Anyone with a hyperthyroid cat on methimazole?

Our 13 year old cat was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, too.  You should be aware that one of the side effects of methimazole is lack of appetite, as well as nausea.  According to the patient info from the drug manufacturer, if either of these side effects appear you should stop the methimazole and contact your veterinarian immediately. 

I'm a little surprised that your vet can't refer you to a center that does the radioactive iodine treatment.  This is done is a specialized, government certified/licensed facility because of the radioactive material involved, so there aren't many of these facilities in any one area.  You might try googling "radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroid cats in San Francisco Bay area " -- this should give you some leads to facilities in your area.

As for food, I can only speak about our girl, Meeka.  Because of the hyperthyroidism she has developed a ravenous appetite and isn't at all fussy about her food.  I suspect that  once the issue of your cat's lack of appetite and/or nausea is resolved, she may well eat whatever food you normally feed her. 

I sympathize with you about the cost of providing good care, food etc. for your cat on a limited income.  We, too, have struggled with veterinary costs and the cost of providing "good" quality food to our three cats. 

I hope your cat is back to eating more normally soon.    

Sending good wishes your way.

Can you post her labs?  BUN, Creatinine and USG are important. It is possible her creatinine levels or phosphorus levels are high and this can make her feel badly.  Ask your vet is sub Q fluids would help;and also what are you feeding her? You might ask your vet about low phosphorus foods or a phosphorus binder if her phosphorus levels are high and she isn't accepting of a lower phos food. Dr. Lisa pierson  compiled this list which I found helpful. (My kitty Tiger was diabetic and originally hyperT; but after receiving the R-131 she became hypothyroid and it was then we discovered she was early stage CKD, which can be managed.)

Gervaisec1 said:

 
My 13 year old girl Bella has been diagnosed with hyperthroidism and is in her 2nd week of 1/2 tab of methimazole;.  She's always been a picky eater but  now has lost interest in both canned and dry food and she has lost 2.5 lbs.  I'm trying to find out more about the radioactive route as it is killing both of us to pill her.

I live in Walnut Creek CA, in the Bay Area.  Has anyone found a vet that does the radioactive treatment?  My vet didn't seen interested in having me explore it.  I would appreciate any information.  I would also appreciate any advice on food. I have always free fed her on Taste of the Wild Kibble and Wellness Tuna pouch. She gave up on the Wellness and I've been trying regular tuna and tuna juice (she is a juice / gravy girl) mixed with KitKat or Weruva canned chicken but nothing interests her.  The only thing she consistently loves is the shaved bonita flakes and freeze dried chicken bits.

Click to expand...

There's a facility affiliated with Radiocat in San Mateo, not exactly close but probably the closest place.  It's the closest one I found with a little searching.  Here's the Radiocat home page:  http://radiocat.com   The facilities not usually plentiful, but in the Bay Area one might think there would be a couple more places that do it.  Not sure.  If you feel you'd like a second regular vet opinion or to try a different one, there is a cat-only vet clinic in Walnut Creek somewhere, if that isn't where you already go.  It's not guaranteed, but often cats get more appropriate care from a vet specializing in just cats.  It seems odd to me that your vet didn't seem interested in exploring the radiodine treatment.  It is an expensive procedure to be sure, but I know if I had it to do over again when my 13-year-old cat was diagnosed some years ago, I would do it in a heartbeat.  (She lived about 3.5 years just taking methimazole, but at the end it got complicated.)

In terms of food, something seems not right.  Cats with hyperthyroid usually present with normal or even extra appetite and still lose weight.  The 2.5 lb loss is at least mostly from that I'm sure. If she's not eating well now, something else might be up, or she might not be a good candidate for the methimazole.  As noted above, perhaps nausea or similar is an issue.  It's probably something to at least call the vet about. 

