What Should I Do? Options

[Furry's mum]

Since losing my best beloved Furry on July 23rd I have been to the local cat adoption center to give cuddles to some of the older lonely cats there. Everyone wants to adopt kittens so they seem to get new homes quite quickly. But twice I have sat for 30 minutes with a 12 year old pure white boy, who is just so loving & affectionate.
Furry was only 12 when she died so it feels like a continuation of love for her to give him a home. Trouble is he's got a serious thyroid problem - on medication at the moment, but probably going to have to have his thyroid gland removed.
I just don't know if I could cope with the pain of adopting him only to find he had a very short time to live. Do any of you know how long cats could live without the thyroid, & is it a very serious illness? He seems very alert & well in himself, but it would break my heart if he came home to us for only a few weeks.
Going to the center gives me some comfort, but when I get home again the emptiness is so awful, no-one can ever replace my Furry Furskin.

[RIT & Cleo]

I recently went through this...I kept looking at older cat's in the shelter too. I too was afraid of illness since I lost Cleo on 7/28 after 18 years. My thinking was...check the shelter's exam info of the cat and bring into the vet for a full exam as soon as possible. The shelter also provided 30 days worth of pet care insurance up to $500! This was so cool. So, it allayed my concerns alot. My shelter allows you to "return" the cat after 30 days too - although I could not imagine doing this.

Try searching for cat and thyroid on google. You can read different thoughts and suggestions.

I knew even if the cat was older, I could give it a good 5 more years. It's hard to imagine getting another 18 yrs with another buddy though...I guess I was looking for who I could help and love for a shorter time. Ironically, I ended up adopting a 1 yr old or I should say she adopted me. It has been fun to build a new relationship, although I still miss and cry for Cleo.

I am going to go back in a week to look for an older cat Oscar who I went to see originally. He was sick...they wouldn't tell me what was wrong.

Even though you lost Furry at age 12, cats can live way beyond that as seen on this board recently...17, 18, 18 1/2, and 20 yrs. etc. Any more time out of the shelter would be a gift