Fat Dave after his treatment Willows
FOOD-FOCUSSED FELINE FAT DAVE GOES RADIOACTIVE AT WILLOWS
6 years ago 
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Overactive is not a word that was normally associated with ‘Fat Dave’, the chubby rescue cat.
Weighing in at a technically obese 9.3kg, new owner Jessica Fletcher put Dave on a diet which was so successful he won a Royal Canin Healthy Weight competition after shedding more than 3kg.
However, the now not-so-fat Dave continued to plummet alarmingly in weight, even after ending his diet, and was eventually admitted to Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service, in Solihull, after being diagnosed with an overactive thyroid.
Miss Fletcher described the dramatic decline in her pet. She said: “I adopted him from the Cramar Cat Rescue Centre, in Birmingham, where staff had given him the name “Fat Dave” because he was such a porker.
“He is certainly very ‘food-focused’, so we put him on a diet and his weight came down to a much healthier 6Kg. But then suddenly he started losing even more weight – and quite rapidly.
“A blood test revealed hyperthyroidism – an overactive thyroid – and the vets were very good at explaining all the treatment options to us.
“It can be managed using medications, diet, surgery or radioactive iodine therapy (RAI), which was my preferred option.
“The main reason was because it offered the best chance of an outright cure but also because it meant we could avoid daily medication and regular blood tests, as Dave dislikes both intensely.
“He can be thoroughly uncooperative and massively grumpy when he doesn’t like something, so it was definitely a case of short-term disruption in order to avoid a lifetime of living with a bad tempered, grumpy, fat cat with a grudge.”
Willows was perfectly equipped to deal with Dave’s case, having opened a purpose-built, state-of-the-art RAI unit earlier this year.
Isuru Gajanayake, Head of Internal Medicine at Willows, led the treatment. He said: “Fat Dave was admitted for treatment and initially underwent diagnostic tests including blood tests, urine tests and blood pressure measurement.
“A dose of radioactive iodine was then calculated and administered and he was hospitalised with us for two weeks afterwards.
“Everything went very well. At the time of discharge from the RAI unit, Fat Dave’s blood thyroid hormone level was normal and he had already regained some of the weight he had lost. A follow-up test a month afterwards showed his thyroid disease was now under control.”
Miss Fletcher couldn’t thank Willows’ expert staff enough, saying: “They were great at reassuring me throughout the whole time he was there.
“I had regular phone updates (both pre and post-op), so I always knew where we were in the process and that he was ok.
“Obviously I missed him while he was there and had fingers crossed the treatment would be fully effective but I didn’t worry about his welfare as I knew he was in such good hands.”
Willows offers a 24-hour service to clients and specialises in cardiology, dermatology, internal medicine, neurology, oncology ophthalmology, orthopaedics, imaging, anaesthesia and soft tissue surgery.
For more information about Willows Veterinary Centre, the RAI unit and its specialist teams, visit www.willows.uk.net.
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