Anyone know anything about Thyroid problems in Cats?

mews2much

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The Vet said Coco might have a Thyroid problem.
We will get the results of the test today.
Someone told me in another group their cat had thyroid problems and it had surgey and is ok now.
The vet said surgery is not safe for Coco so I do not lnow what to do if she has it.
 

pat

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You hopefully, have two other options (I've had too many hyperthyroid cats, imo..NO more!)...one is medication - methimazole aka tapazole, which is what I've used with my cats, or radioactive iodine treatment - though that is only if kidney values are stable as I recall.

One issue is that having hyperthyroidism can mask kidney issues...as the hyperthyroidism is brought under control, tests for kidney function may show worsening numbers.

I am sure your vet will help guide you to the best option.

In Alix's case, we have been rechecking her kidney function at certain intervals post her beginning methimazole. Little minx likes to bite me...twice a day, when she gets her tiny 1/4 of a tab dose...ouch!!
 
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mews2much

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The vet did tell me he wants to get the bp under control and see if she has thyroid problems before he does more kidney tests.
Right now her bun is 79 and she dosent each much.
Stripes was 156 when she went in a coma and I had to have her pts.
This was 8 years ago.
I used to have my own Crf chat room at the time.
 

pat

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Originally Posted by mews2much

The vet did tell me he wants to get the bp under control and see if she has thyroid problems before he does more kidney tests.
Right now her bun is 79 and she dosent each much.
Stripes was 156 when she went in a coma and I had to have her pts.
This was 8 years ago.
I used to have my own Crf chat room at the time.
Well then you know the deal....I wish I couldn't say I've had to deal with crf more than once now


wishing your sweetie all the best,
 
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mews2much

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Yea I know alot about crf but nothing about thyroid.
Stripe had Sub Q's but I never did them.
The vet did them which i know cost more.
Stripe had Winstrol and Procrit shots with K/D.
She was also force fed.
The vet told me yesterday that it would be kidney disease that will get Coco.
 

pat

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Here is hoping she will be one of those 10+ years kitties who lives fairly well with her crf!
 

pat

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Originally Posted by mews2much

That will not happene because she is 16.5 now but I do hope she can live alot longer.
I do wish they could live into their mid to late 20s
 
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mews2much

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Me also.
My friends cat was 23 when she lost her in July and my Aunts was 22.
How old is your oldest Cat?
 
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mews2much

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Thats great!!!
Is your oldest ok?
I have 2 cats born in aug and my new kitten I am getting was born in Aug.
Stormy who I lost in Dec from kidney failure was born Aug 1 and was only 5. There were not many signs with her except she would throw up and drool sometimes. In fact I thought it was Coco throwing up most of the time but it was Stormy.
She was to far gone when I found out.
 

pat

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Originally Posted by mews2much

Thats great!!!
Is your oldest ok?
I have 2 cats born in aug and my new kitten I am getting was born in Aug.
Stormy who I lost in Dec from kidney failure was born Aug 1 and was only 5. There were not many signs with her except she would throw up and drool sometimes. In fact I thought it was Coco throwing up most of the time but it was Stormy.
She was to far gone when I found out.
No, she's lost some vision - and we are watching her closely for signs of further changes/issues - she's seen a specialist, this is the course we decided on. She is also newly diagnosed with hyper-t, but is doing okay on meds (values creeping up a bit...her dad and her uncle both had beyond belief numbers when their hyper-t was found). But she's still mouthy, closer to her sister now (I have her full sibling sister - Ophelia - not hyper-t but a long time asthmatic), still loves her treats, her catnip, her toys and her snuggle time
 

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Originally Posted by mews2much

The Vet said Coco might have a Thyroid problem.
We will get the results of the test today.
Someone told me in another group their cat had thyroid problems and it had surgey and is ok now.
The vet said surgery is not safe for Coco so I do not lnow what to do if she has it.
My RB kitty Tess had a hyperactive thyroid. She lived four years or so after her diagnosis (lived to age 22).

She took the tapazole and had her levels checked fairly frequently. A hyperthyroid is fairly common in elderly cats. If the vet gets your kitty on meds and want to check the thyroid levels often, that is normal. It is all about getting it a within normal range so the dose is tinkered with and levels checked until it is right - then it has be to be checked that is till working as time goes on.

Surgery was a possibility - but the odds werent good because my cat was already elderly. On a younger healthy cat it would have been a safer procedure. The vet still let us choose.

If your cat is hyper, it is normal that he will drink water and eat a lot all day. My cat ate and ate and ate - but still dropped weight. The meds and high calorie diet did let her maintain weight longer. She never was able to gain any back. We let her eat as much as she wanted (I dont know if this is a healthy decision or not. We just went with it because she was hungry all the time).

btw - years after this I developed a hyperactive thyroid. The doc was impressed with my vast knowledge on the subject
I even took the same meds as Tess.

I dont know if it is true in cats - but I went into remission, which is common after 12-18 mns (24mns for me). WIth the similarities between people and cats on this disease, I hope it is possible for cats too.

Please try to relax; a hyperactive thyroid is treatable and I assume vets would be familiar with treating it (experience is always good).
 
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