Probable Hyper T for Smokie (kinda long, sorry)

It's been a while since I have posted in regard to Smokie. He was throwing up a lot when he was on the dry food. Since I've been putting him on 1 can a day of wet cat food. The vet took a wait and see approach to the weight loss because she couldn't feel anything on his Thyroid three months ago. But since he's lost weight. This time last year he was 9.5 lbs and when I brought him in three months ago he was down to 8.5 lbs. The doc said that he was not under weight as of yet. She thought it could be because he is getting older he's 9.5 years old. Will be 10 this May. I weighed him today and he's down to 7.5 lbs. She told me to put him on a senior formula when I went in last, as his throwing up may be due to constipation. But that didn't help. So he's on friskies (what I can afford right now) 1 can a day and the rest dry. No more throwing up. Yay. Has been free from throwing up for about 5 months or so. Smokie is going to the doc tomorrow for a full blood workup. The vet said that she's pretty sure he's hyper T. Otherwise he seems healthy and happy. Just very vocal when he's hungry.

So far the only signs are the weight loss, he's always hungry, and soft stool or diarrhea. It makes things difficult because I have one cat who needs to loose weight, and I can't leave the cat food bowl up anymore because if he doesn't have food when he needs it he's constantly crying because he's hungry. That and he starts loosing more weight. If I put him in a room by himself, he stresses out from being away from the other cats and won't eat or drink properly. I don't want that. The cat that's over weight I can't put in another room because she'll stress out and stops eating and drinking all together. That's not good for her. So I can't put her in another room.

They are all currently on Chicken Soup Senior Formula. Out of the 6 cats I have 4 considered Seniors or nearing Senior age, and the other two will be reaching senior age in about 3 years or so. Smokie is 9.5yrs, Lucky is 9.5 years, Sassy is between 12-14 years old, Faith is 6.5 years old, Charlie is 6.5 years old and Callie is 4.

I do have some questions as to Hyper T treatment costs. I did some research and I've read that the medication is about $25 a month. Ideally, in the many articles that I've read, the best treatment for the animal is the Radio Active Iodine Treatment. Which can cost around $1200 depending on where you live and is less invasive and cures the Hyper T. (Anyone had this done? What was the cost?) The medication works, but then requires multiple vet checkups to check how the medication is working. The other option is a surgery which fixes the problem too, but it is not really recommended for older cats.

I would really like him to get the Radio Active Iodine Treatment, however, problem is, it's too expensive. Right now I'm trying to figure out how I can afford the medication alone. My budget is so tight that I don't even have an extra $25.00 for the medication (if that's what it costs.) What is everyone paying for the Hyper T meds? I might be able to afford maybe $5 a month for medication but not much more than that. Plus, my vet fund account is pretty much depleted after taking smokie in for this visit. So, I'm trying to figure out how I'll be able to afford future visits to see how the meds are working.

I have looked into places that would help with medical bills etc, but most only do a grant of $100-$200 for vet costs. Not for medication. Right now I can only work no more than 3 hours a day. I've checked into seeing if I qualify for disability even temporary or partial and I do not qualify. I don't qualify for SSI at all either. So those are no help. Can't do care credit because I wouldn't be able to pay them back as I have no extra money every month to pay them.

I've looked into trying to find homes for some of my cats but the responses I got were horrifying. Most of my cats (4 of the 6) are special needs cats. Which means they need special food, and require vet visits regularly (partly why my vet fund is now depleted) So humane societies I've called around here say if an animal is old or is ill requiring medications and such I was told that there was a 90% chance that they will just get put down right away. Because of all the animals that they are taking in now they can't home them all and don't have the funds to take care of the chronically sick. The Sick, or too old are put down right away. I've tried no kill animal shelters and every one I called within my area even some an hour away are not taking any more animals in, and they especially can't take in special needs cats because they are not getting in the funding they need because of the economy. I've tried putting fliers out, and listing them on Craigs list etc. With no luck. I talked to the vet and told her if she knows of anyone, and she said no but that she'd put the word out. But told me that most people especially with the economy now only are looking for healthy young cats. They can't afford a cat who has special needs like mine. So, now I'm in a situation where I feel that I have to do something to raise the funds I need myself
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Not sure if I can post it in this area or if I will have to post it in the Market Place, but I am now working with my friend who runs an animal sanctuary in Michigan to make photo collectibles, and I'm working on making Custom Screen Savers to sell to help raise funds. I need a way to have some kind of way to raise the money I need to make sure that all my animals have what they need.

