Introducing T'ai and question about treating hyperthyroidism

taiairam · Aug 18, 2015

Hi all,

T'ai is my 16.5 year old (ex) Tom cat. At 16.5, he is quite vital. He is an indoor/outdoor cat now that we've moved to the "country" and he is extremely territorial. He loves walking his domain and marking and spraying the heck out of it. He's gotten into a few scrapes with the neighborhood cats but has only had one injury/abscess - which his body healed. His blood work was so good that we recently decided to put him under for dental surgery (his teeth were always terrible) and he now has only 2 canines and a few back teeth remaining.

He has had a series of health issues and injuries for the past year and a half (ever since my dog, Sierra, died) He is definitely hyper-thyroid and has been on and off methimazole for almost a year. T

I heard from a vet tech that going off methimazole cold turkey is really, really bad but I actually had to do it one other time (Last November. He was off it from Nov - Feb) By Feb, he'd lost an enormous amount of weight and was very sick. We went back on the methimazole and his thyroid levels were normal in April. However, now the issue is money. I have to wait until payday to order the new meds.

In the meantime, I have a homeopathic thyroid support medicine that I am giving him but I want to know from anyone who has treated their cat holistically for hyper-thyroidism. I am still debating doing the surgery - cost and keeping him in a cage for a week due to radiation vs. cost of a lifetime of meds.

Also, the past few days, his ears seem to be bothering him. I looked at them today and they were both kind of dirty with a dark, waxy substance. I did not smell it. I cleaned it out with diluted ACV (the same thing I do with my dogs) but I know nothing about ear mites etc in cats. Would that make him feel bad other than the ears?

I truly prefer alternative, home care for me and my pets but I also go to the vet regularly when I feel I am out of my comfort zone. The first abscess we went to the vet. Now that I know all about them, I feel like I can handle it at home.

Does anyone else try to treat their elderly cats with holistic medicine or home care? Does anyone have experience going off methimazole for 2 weeks? There is a small chance I could ask my vet for a small dose but I still owe them a balance for the dental surgery.

FYI - in another thread, I will post about my experience losing my job due to health issues. I used to have credit cards to run up vet bills. Now, I do not and it makes owning pets, especially an elderly pet, very difficult. Though I would never, ever do this, I am starting to see why people surrender their pets to the shelter when they get old and sick. It seems cruel (and is cruel) but there are no programs that I know of to help pet owners. When I applied for aid, I was asked if I have children ( I do not) but pets do not count

Anyway, thanks for reading and responding

PeacE, Maria B

stephenq · Aug 19, 2015

Taiairam said:
Hi all,

T'ai is my 16.5 year old (ex) Tom cat. At 16.5, he is quite vital. He is an indoor/outdoor cat now that we've moved to the "country" and he is extremely territorial. He loves walking his domain and marking and spraying the heck out of it. He's gotten into a few scrapes with the neighborhood cats but has only had one injury/abscess - which his body healed. His blood work was so good that we recently decided to put him under for dental surgery (his teeth were always terrible) and he now has only 2 canines and a few back teeth remaining.

He has had a series of health issues and injuries for the past year and a half (ever since my dog, Sierra, died) He is definitely hyper-thyroid and has been on and off methimazole for almost a year. T

I heard from a vet tech that going off methimazole cold turkey is really, really bad but I actually had to do it one other time (Last November. He was off it from Nov - Feb) By Feb, he'd lost an enormous amount of weight and was very sick. We went back on the methimazole and his thyroid levels were normal in April. However, now the issue is money. I have to wait until payday to order the new meds.

In the meantime, I have a homeopathic thyroid support medicine that I am giving him but I want to know from anyone who has treated their cat holistically for hyper-thyroidism. I am still debating doing the surgery - cost and keeping him in a cage for a week due to radiation vs. cost of a lifetime of meds.

Also, the past few days, his ears seem to be bothering him. I looked at them today and they were both kind of dirty with a dark, waxy substance. I did not smell it. I cleaned it out with diluted ACV (the same thing I do with my dogs) but I know nothing about ear mites etc in cats. Would that make him feel bad other than the ears?

I truly prefer alternative, home care for me and my pets but I also go to the vet regularly when I feel I am out of my comfort zone. The first abscess we went to the vet. Now that I know all about them, I feel like I can handle it at home.

Does anyone else try to treat their elderly cats with holistic medicine or home care? Does anyone have experience going off methimazole for 2 weeks? There is a small chance I could ask my vet for a small dose but I still owe them a balance for the dental surgery.

