This new journey with Bentley through the mysterious ailment known as Hyper-thyroidism, is a puzzle to put together slowly and with care. It turns out that old habits die hard, and his spraying issue has made it impossible for him to be in the cat room. My plan after that became evident was to return him to the cat enclosure where he’s lived most his life. (I have not been myself lately)  I gave no thought to what that would do to his feline friends until the next morning when I went in and saw the terror in Ashley, McGoo and Pigeon’s eyes. I can’t put him in the introduction cage. PIITA is in there. So I developed a Plan C. It’s only temporary (God willing) until the medicine kicks in right now. He’s throwing it up every time he’s been given it.

I took one of Kota’s old cages. The problem was putting a cat in a cage who isn’t used to living in a small cage. Although this is not small, they generally get a little bit frantic. Bentley already is frantic. So what I have done is, I found a smaller cage. I took off the door to that, and slid it into the bigger cage. I filled the smaller cage with straw so he could nestle down and stay warm. Thankfully, the cage is large enough that the litter pan and the water bowl and food bowls fit fine. He still has room to move around and when he wants to sleep , all he has to do is snuggle down in the straw. It keeps the straw from getting thrown all over the cage. It also prevents the litter from getting thrown all over the cage because it’s big enough to stay away from the water and food bowls. It’s not the Ritz or the Hilton , but it’s all I’ve got: he has recently earned a new nickname. I call him, “My Energizer Bunny on Crack!” It is very evident to me at this time why they call this Hyper-thyroidisim. They can’t cure it, they don’t know why it happens. Both cat and owner just have to learn together how to live with it. So that’s what we’re doing. At night when the temperature drops, I cover him with a heavy blanket.