“When Peterson entered veterinary school in 1972, feline hyperthyroidism seemingly didn’t exist; today, he treats nothing else. In the intervening decades, hyperthyroidism somehow became an epidemic in cats, and no one knows why. ‘I’ve devoted most of my time in the last 35 years to this,’ said Peterson, who noted that he has treated more than 10,000 hyperthyroid cats, ‘and I still have more questions than I have answers.'” Cats could be unwitting guinea pigs in our quest to understand what impact ordinary household chemicals are having on our pets, and on us. From the NYT Magazine: The Mystery of the Wasting House-Cats. (This is one more item on a long list of reasons why your cat’s contempt for you is entirely justified.)