FYI - in another thread, I will post about my experience losing my job due to health issues. I used to have credit cards to run up vet bills. Now, I do not and it makes owning pets, especially an elderly pet, very difficult. Though I would never, ever do this, I am starting to see why people surrender their pets to the shelter when they get old and sick. It seems cruel (and is cruel) but there are no programs that I know of to help pet owners. When I applied for aid, I was asked if I have children ( I do not) but pets do not count

Anyway, thanks for reading and responding

PeacE, Maria B

I suspect that holistic treatments for Hyperthyroidism will work about as much as doing nothing. However if you can't afford the meds, there is another way you can go, Hill's makes a specific hyperthyroidism food that can successfully treat cats, i have a friend who's cat is stable on the food without meds. It's Hills Y/D.

The ears sound like ear mites.

taiairam · Aug 19, 2015

Thanks for the info. I am going to look into the food. However, T'ai is also a picky eater. In general, the cheaper and more junky the brand, the more he likes it. The more expensive (grain free etc) its a crap shoot. I should mention he has pancreatitis flares. I controlled it with a specific LID (also grain free) but when he lost so much weight, I was told to "smorgasbord him" and I've not gotten back to a single food source yet. Hopefully he will like the Hills but I know better than to buy a case!

Ear mites - is there any home care anyone can suggest as I research it online? Could it be possible he got them from the kittens I've been fostering? His ears have never been gunky for 15.5 years!

Peace, Maria B

stephenq · Aug 20, 2015

Taiairam said:
Thanks for the info. I am going to look into the food. However, T'ai is also a picky eater. In general, the cheaper and more junky the brand, the more he likes it. The more expensive (grain free etc) its a crap shoot. I should mention he has pancreatitis flares. I controlled it with a specific LID (also grain free) but when he lost so much weight, I was told to "smorgasbord him" and I've not gotten back to a single food source yet. Hopefully he will like the Hills but I know better than to buy a case!

Ear mites - is there any home care anyone can suggest as I research it online? Could it be possible he got them from the kittens I've been fostering? His ears have never been gunky for 15.5 years!

Peace, Maria B

The food comes in wet and dry and my friends cat likes the wet mixed with a little water. Have you looked in the kitten's ears? Also if he goes outside its possible he got them from another cat - highly contagious. There is no acceptable home-made treatment that works, but your cat can be treated at home using vet prescribed medications. It takes a while to work, and patience. See http://pets.webmd.com/cats/cat_ear_mites and https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/ear-mites

momto3cats · Aug 20, 2015

I treat my pets much like you do, taking care of things at home as often as possible, going to the vet for things I can't do or am not familiar with. I like using homeopathy when possible, and have seen great results in some cases. I have no experience with hyperthyroidism though, and I don't know if there is any "alternative" treatment that would be effective.

For the ears - if it is mites, treatment from the vet is your best bet. Ear mite gunk usually looks dark and crumbly, like coffee grounds. The brown waxy stuff you describe could just be a buildup of ear wax that he needed cleaned out; or he might have some kind of ear infection. If it comes back after cleaning or he still seems irritated, you should probably have him checked for infection. He might need antibiotics. Or he might have yeasty ears, in which case I recommend Zymox enzymatic ear solution, which is available over the counter inexpensively. It is the ONLY thing that worked for my dog, who went through many, many vet treatments for her yeasty ears. You do need to test first to find out what the problem is, though.

taiairam · Aug 20, 2015

I looked into the Hill's food. It is mostly corn and soy. I can't do that - especially with his pancreatitis.

There is only one homeopathic "support" treatment out there (Pet Wellbeing) for hyperthyroidism. Since the condition is actually a benign tumor, I am going to stick with the meds. There just isn't enough information out there to make me feel comfortable experimenting because of his advanced age and because hyperthroidism can mask kidney problems and other organ failures. His kidneys and liver are still good so I called the vet this morning to get a cheaper tablet for 14 days until I get paid and can order the more expensive compounded (transdermal) version.

My boy is also very, very difficult to pill!!

I do not think it is ear mites based on the physical description. I treat both yeast and waxy ears with ACV and a drop of Rosemary, diluted with water. I am more cautious using any essential oils on T'ai but the ear wash I used was mild enough that I did not worry. He is no longer shaking his head

peacE, Maria B

taiairam · Oct 10, 2016

Thanks to those of you who responded. 50 weeks after I posted, this, I put my dear T'ai down. In December 2015, he had peed everywhere while I was at Thanksgiving on the East Coast. He was diagnosed with beginning stage kidney disease. I did nothing but add a few more litterboxes and bowls of water in every room. He seemed fine until May 23. He crashed and was suddenly in stage 4 kidney failure. I got him on fluids, Phos bind, B12, pepcid...17 supplements in all. He crashed 2 more times in June and July, and then hung on until August. It was the most horrible decline I've witnessed. His spirit was still there but his body became and emaciated toxic dump. I probably waited too long to put him to sleep bc I did not know any better.

Anyway, just wanted to close this thread.

Peace, Maria B

Introducing T'ai and question about treating hyperthyroidism

taiairam

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