My 10yo Cat is losing weight very fast but seems happy

Fingers crossed the vet has some positive news.

CONFIRMED by vet(thu blood work):

'hyperthyroidism'

Vet called said my suspicions was right 'hyperthyroidism'(which i got from reading this forum). I am trying to recall what she told me over the phone, their thyroid reading machine goes to 5, my cat was above 5, 'very unusual high reading they are not use to seeing'

Vet also said for treatments(which i was aware of already from reading this forum) of pill treatment or very expensive treatment idonie treatment(unaffordable for me), depending on how bad off the cat is. Also 2 other serious ailment might be possible, which will require more bloodwork next week

Originally Posted by reader

CONFIRMED by vet(thu blood work):

'hyperthyroidism'

Vet called said my suspicions was right 'hyperthyroidism'(which i got from reading this forum). I am trying to recall what she told me over the phone, their thyroid reading machine goes to 5, my cat was above 5, 'very unusual high reading they are not use to seeing'

Vet also said for treatments(which i was aware of already from reading this forum) of pill treatment or very expensive treatment idonie treatment(unaffordable for me), depending on how bad off the cat is. Also 2 other serious ailment might be possible, which will require more bloodwork next week

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Hi,

is the heart all right? Hyperthyroidism very often causes heart problems (HCM), so make sure your vet has looked into this

Once you've got use to giving the pills it turns into a routine and isn't all that bad.

Sending positive vibes for your cat

regards,

Christine

Originally Posted by cjh27

--truncated--
Hi,
is the heart all right? Hyperthyroidism very often causes heart problems (HCM), so make sure your vet has looked into this

Sending positive vibes for your cat
regards,Christine

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At the beginning of todays examination to see what was wrong, her heart was checked,came back normal. However i infer you mean there may be heart issues beyond that analysis.

It sounds ironic however if my cat remained at 23 pounds overweight before Hyperthyroidism kicked in to make her lose weight, we felt at 23 pounds overweight that would eventually take my cats life prematurely in and by itself.

I read somewhere, regularly giving tuna fish may lead to Hyperthyroidism. I gave my cat tuna fish many times over her 10 years. Sometimes every day for months. She loved/loves it, but i feel a tad guilty., dumb now.

Originally Posted by reader

At the beginning of todays examination to see what was wrong, her heart was checked,came back normal. However i infer you mean there may be heart issues beyond that analysis. .

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Hyperthyroidism causes the body to go into overdrive and the body systems speed up- this can mean a strain to the heart that can damage it. But if you vet checked the heart thoroughly this should be OK.

Originally Posted by reader

I read somewhere, regularly giving tuna fish may lead to Hyperthyroidism. I gave my cat tuna fish many times over her 10 years. Sometimes every day for months. She loved/loves it, but i feel a tad guilty., dumb now.

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Quite frankly all older cats will eventually end up with some sort of a medical problem- just like people. Very often its kidney problems, heart problems, hyperthyroidism or cancer ...not a nice list to choose from but at least hyperthyroidism can be treated

Don't beat yourself up about this - I've never heared that tuna causes it and even if it does it can't be changed now.

regards,

Christine

With the fish, there was a study that showed a correlation between feeding fish flavored foods and hyperthyroidism. The study was done only by interviewing cat owners about various cat-care issues, and it showed a correlation rather than a cause. There could be some other connection to bring about that result. Perhaps people feeding fish-flavored food were more likely to have bloodwork done on their cats. Who knows why the two are correlated, but there is no proof that feeding fish-flavored food causes hyperthyroidism.

There is an abstract for that study here:

http://www.avmi.net/newfiles/Hyperth...Links/001.html

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

With the fish, there was a study that showed a correlation between feeding fish flavored foods and hyperthyroidism. The study was done only by interviewing cat owners about various cat-care issues, and it showed a correlation rather than a cause. There could be some other connection to bring about that result. Perhaps people feeding fish-flavored food were more likely to have bloodwork done on their cats. Who knows why the two are correlated, but there is no proof that feeding fish-flavored food causes hyperthyroidism.

There is an abstract for that study here:

http://www.avmi.net/newfiles/Hyperth...Links/001.html

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"RESULTS: Case cats were significantly less likely to have been born recently than control cats. Housing; exposure to fertilizers, herbicides, or plant pesticides; regular use of flea products; and presence of a smoker in the home were not significantly associated with an increased risk of disease, but cats that preferred fish or liver and giblets flavors of canned cat food had an increased risk."

.. thats the most shoddily done studie I've seen in a long time

In other words: Hyperthydrioisms occurs primarily in older cats (what a suprise there ). Um yes, if the control cases aren't of the same age as the affected cats then why even bother collecting "data". In my oppinion that "studie" isn't worth the paper and those vets aren't scientists.

regards,

Christine

The vet said they used a thyroid test (scale/tester/machine?) that went to a high of 5. She said my cat registered above 5. Any ideas what that was about?


By the way, money is a concern right now. However i will donate to this site sometime in the near future. I have donated online to save our strays in the past months when i had xtra money

Originally Posted by reader

The vet said they used a thyroid test (scale/tester/machine?) that went to a high of 5. She said my cat registered above 5. Any ideas what that was about?

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I think she must have mean it was above the maximum "normal" value, which is a 5.0. One of my cat books states that the "normal" values for the T4 (thyroid) test are 0.8-5.0 ug/dL. A value of > 5.0 indicates hyperthyroidism.

The machines in house have a limited range--the big labs are able to be more precise. When my cat was diagnosed, his T4 was over 10. We were able to control his hyperthyroidism with medication quite well, so please don't think that the high number means he is not able to respond to treatment.

I am glad you finally got your cat to the vet, and hopefully the hyper-t has been picked up early enough to limit any heart issues. Fingers crossed for the meds, and do keep an eye on his organs, as when hyper-t is treated, it can then show kidney issues. I can't help on the values, as they are tested differently in the UK - my hypert boy this year had values of 180 when the top end of hte scale is 55.

To refresh everyone's memory, my cat has Hyperthyroidism. I went from not knowing what that was, to what it was.

My cat is on the second week of medicine(2xday)Methimazole \t
Should i be seeing any signs of something? My cat is lively, seems to be in a good mood, eating