My 11-year-old cat, Bailey, has been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. He's been my best little fur buddy for all 11 of his years, so I want to do what I can to ensure he remains healthy.

This apparently is the most common feline disease, even more common than diabetes. Do you have a cat with hyperthyroidism? If so, what did you do to treat the cat?

The vet says the options are giving him a pill twice a day for the rest of his life and doing regular tests to make sure the medication is working and is not taxing his system, OR -- the best option -- injecting him with radioactive iodine. The procedure costs about $1,000 (gulp). But lifelong medication and tests would far exceed that amount.

I've started learning about the "I-131" (radioactive) treatment, and though every resource says it's safe and actually cures hyperthyroidism in 97 percent of cats, it still freaks me out a little. Injecting a cat with a radioactive compound that requires the cat to be hospitalized for up to two weeks to reduce the risk of radiation exposure to humans? Scary! Having to limit contact with the cat and its waste for up to three weeks upon his return home to further limit the amount of radiation exposure to humans? Scary!

I've got a lot of questions, not the least of which includes, "If precautions have to be taken after treatment to avoid human radiation exposure, how come the treatment is not harmful to the cat itself?"