My cat Rachel has been on this medicine for years & I use the cream that goes in her ears & she just turned 23 in May & still hanging in there. She pretty much just eats & sleeps but that's ok by me. I do give her a lot of supplements as I do with all my cats & I've been giving her kitten food at times as it has a lot more protein, which she loves. She's pretty skinny but eats quite often thru-out the day. I'm at her beck & call.  In the past I had 2 cats that were hyperthyroid & I did do the radiation treatment as I heard that was the best option but unfortunately they ended up passing away several months after they finished there treatments. It is quite expensive & since I've been down that road with them, I decided not to do the radioactive treatment again for Rachel & just put her on the Tapazole cream instead. Also, Chelsea (she's the one in the picture) came down with this as well & first I had her on the Tapazole cream but she didn't do as well so my vet convinced me to do the surgery & remove the thyroid that had the tumor on it. She did quite well & recovered but unfortunately, I guess the other gland became hyperthyroid so now she's on the Tapazole pill & I'm only giving her 1/2 tablet daily & so far her levels are back to normal but she will probably have to stay on this for the rest of her life. She's 12 yrs old.

Gervaisec1 said:

 
My 13 year old girl Bella has been diagnosed with hyperthroidism and is in her 2nd week of 1/2 tab of methimazole;.  She's always been a picky eater but  now has lost interest in both canned and dry food and she has lost 2.5 lbs.  I'm trying to find out more about the radioactive route as it is killing both of us to pill her.

I live in Walnut Creek CA, in the Bay Area.  Has anyone found a vet that does the radioactive treatment?  My vet didn't seen interested in having me explore it.  I would appreciate any information.  I would also appreciate any advice on food. I have always free fed her on Taste of the Wild Kibble and Wellness Tuna pouch. She gave up on the Wellness and I've been trying regular tuna and tuna juice (she is a juice / gravy girl) mixed with KitKat or Weruva canned chicken but nothing interests her.  The only thing she consistently loves is the shaved bonita flakes and freeze dried chicken bits.

Being a senior on small income also makes it a challenge to do the best for her....but I will find a way to do what will give her a longer healthy life if I could just figure it out.

I would be very grateful for any thoughts, ideas, experiences.

Click to expand...

Walnut Creek, you are pretty near by.

I take Simone to Dr. Hatt in Vacaville, at Pawsh Place, formerly Mid-Valley Vet. 

Dr. Hatt is also my rescue's vet and the Humane Society in Vallejo I work with, I adore her.

My update after my post 3 weeks ago, I called Dr. Hatt and told her about Simone's changes and I felt she may be on too much Meth, so we dropped her dose in half, or close, so she has been on 0.3 mls twice a day, and it has made all the difference!

Her appetite is back in full swing, she is thickening up a good deal, is active and alert again, to the point where I was afraid she was going to show her levels not being low enough in her blood work, but happy to say she is right where she should be! Lower end of the normal ranges, and her kidneys have not hardly changed, which was another great relief.

Before starting meth, T4 was at I believe 4.0, now at 4.2, so that's great.

@Gervaisec1  I highly advise switching to the ear cream. This eliminates the upset tummy and lack of food interest. Simone has literally zero tummy effects.

Not sure but I don't think that Dr. Hatt does the radioactive treatment, but you can ask her yourself, give her a call. She can surely refer you to who does. Let her know that Lisa referred you.

Dear Lisa, I think I finally figured out how to reply to you. I just started Bella on ear gel tonight. Thanks for the vet reference. I will check her out. I hope your kitty is doing well? I have to figure out how to use this site better before I ca communicate more. In meantime I would appreciate any more thoughts on treatment etc. Thanks.

I am glad to hear you have started her on the ear cream, I am positive you will be relieved to see how much smoother yours and her life will be without the torture of pilling, nor the side effects tummy upset/lack of appetite.

Can you share how well your kitty is doing after just starting the ear gel? I will start my cat on it tomorrow and she is really sick right now so I hope it works fast. You could try Instinct Ultimate kibble, it is very tasty and healthy. It will be expensive but you may be able to skip buying the wet food? Bonita flakes are yum >''< !

oliveoceanpark said:

 
Can you share how well your kitty is doing after just starting the ear gel? I will start my cat on it tomorrow and she is really sick right now so I hope it works fast. You could try Instinct Ultimate kibble, it is very tasty and healthy. It will be expensive but you may be able to skip buying the wet food? Bonita flakes are yum >''< !

