Putting on weight after thyroid radiation treatment

Our cat was treated for hyperthyroidism and has been back home for about two weeks.  Before treatment he was ravenous and losing weight -- typical of cats with that disorder I'm told.  Prior to the onset of symptoms he was eating a high quality dry cat food but when he started losing weight and begging for food we were told we could give him some baby food and wet cat food.  He rejected the Fancy Feast stuff and gobbled the baby food along with eating a little variety of the many dry foods we tried in an effort to find one that he really liked.  Now that he's back home, he still exhibits the behavior of wanting food all the time but I wonder if it's a habit he picked up before treatment or perhaps the symptoms won't completely gone away until the treatment has time to take hold.  In an effort to put some weight back on him we are still feeding him turkey and gravy baby food in the morning to supplement the dry food.

Will he come around at some point or have we created a monster who will run off to the food dish every time we get up from the chair.  Should we just cut him off "cold turkey" (pun intended) and hope he finds fulfillment and eventual weight gain with his old diet of dry food?

Thanks

I'm sure if he is still underweight, his body will be telling him to eat, eat, eat.  Wet food is much better for him anyhow, so this is a good time to get him settled on it.  Try mixing baby food chicken or turkey in with some Fancy Feast.  Also, you might get some good ideas about what to feed him on Dr. Lisa Pierson's web site, http://www.catinfo.org/. 

lindsayspop said:

 
Our cat was treated for hyperthyroidism and has been back home for about two weeks.  Before treatment he was ravenous and losing weight -- typical of cats with that disorder I'm told.  Prior to the onset of symptoms he was eating a high quality dry cat food but when he started losing weight and begging for food we were told we could give him some baby food and wet cat food.  He rejected the Fancy Feast stuff and gobbled the baby food along with eating a little variety of the many dry foods we tried in an effort to find one that he really liked.  Now that he's back home, he still exhibits the behavior of wanting food all the time but I wonder if it's a habit he picked up before treatment or perhaps the symptoms won't completely gone away until the treatment has time to take hold.  In an effort to put some weight back on him we are still feeding him turkey and gravy baby food in the morning to supplement the dry food.

Will he come around at some point or have we created a monster who will run off to the food dish every time we get up from the chair.  Should we just cut him off "cold turkey" (pun intended) and hope he finds fulfillment and eventual weight gain with his old diet of dry food?

Thanks

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My cat also just went through I-131 treatment for hyperthyroidism. I was told that it can take up to 30 days for all the symptoms to resolve, so the fact he's still eating a lot isn't really that unusual. Assuming your cat is older, it's really a good idea to get him on wet food rather than kibble, as it's not uncommon for cats to develop some kidney disease once their thyroid issues are resolved. I'd look at feeding him something like Merrick, Nature's Variety, Nutro natural choice, Tikicat, Weruva, Hound & Gatos, etc. You could mix in a little baby food to tempt him into eating the food if he's resistant. 

Thank you! We fed him some Fancy Feast again last night and he ate it all without vomiting.  That was part of the problem we had before treatment.

lindsayspop said:

 
Thank you! We fed him some Fancy Feast again last night and he ate it all without vomiting.  That was part of the problem we had before treatment.

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My cat too. His major symptom was vomiting (almost daily). Since treatment his vomiting is significantly better but we still have some bad days. Here's hoping things improve for both our furkids  

I'll be honest, the last thing I (or my vet) worried about with Sara was gaining weight. She gained and ate a lot and we were more than happy. Gained over three pounds! And I'm so glad she did, since her kidney disease (that unmasked after methimazole treatment) went from Stage 1 chronic to Stage 4 acute on chronic last weekend. She's lost a pound in less than two weeks, so yeah, I'm glad I let her eat as much as she wanted.

Donutte said:

I'll be honest, the last thing I (or my vet) worried about with Sara was gaining weight. She gained and ate a lot and we were more than happy. Gained over three pounds! And I'm so glad she did, since her kidney disease (that unmasked after methimazole treatment) went from Stage 1 chronic to Stage 4 acute on chronic last weekend. She's lost a pound in less than two weeks, so yeah, I'm glad I let her eat as much as she wanted.

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Did she have stage 1 prior to treatment for hyperthyroidism or did the stage 1 unmask after treatment started and then jump to stage 4? Def scared about this possibility with Fluff  

missmimz said:

Did she have stage 1 prior to treatment for hyperthyroidism or did the stage 1 unmask after treatment started and then jump to stage 4? Def scared about this possibility with Fluff  

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It was diagnosed after she started treatment (about nine months after, I think). Her hyper-t was severe though and already had dilute urine. I guess hyper-t can't hide that. But the blood levels didn't show for CKD until December. Then last weekend, showed stage 4.

I'm a bit of a paranoid cat mama now.

lindsayspop said:

 
Thank you! We fed him some Fancy Feast again last night and he ate it all without vomiting.  That was part of the problem we had before treatment.

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 I think that's pretty normal for your kitty to still be begging for food.  I found that several mini meals worked best for my Tiger...When a cat is hyperT, they are usually ravenous, but eating too fast and vomiting as a result. ..At least that was how my Tiger was. After her R131 it was at least a month or more before she began to eat normal and gain some weight back. But if your kitty continues  to vomit, be sure to tell your vet--usually there will be a follow up at a a month, two months and every 3 months after. The will be watching for kidney function as well as T4.