Lucy a very lucky kitten

In April 2014 I was asked to collect some kittens from a farm just outside Mildenhall. When I got the three black and white kittens home, I realised that one of them was not 'quite right' The next day I took them all to the vet, one that looked different was suffering from hypothyroidism, a very rare condition in cats, but as we had had another one a few years before, I recognised the signs. The vet duly took blood samples and the results came back the next day that Lucy, had no measurable thyroxine level in her blood. Lucy just slept all the time and had very short legs. As there is no thyroxine drug for cats, she was given a small dose of the human version. It took a few days for the drug to kick in, but she slowly became more active, although she still slept a lot. After 3 weeks, another blood sample was taken, and the result was the same - no measurable thyroxine in her blood. The dose was doubled and 3 weeks later she was at the low end of the scale. The dose was doubled again, and 3 weeks later her thyroxine level was up and by now her ears were sticking upwards and she had loads more energy. At this point, one of our fosterers showed interest in rehoming her, so Lucy set off to her new home with 6 other cats and 2 dogs. Her last blood test showed her thyroxine level to be 17.5, and the dose has been doubled again, so that she is in the middle of the normal range. She is now quite a character - acting just like a playful and naughty kitten, putting all the other cats and the dogs in her household in their place and growling if anyone tries to steal her dinner! Lucy will be on thyroxine every day for the rest of her life and she has now been spayed

. Without treatment it is doubtful that she would have reached 16 weeks old and there are no ill effects. She should grow into a normal healthy cat. The feral mother cat, who also produced the previous cat who also produced the previous cat who had this condition, has now been neutered, so with luck, there will be no more poorly kittens.