Click to expand...

What do you mean by really sick? Hyperthyroid sick, which isn't sick it's more like overactive organs and big appetite but losing weight, etc.

Trouble breathing, weight loss, dehydrated

The vet gave her a fluid injection that helped a little.

The trouble breathing just started today and the vet wrote the prescription days ago, I'm waiting on the pharmacy. I hope I didn't wait to long to get her checked.

The breathing, that's not good.

Does the vet know?

She will in the morning! They are closed now.

Hi and I'm so sorry to know your girl is so sick. I have only been using the gel a few days so I have no idea if it is working quickly or not. I can't say that I am seeing anything that tells me one way or another. She seems pretty normal, no vomiting now, but is still being a picky eater etc. She hasn't been hyperactive lately, but that could be from being on the pill.

I would like to pass along a couple of small tips I got from a youtube video that I found helpful....I feel like these should have beent given to me by the doctor or compounding pharmacy. The youtube guy (not a vet but seemed very knowledgeable) used those latex cots instead of latex gloves and I ordered some from Amazon because I have trouble dealing with her, the sirynge, and the gloves and the cots you can just use on 1 or 2 fingers. Secondly, the pharmacy recommended using a wet paper towel to clean each ear (you clean the one you AREN'T putting the gel in). The youtube guy said paper towels are tooooooo harsh. Use either part are all of a cotton ball dipped in warm water, squeezed almost dry, so that water doesn't drip into the ear canal. The idea is to remove the film that builds up from the gel and which will stop the gel from being absorbed. He said every 2-3 days, use Witch Hazel instead of water to clean the ear. so it is really important to make sure the gel can absorb into the clean ear.

Those bonita flakes are like kitty krack! She will ALWAYS eat them. When I got your email I was in the process of continuing to research cat food (an arduous ongoing project) and am still feeling my way. But one thing I have discovered is that it seems clear (at least to me) that feeding kibble other than as a treat is not healthy. Besides being unhealthy for other reasons, kibble keeps them in a state of dehydration, so dangerous, and even tho kitty may live many years on it, the quality of health and life will not be as good as if fed raw, preferably homemade or commercial, or certain high grade canned foods. Besides avoiding nasty ingredients, they help with hydration.

I feel so guilty because I have always free fed on Taste of The Wild kibble and given 1/2 pouch of Wellness 2x day. Now I know this wasn't the best but am working my way toward understanding what is the best I can afford (living on social security) and can manage (am 71 and have health issues). One thing I had just done when you wrote, was to buy Jean Hofve, DVM, books "What Cats Should Eat" and "Understanding Feline Lab Values, What the Numbers Mean for Your Cat". I haven't even looked at them, but the reason I got them is that a number of years ago I discovered her website, Little Big Cat or something like that (just google her). She was a holistic vet and I didn't recognize at the time what important things she was saying (like the chemical in the white linings of cans was cancer causing) BUT I did consult with her partner, a cat behaviorist, Jackson Galaxy who now has the tv show My Cat from Hell. He helped me to understand my challenging cat and saved both our lives. Now I realize if only I had paid attention to what Dr. Hofve has been saying.

Anyway, I must go treat Bella and try to get some sleep (the past few nights she has insisted on sleeping on my lap in bed which is highly unusual and I haven't been able to sleep).

Please let me know how your girl is doing....I'm sending loving and healing thoughts your way. Gervaise and Bella

Hi again.

I hope I am adding to my recent post, but new to this so I'm not sure. I wanted to make one additional comment about kibble. Many people, including me, think that kibble helps keep the cat or dog's teeth clean but that is a myth. It does nothing, it's just like us eating crackers. The only thing that actually helps with the teeth are dental treats. I found some today that she likes and which I think are fairly healthy, called Smart n'Tasty Feline Dental Treats. I suddenly feel like I'm on a mission to save kitties from bad old kibble! I know it is so much cheaper and much more convenient, but I'm definitely going to only give her a few bits from now on.