I have been looking for other work that would fit into what I can and can't do, but no luck in my area. The closest place that has jobs available are 45 minutes away. I will probably have to sell my trailblazer for a more economical vehicle, if and when I get a job that's further away.

Kind of stressed out right now trying to figure out where this money is going to come from. I've already sold what I could. I have a few big ticketed items that I'm trying to sell but no body is even biting on them because they are high ticked items (rings, collectible animation art etc). I've even asked my vet if she could help out and I could pay her what her costs are and then volunteer my time to help work off the rest, but no. She's a small area vet and only has one other assistant there with her. She said if she could help me she would but doesn't have anything she needs help with. I've tried calling the other vets in the area and no one is willing to help me.

I'll be placing a link to some of the items I'm making and selling in the Market Place. Hope that maybe you guys could spread the word. It would be greatly appreciated. I need all the help I can get right now.

Sorry for the long post.

Oh I sooooo hear you regarding vet bills.

I am on my second HT cat, Arthur. Honestly, his hyper t med is not that expensive. It is cheaper than all the cat food I buy. Arthur gets 1/2 pill every other day of methimazole.

I, too, have 7 seniors. Arthur, hyper t, Goofy, diabetic, and a younger struvite crystal cat who eats c/d. So I know about vet bills and the challenge of feeding.

I would encourage you though, to be very, very, leary of cl for finding a home for your cat. You are correct that older special needs cats are almost impossible to place. This is just me, but I would never in 1 million years give my cat to a stranger. People are so deceiving. They take cats for reasons I won't even go into here.

Arthur does not go in for regular blood work unless there is a change in his condition. He was diagnosed 2 years ago and just in December was the first time he was loosing wt. It turned out not to be from the HT, but he is not digesting his food properly.....another issue! But his HT numbers were very good.

So like I said, depending on his dosage, you may be able to go longer than a month. I don't buy it every month. I just looked at his meds and they are dated from October 2010. So, try not to borrow trouble on this HT until you know.

Neither of my HT cats had to be on a special diet. They are just hungry, but if you get his numbers under control that should diminish.

So, again, I know what it's like to be soooo overwhelmed. We all do here. I hope I have given you a bit of encouragement. Remember, maybe the HT is mild and he will be lucky and only get a half pill a day.

I will be thinking of you and sending good vibes for things to turn around. I will also watch for your products.

Placing my cats would be the last resort and I would be very anal about who they went to. I would be checking for references, checking with prior vets etc. they would not be going to someone who has no animals.

But I'm really trying to do everything I can to keep them. My cats don't go in for regular check-ups. I know seeing as I have seniors I should but I just don't have that money right now. If and when I get a better paying job, I'll definitely look into vet insurance. I found a place that gave discounts for multiple animals, and it was basically $10 per cat because all my cats are indoor only cats. I won't even let them put a toe outside. I live right next to a busy highway. I see WAY too many cats that get hit, I do NOT want one of my cats to be those that I see.

I am really hoping that if he is Hyper T that the tests will show it. I know the last time that I went to see the vet she said that even some cats when they are tested don't show results with positive Hyper T. That she's had to give them medication based on symptoms.

When I weighed him this morning I almost cried to see him at 7.5lbs. He weighed in 2008, before we moved, at 11lbs. So I think that's when the symptoms started. This summer I noticed he was feeling a little bony but was at 10lbs. When I took him into the vet in September he was at 8.5 which I thought was way too thin. But she said he's still at a healthy weight. That as cats get older they tend to be more bonier and can loose weight too. Which is why she did the wait and see approach. I called her today and she said that he need to be tested now. So he's going in at 9am tomorrow and I'll have results on Friday. I'm hoping that maybe if it is Hyper T that the meds will take care of the throwing up part, and I could put him back on all dry again which would help recoup what the meds will cost.

