12 year old newly diagnosed thyroid

Greetings!!! I'm new here. My name is Lisa and I live In mass. I have a 12 year old tabby, newly diagnosed with thyroid condition. I've watched her go from 10 pounds to 8 and just last week now 6 pounds!!! She still eats drinks and uses the litter box normally. Her levels were 8.4.She has been on meds since last Friday. Just one week. 5mg a day. Half a tab twice a day. Back in a month for repeat blood work. My question is, aside from waiting a month for the blood work, when should I see a difference? I.E. weight gain and a change in her super clingy, odd nighttime behavior. I'm so terribly worried about my baby. The attached picture is not her true self. Her nickname used to be Phat Phoebe. Phoebe is so tiny now. Long time lurker here. Sad but grateful for this resource. Thanks in advance!!

With proper medication and care, cats can live a long and normal life after thyroid problems are diagnosed, it is a very common condition with cats who are approaching that elderly mark. With the weight loss it sounds like a hyperthyroid problem to me, too much thyroid hormones are being produced, and most commonly requires a surgical or medical destruction of part of the enlarged thyroid. What medication was prescribed? If she has a hypothyroid condition she was prescribed a thyroid hormone replacement. Hypothyroidism usually means weight gain though and a slowing down of activities. I give lasix daily to an elderly cat who has a heart condition, I've found the easiest way to give the pill is to 'cement' it to a piece of bacon or a cat treat with a small piece of cat pill pocket which you can get at Amazon or many pet sections in the stores.  You should start seeing an improvement, no matter how small, in another week, if not, I would call the vet and ask them why not. I'll pray for your little girl to start feeling better, you will be blessed for taking care of her. 

Stay strong Phoebe ! Sorry but on the medical side I cant help!

She's on methimazole. 5mg 1/2 tab twice daily. Thanks all for replying. I miss my chubby, healthy baby. [emoji]128571[/emoji]

If her kidneys are good and if you can swing it financially, I highly recommend radioactive iodine for your hyperthyroid cat. My cat had radioactive iodine, and the improvement was fast and lasting. She gained weight and became her normal self.

As to your question, my cat responded very quickly to the meds but I wanted a permanent cure. 

I'm going to see how she does with the meds at first. But definitely interested in the treatment if I don't see an improvement. My poor baby! I haven't left my house aside from work hours.

I should add...all her other bloodwork was good. No kidney or liver damage. Vet did say a few things were slightly off (normal for thyroid issues) but he was certain they were just due to her thyroid being out of whack and typically once the thyroid is normalized everything goes back in place.

lisalisa72 said:

I'm going to see how she does with the meds at first. But definitely interested in the treatment if I don't see an improvement. My poor baby! I haven't left my house aside from work hours.

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Bare in mind the radiation treatment is very expensive, probably between $1000 and $2000, and she will have to be isolated at the hospital for a time, 1-2 weeks approximately so you aren't at risk of being irradiated.  Also some cats with Hyper-T can be controlled with a special diet, Hill's Y/D.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/hospital/services/Companion/Internal/conditions/felinehyperthyroidism.cfm

https://www.avmi.net/services/radiotherapy/risks/

Thanks for all the info. I did read about about the costs and details. I'm hoping she responds well to the meds. It's fairly easy to administer and as long as they work I may continue with this treatment. But I'm also fully prepared to try other means if necessary. Including surgery or the iodine treatment. One step at a time for now for my sweet skinny baby. [emoji]128571[/emoji][emoji]128571[/emoji]

What I'm struggling with is the wait time. She sits on my lap and I can feel her bones and all I want to do is feed her more and more. I know I need to be patient. But I miss my healthy chubby baby. This is what she normally looks like.

Lisa,

You might be able to expect to see a bit of improvement within a couple weeks, but be prepared that it will be necessary to test her thyroid levels frequently at first in the first three months to ensure the methimazole is working and at the right dose.  Ask your vet about her diet and ask if he has tips to help fortify it bit, if necessary, so she can gain some weight back.    Don't be afraid to talk to your vet whenever you need to because it can be hard for you to determine on your own if the medication is helping, or not.  Some cats don't respond well to methimazole.  Other clients opt for surgical removal of the thyroid, but it's not a guarantee and meds will still need to be given for life.  The radioiodine treatment is the preferred choice in healthy cats as long as they are a good candidate.

For now, work with your vet to get her stabilized, and talk to him about the other options if he feels they are in the best interests for your Phoebe.