My cat Rachel has been on this medication for many yrs. She always vomits in the early morning, clear fluid but other than that, she pretty much just eats & sleeps thru out the day. A lot of small mini-meals & I'm pretty much at her beck & call, whatever she wants & whenever she wants as being 23 yrs old is a big accomplishment & I am truly blessed to still have my sweet girl.

Dear Cats5,

You and your 23 year old Rachel have given me great hope for Bella who I think is 13.  Do you know what is causing the vomiting of clear fluid?  Bella was doing that for awhile.

Do you have any advice for how to pill and/or how to give the ear gel?  Also I'm trying to research and use the best food (non-kibble) for my girl.  Also looking for better idea how much to feed.  Have you explored the radio active iodine therapy to cure/kill the thyroid?

I'd appreciate any and all advice. Thanks 

Bella and Gervaise

The vomiting issues is due to the fact that she is hyperthyroid & that just happens to be one of the symptoms. She does drink a lot of water, which also, could create the vomiting as well. She's been doing this for a very long time so its normal for her & its her daily regiment. I use the compounded methimazole cream & apply (make sure you wear gloves) to the inside of the ear twice daily alternating ears. (Left in the am & R at nite) & that is the easiest to do. However, Chelsea, one of my other cats I give the Tapazole pill to her once daily & I put it in an empty gel cap & than down the hatch w/ a few drops of water afterward. She's pretty easy to pill & she's use to it. So, whatever works best for you.

As far as food is concerned, make sure its a good quality w/ few ingredients. There are a lot of good foods out there nowadays. I like Wellness, Tiki Cat & Wild Calling to name a few. But of course, your kitty must like it as well. Hyperthyroid cats are usually quite hungry so if need be, feed three times per day but they will let you know for sure.

Yes, I have been down that road (radioactive iodine therapy) with 2 previous cats but even though, they did quite well & the treatment worked, I ended up losing them several mos. later. Not sure if it had anything to do with the radioactive treatment or not, it may just have been a coincidence but its not cheap by no means & since both of my cats didn't survive much longer afterward, I decided not to do this again.

Now there is a thyroid surgery, where they remove the tumor so that is another option & being only 13, she might be a good candidate for that. You need to discuss this with your vet. I did have the surgery done on Chelsey & she did quite well & my vet said that there was only the one tumor on one of the thyroid glands which he removed. However, later down the road, I had Chelsey's levels rechecked & her T4 levels were high again so apparently, there must be another tumor that has grown on the remaining gland, which is unfortunate so now she is back on the Tapazole pill but I only have to give her 1/2 tablet once daily & so far that seems to be working just fine.

I wish you & Bella the best & hope everything works out good for you both.

My kitties love the Greenies dental treats & its their nightly routine. When Heather our golden goes out for the night to potty, all the cats get excited as they all get a greenie treat. Than Heather gets her nightly treat when she comes in before she goes to bed.

Thank you so much for all this information. It is so helpful

I was so surprised about the two kitties you lost shortly after the radioactive treatment.  How old were they and were there other conditions involved?

Also thanks for the food recommendations.  Bella had been on the Wellness Tuna pouch for years but started rejecting it a while ago.  In my ongoing research into cat food, I did just see a statement Jean Hofve DVM's book "What Cats Should Eat....." that she has put Wellness on a watch list because they did a massive expansion into discount pet stores and she feels it possible a decline in quality if likely because of the limited availability of high quality ingredients. Bella likes Tiki Kat.

I am afraid I will have to go back to the less expensive pill form as the gel if 5x the cost.  Can you explain how you get the water down the kitty after the pill.  And can you give me some hints on how to catch Bella!  She won't come near me any more (breaks my heart) and I am somewhat disabled.  I give her treats, praise, everything I can think of.  So, in that regard, both the gel and pills are a problem.  Often she doesn't get her gel treatment because I can't catch her.  It is terribly stressful.

Thanks again and all the best to you and the "kids".

Gervaise and Bella

The ear cream is not expensive, it's only around $10.00 a month.