In my signature I've put the URL to my store on eBid. I'm also going to be adding screen-savers there too soon. But will put more details on the Market Place forum.

Just got back from the vet. She did a full blood panel on Smokie along with a thyroid test. He did really well but you could tell he was not thrilled going to the vet. He hid behind the sink faucet most of the time.

The vet weighed him and he weighed 7.8lbs which she said even being that weight he still was not underweight. However she does not want to see him loose anymore weight.

I won't know until tomorrow the results. I'm on pins and needles now. Hoping that if he does have a thyroid condition that it shows up on the blood work.

She did give me the list of options, which I told her I'd done research on it already and knew them and what I'd want. Though she did tell me that he was not too old for surgery. She had a cat of her own that had the surgery when he was 15 years old. And he lived another 3. She had to put him down because he then got liver cancer. So had he not gotten the liver cancer she said he would have lived even longer. So she actually recommended either the medication or surgery. She was intrigued by the Radio Active Iodine Treatment. Apparently there is a place in Milwaukee which is about an hour from here that advertises that they do it.

I'd really like to try and raise the money for either the surgery or the Iodine Treatment.

I did find a place online where you can start fundraisers for free. So, I thought I'd give that a try. I will be putting flyers up around town, and in by where I work as well.

Not sure if I can post a link here or not but if I can let me know. Not sure I can post it in the Market Place Forum as it's really nothing that I'm selling. I'd still like to sell stuff to help raise funds too.

Once I get the results I'll let everyone know. I'm not even anxious about if he does have Hyperthyroidism. I'm more scared that the test results will be inconclusive and I'll be left running more tests. At least if I get a positive test result I'll know where to go from there.

Mel

I have not had a thyroid test be inconclusive. But, then again, I don't know that much about the tests.

I will be sending that you get your answer tomorrow. I know how hard it is to wait!!

Thanks. I couldn't eat much tonight. My stomach is all nerves. On one hand I want the results to find something. On the other hand nothing would be great too...I think. But only if he got better. The stress is not helping my IBS at all which is why I can only eat bland food right now. I wish the tests could get results in the office in a few minutes. That would be nice! Save some pet owners from anxiety over night.

Let us know what the vet tells you tomorrow.

I will do that as soon as I find out from the vet. I like this vet better than the last. She said she'd call me but likes to go over the results in person with her patients. I was impressed with that! Most vets just call you to give you the info.

Sorry I didn't get back to everyone yesterday right away. They changed the hard drive in my computer yesterday and it took a while to get the back up restored to the computer.

The test was positive. Smokie is Hyper T Positive.

Here were the blood test results:

Glucose 93
AST(GOT) 104
ALT(GPT) 281
Alk. P/ Tase 140
Total Bilirubin 0.2
Cholesterol 191
Total Protien 7.2
Albumin 3.4
Globulin 3.8
Urea N 26
Creatine 0.8
Phosphorous 4.5
Calcium 9.6
Sodium 158
Potassium 4.6
Chloride 119
Bicarbonate 18
Anion Gap 26
GGT <3
A/G Ratio 0.9

H T4 - VET 12.7 Normal (1.9 - 4.8)


So good news and bad news. He was positive. She did say that his Kidneys look good and Liver was a little off but that was because of the Hyper T. But wants him back in, in 6 months.

She has him on 1/2 a pill once a day right now for two weeks. Then give 1/2 tablet every 12 hours for two weeks. I think she eventually wants him on one tablet 2x daily. I gave him his first dose yesterday when we got home from the vet. I crushed it up and put it in some baby food so I didn't have to struggle with him. So far he has not thrown up at all. Gave him his second dose today. Not sure when he should start throwing up if he's going to throw up on this med or not. I'm praying he takes the medication good because I don't have money for the alternative treatments now.

