16-year-old cat with hyperthyroidism

My dear companion cat, Callie,  has been with me 1/4th of my life.  I noticed recently that she was losing weight, getting skinny, begging for food all the time, and drinking lots of water.  At first I thought she might be diabetic.  I took her to the vet this week.  I couldn't afford ALL the blood tests he wanted to do so settled on physical exam and urinalysis for now ($130).  Her urine had no glucose which ruled out diabetes.  She did have bacteria, wbc, and rbcs in her urine so he gave her an antibiotic injection for UTI.  She really needs a complete blood work  ($200 more) to finish diagnosis but her symptoms are so classic and given her age, she likely has hyperthyroidism.  The specific gravity of her urine was VERY LOW indicating she is not concentrating her urine.  This could be due to hyperthyroidism and the large amounts of water she is drinking.  But she also could have some separate renal disease.

I have done a lot of research on the internet on feline hyperthyroidism.  Giving pills twice a day for the rest of her life is not the kind of relationship I want with my baby.  Also, regular blood draws to check T4 levels will be traumatic to her.  The pills cause nausea and vomiting and some cats itch so bad they get open sores from scratching.  That's not qualify life for an elderly cat.

I don't have the money for radioactive iodine I-131 treatment so that is not an option.

The new Hills y/d low iodine food is not a solution either.  There is very little protein in the food and extremely inappropriate ingredients for an obligate carnivore with corn, gluten, wheat, etc.  Cats cannot metabolize those.  If fed her Hills y/d the rest of her life, she would be severely malnourished and loose lean muscle because lack or protein (basically starve to death).  None of Hills "prescription diets", are appropriate for long term consumption.

I wish I could make a species appropriate low iodine diet for her, but that's not possible.  All animal proteins have iodine in them.  The only way to get low iodine chicken is to raise the chicken on low or no iodine.  Then their meat would be ok to use for hyper-t diets.  I checked the recommendations for low iodine food in humans preceding a radioactive scan of thyroid glands.  No dairy, no eggs, no cheese, no fish, and only small amounts of chicken, turkey, pork, or beef.  Veges and fruit ok for humans but wouldn't work for a cat.

Some experts think that hyperthyroidism is caused by fish-based diet and Callie only eats canned Salmon.  The parts of a salmon that ends up in pet food are the head (where they fish's thyroid glands are), and skin.  I'm wondering if I switch Callie to Chicken or Turkey canned food or homemade cooked diet, maybe her T4 would go down on its own?

I'm at a real dilemma.  I don't think Callie is suffering too much yet but she has gone from 8.5 lbs to 7.0 lbs.  But it would be totally inhumane to just keep her living untreated and watch her dwindle into a skeleton.  When I adopted her 16 years ago, I made a good living and would have easily afforded I-131 treatment for her.  I am on disability now and really stretch to pay for my own medical bills and medications.  I don't even have the money to have her euthanized ($120).

My current plan is to feed her a good, healthy chicken or turkey canned food and wait and watch.

I have a 11 year old cat that had lost 1 1/2 -2lbs.blood work for $69. Showed her to have hyperthyroidism, she gets a half a pill twice a day and has gain her weight back to normal doing much better. I was lucky to find a retired country vet that didn't charge what most vets did. Maybe a human society or C.A.T.S. could help find one that wouldn't cost to much. I know the feeling of a pet being family. Good luck and God bless.

Have you seen this page?  http://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2011/09/best-diet-to-feed-hyperthyroid-cats.html  It talks about what an endocrine specialist recommends for Hyperthyroid cats (High Protein, Low Carb).  The concern with not treating the disease is the cats will consume their own muscle tissue to get the protein they need.  The pills generally aren't that expensive.  My bridge baby Tabitha was Hyperthyroid, her medicine was a little more expensive as we opted for the transdermal gel to make it easier on her.  She lived a couple years with it before Kidney Failure took her life.  IMO not treating it is a cruel way to let your cat die.  Before Tabby cat was diagnosed she weighed 4#, I got her back up to 8# but not near her 12# that she normally weighed when she was healthy.  It broke my heart seeing how skinny she got.  She was eating like a horse.  She was actually living with my sister before I rescued her and got her treatment.  This site talks about the different treatment options.  http://www.felinehtc.com/site/view/...sanddisadvantagesofthevarioustreatmentoptions

If it is her thyroid they can compound the thyroid medicine into a gel you rub in their ear. It's about $25 per month. Pills are not necessary anymore. My cat ambi lived for several years on this gel. I like you knew she would hate me if I had to pill her 2 times a day, instead she got an ear rub.

The problem with medication is that the growth on thyroid continues to grow and can convert to cancer. 18% of cats have severe side effects to the med, some life-threatening. T4 never really returns to normal and the cats develop cardiomyopathy which is untreatable. One hyper-t vet estimates the cost of medical treatment at $600-900 year after year because required follow-up vet visits and repeated blood draws. I-131 costs $895 in center in Memphis and she would be cured. I'm going through the few assets I have left to see if I could sell enough to come up with the money for I-131 because none of the other options will cure Callie and bring their own new problems.

The problem with medication is that the growth on thyroid continues to grow and can convert to cancer. 18% of cats have severe side effects to the med, some life-threatening. T4 never really returns to normal and the cats develop cardiomyopathy which is untreatable. One hyper-t vet estimates the cost of medical treatment at $600-900 year after year because required follow-up vet visits and repeated blood draws. I-131 costs $895 in center in Memphis and she would be cured. I'm going through the few assets I have left to see if I could sell enough to come up with the money for I-131 because none of the other options will cure Callie and bring their own new problems.

SaveOldCats said:

 
My current plan is to feed her a good, healthy chicken or turkey canned food and wait and watch.

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Please don't. While I understand that money is very very tight, this is not the way to treat your cat if you can help it. Hyperthyroidism, if it is that, is relatively cheap medicine. It could make the world of difference to your cat's last part of it's life.  You talk about cancer, but your cat must be at least 16 years old, I doubt the medication will cause cancer immediately, and your cat is getting on. Personally I would disregard that worry about the meds.  Oh, did your vet feel for an enlarged gland?

Pills, some cat's eventually get used to them. My partners old cat was on meds for hyperthyroidism  3-4 years and the pills were tiny (and cheap) and his cat Sam got used to it and it was no bother. I like the idea of the gel for the ear tho, even better.

Good luck

I know kitties here who have been on the medication for quite some time and I know the disease itself is one that kitties do suffer with.

hexiesfriend said:

If it is her thyroid they can compound the thyroid medicine into a gel you rub in their ear. It's about $25 per month. Pills are not necessary anymore. My cat ambi lived for several years on this gel. I like you knew she would hate me if I had to pill her 2 times a day, instead she got an ear rub.

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This.  My 15 yr. old David has been on the transdermal cream for almost a year now and his T4 levels have gone back in the normal range.  We have no problems with this method, I just rub a tiny bit in the hairless part of his little ear, and when it is all absorbed, he gets a huge kiss on his head from me and a couple of crunchy treats.  (I can not pill a cat).  

My cat Ambi had her thyroid removed before being prescribed the thyroid medicine just like a human. I wasn't given the option of treatment without the surgery. I just wanted to clarify. Ambi was 14 when she was diagnosed I would have loved to have spared the surgery.