After returning home, your cat will have a small amount of radioiodine remaining in the thyroid gland. Small amounts of radiation are excreted in body fluids, mainly urine and feces. We will give you homecare instructions outlining 7 days of close contact requirements and 14 days of litterbox instructions. These instructions may seem restrictive and may suggest that the cats are hazardous, however this is not the case. The amount of radiation you will get from your cat is not a dangerous amount by itself. However, as people live many years and are exposed to radiation from many sources over their lifetimes, the goal of the instructions is to help reduce the amount of radiation you receive in your lifetime.

When you follow the home care instructions you will receive about the same amount of radiation that would get from a chest Xray. Your cat does not need to be isolated from your family. Your cat should not be on your lap or spend time right beside you for 7 days. Pregnant women or children under 12 years should not have direct contact or participate in your cat’s care for the first 7 days. Litter must either be flushed or stored for 14days after your cat comes home. After this time, please return to your normal cat loving routine.

Your cat does not need to be isolated from other pets. Our pets do not live long enough or have enough radiation exposure for this to be a problem in their lifetimes.

We ask that you return your cat to your family veterinarian at 1 and 3 months post-treatment to check his or her T4 level.