Flossie ( Domestic Short Hair - female ) A 'Michael Owen' Problem - Did Flossie Play Football? About five years ago, a woman brought her cat into the surgery where Paula worked. It was lame. After an examination it was diagnoses as having a torn cruciate ligament (just like Michael Owen – although as far as we know the cat didn’t play football!). The cartilage was also damaged. The surgery was tricky but Paula had done many such operations and the prognosis was excellent. But, the cat would need at least 6 weeks of cage rest for it to heel properly. “Ah!” said the owner. Everything was alright, the cost of the op wasn’t a problem. But the six weeks cage rest was. For it turned out that while this woman owned the cat, she let the cat spend most of the time at another house. The man who lived in that house had learning difficulties and would not understand the need for the cage rest. She said he would certainly let her out the first time there was a distressing ‘meow’. And since the only way for the cat to get in or out of  his house was via a small elevated window (which required jumping), the likelihood of a proper recovery was nearly zero. The owner thought that the best thing would be for the cat to ‘disappear’. So, Flossie came to live with the vet! Hyper-thyroidism: Today, she’s nearly 17 years old. As is common among older cats, Flossie has developed hyper-thyroidism – the over production of thyroid hormone . This causes symptoms like increasing thirst, and the loss of weight even though appetite remains normal. If left untreated it leads to heart problems. There are several possible treatments depending on the severity of the ailment and the condition of the animal. Normally, it is treated medically, but in some circumstances surgical intervention is preferred. Sometimes radioactive iodine is used. For Flossie, it simply means taking a tablet (mixed in with food) twice a day.