Thanks again everyone for your advice and good thoughts. I'm going to see how she responds to the meds. We go back early February for repeat bloodwork and I'll decide where to go then. As I said before I am open to surgery or iodine if she isn't responding well or quickly. She's my baby. [emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]10084[/emoji]️

I can surely relate!  My cat, aged 13 at the time, was also diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism.  She was on Methimazole for a while, but it only treats; does not cure.  We decided to go the Radioactive Iodine route, recommended by our Vet, and it was a wise decision.  Luckily, her kidneys were good at the time, one of the main screening criteria.  You have to take them to a Vet center that does this usually in larger cities.  It costs us $1,300 and worth every penny!  They receive the radioactive iodine pill and stay there several days.  Then they come home and you have to keep them isolated from other cats for about a week using separate litter box and special litter as the radioactive iodine is excreted from their system through their urine and feces.  There is no danger to humans, although you don't want to touch the litter.  After the treatment, they act normal, eat normal...they don't even know they were treated.  Then they put weight back on they lost and they are their happy, healthy self again...completely CURED! 

My cat lived to almost 20 years old.  If I ever had a cat diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism again, I would definitely  go the Radioactive Iodine route!

StephenQ said:

 
Bare in mind the radiation treatment is very expensive, probably between $1000 and $2000, and she will have to be isolated at the hospital for a time, 1-2 weeks approximately so you aren't at risk of being irradiated.  Also some cats with Hyper-T can be controlled with a special diet, Hill's Y/D.

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/hospital/services/Companion/Internal/conditions/felinehyperthyroidism.cfm

https://www.avmi.net/services/radiotherapy/risks/

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Most places it's not anywhere near that long, usually 3-4 days, depending on what state you live in. 

Y/D diet is not a good option for long term care. In fact Dr. Peterson, who is one of the best specialist for animal hyper-t in the nation, says Y/D should only be used as a last resort for treatment. It's also very low in protein much too low for senior cats. 

http://www.endocrinevet.info/2012/04/transitioning-hyperthyroid-cats-from.html

Absolutely do the i-131 if you can and your cat doesn't have any underlining medical issues. Long term, the meds have some pretty serious side effects and the tumor continues to grow even on meds. The bigger tumor, higher dose of meds, higher chance of that tumor becoming cancerous. I did i-131 almost a year ago on my 13.5 year old. So glad I did it. Zero regrets. He only had to stay for 4 days. 

missmimz said:

Absolutely do the i-131 if you can and your cat doesn't have any underlining medical issues. Long term, the meds have some pretty serious side effects and the tumor continues to grow even on meds. The bigger tumor, higher dose of meds, higher chance of that tumor becoming cancerous. I did i-131 almost a year ago on my 13.5 year old. So glad I did it. Zero regrets. He only had to stay for 4 days. 

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If I remember correctly, you were able to find one in another nearby state that did it for much less - I was shocked! Way less expensive than it would have been here. $2500 here if I recall. I'm glad I didn't do i131, but not because of the treatment itself, more because I had no idea Sara wouldn't be with me much longer, for other reasons. I think it's a very good thing, but I'd have to take a lot of things into consideration (one obviously being the price). I have insurance for my kitties now though.

I think for a younger cat, definitely it's a good option.13 is still pretty young, which is the only reason I even considered it briefly for Sara.

Donutte said:

If I remember correctly, you were able to find one in another nearby state that did it for much less - I was shocked! Way less expensive than it would have been here. $2500 here if I recall. I'm glad I didn't do i131, but not because of the treatment itself, more because I had no idea Sara wouldn't be with me much longer, for other reasons. I think it's a very good thing, but I'd have to take a lot of things into consideration (one obviously being the price). I have insurance for my kitties now though.

I think for a younger cat, definitely it's a good option.13 is still pretty young, which is the only reason I even considered it briefly for Sara.

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Yeah. In AZ i was quoted around $2500 but we drove to Southern California to AVMI, which is one of the top two clinics in the country for treatment, and it was only $1200. I do think if you have a cat with a serious underlining medical condition it's it's not necessarily worth the stress or money. Long term meds aren't a great solution, but if your cat only has a few years left the meds are probably fine. Thankfully, my Fluff doesn't have any other medical issues. 

missmimz said:

Yeah. In AZ i was quoted around $2500 but we drove to Southern California to AVMI, which is one of the top two clinics in the country for treatment, and it was only $1200. I do think if you have a cat with a serious underlining medical condition it's it's not necessarily worth the stress or money. Long term meds aren't a great solution, but if your cat only has a few years left the meds are probably fine. Thankfully, my Fluff doesn't have any other medical issues. 

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Sara's other issues didn't come up until after she'd been on the hyper-t meds for awhile (I had been told from the beginning that kidney issues could be un-masked with hyper-t being brought under control). She did have pretty bad anxiety though most of her life that had FINALLY gotten better her last couple of years.

I'm so glad to hear Fluff has been doing well though!