyroid.  I've done an
awful lot of reading about the hyper-t, and I understand that this
surgery isn't recommended any more.  Perhaps there are circumstances
that make it more feasible and I just don't know about them - anyway,
we are quite capable of saying no to any proposed treatment, it's just
that this didn't sit quite right with me.

I like our vet very very much - he's great with Mike, and he is very
knowledgeable and does a lot of research.  The fact remains, though,
that knowledge and experience are not the same thing, and entirely
aside from that I want a second opinion.  Mike has another appointment
with TED tomorrow (he has to go to the vet on his birthday, poor
baby!) and we are going to talk to TED about this and ask him to fax
the records.  I'll be holding my breath until she's at least looked at
his records - I am hoping with all my heart that she won't see the
situation as quite as grim as our regular vet does.

I know a lot of you take your furbabies to feline specialist vets - do
you find that it makes a big difference?

And please, if there's anyone lurking out there who knows anything
about good kitty docs in south Georgia, please, please let me know!

------
Krista