Hopefully since Smokie has had 2 doses of the med, and hasn't thrown it up yet, that's a sign he'll be ablel to continue with this med, and it will help him.

Well at least now you know. As they say, "knowledge is power." I firmly believe that.

You know what you are fighting. Arthur does not throw up his pills. What I do is pop the pill in with my thumb and forefinger. Then have a bit of butter on my middle finger and immediately wipe that along the side of his mouth. He starts to lick the butter and down goes the pill. It encourages more swallowing too.

I hope all goes well for you. Try not to worry too much. They can do quite well on a regulated dose.

I am sorry that he was diagnosed with hyper-t, I have had two hyper-t cats myself, both had very high liver values due to it. Please, please dont crush the pills though - there are effects on both them and us for doing that (I actually know someone who developed thyroid problems herself because of crushing tablets) - they are also not as effective, as they are designed to be slow release and crushing prevents that, so the thyroid isn't being that well controlled. There are lots of effective ways to get pills into cats, I used Primula (a squeezy cheese) for Sam, he never noticed the tablets, and it was a lot easier than sliced meats, as tablets came out of those very easily. With regards to vomiting, Tino was sick after the second dose, so we swapped his meds and while he wasnt as sick on the second meds, he just refused to take them. Sam did go through one period of being sick, i stopped them for long enough for him to stop being sick, introduced them back on a lower dose, and he never had any other issues - he had been on them for a couple of months though, so we assumed it was as his levels were dropping, his body didnt need the higher dose. i dont know what it is like in the US, but in the UK we can get prescriptions from the vet and order online, and that saved me about £5 a month on Sam's meds.

One other thing I would do is either stop the senior food altogether for him or give him mostly adult food - senior food has less calories in it, so is the worst thing for a hyper-t cat. just to give you an idea of how severe weight loss can be, my first hyper-t cat had really bad teeth, and stopped eating - even with an appetite stimulant and me forcing food into him, he lost 400g in just one week - he was severly hyper-t though, his numbers were three times higher than the top end of the normal scale.

I have never had surgery done on mine, although I wanted to with my second cat - unfortunately by the time we got him stable, he developed oral cancer. I am glad your vet seems on the ball with blood tests though, with Sam we ended up going off him, it was obvious from his energy levels and weight (I did get him weighed monthly, as he had other health issues), how high his levels were. i do know people who have had the surgery done on one gland and then it has come back on the second gland so they have needed surgery, and there are risks with calcium levels.

I asked the vet if it was okay to crush the pills and put them in the baby food I give him and she said it was okay to. I've tried giving it to him by mouth and it literally took me 45 minutes to get it into his mouth. He would somehow get it out and it would start dissolving before I could properly get it into his mouth. Eventually we're both frustrated.

I've tried all the pill pockets before. He won't eat those. Even if he would take them, I have right now I have $0 to spend on extra stuff to get his medication in him. So I do what I can. I've always given their meds crushed in baby food. It was so much easier on all of us. He's so hard to give meds to. The vets have tried to show me how to do it and when they do it, they have just about as hard of a time as I do. I know that there is a trans dermal gel but I can't afford it. What I can afford is the generic pill form meds.

I have joined a group with other's that have Hyper T cats and I've told them how I give him his meds and they didn't say that crushing it and putting it in baby food was bad. They also warned me against giving him 1/2 all at once. They cautioned me to give him the 1/2 in a day but split it in to 1/4 of a pill 2x daily.

Originally Posted by booktigger

Please, please dont crush the pills though - there are effects on both them and us for doing that (I actually know someone who developed thyroid problems herself because of crushing tablets) - they are also not as effective, as they are designed to be slow release and crushing prevents that, so the thyroid isn't being that well controlled.

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The medication used in the UK is different than the one used here. In the UK, they often use carbimazole, which comes in a slow-release form. In the US, we mainly use methimazole, which is not controlled-release, and it should be given twice per day. The warning about not inhaling the crushed tablets is a good one though. Similarly, for those using the transdermal form of the medication, always use gloves or finger cots to prevent the medication from being absorbed by our skin instead of the cat's.