I have an appointment for my cat Tyler tomorrow morning at the vet, but I wondered if any of you had any experience with younger cats developing hyperthyroidism.
My 5 year old neutered male cat Tyler has recently (past 6 weeks) had a drastic change in his behavior. Usually aloof and hiding, he is constantly underfoot, vocalizing and harassing everyone in the house. He seems to be frantic about something all the time, and he is RAVENOUSLY hungry. I've tried feeding him separate from the rest of the cats (in case they are depriving him of his fair share) and feeding him twice a day instead of once, but he is still starving and losing weight. He looks thin, severe abdominal tuck, boney. I was away the past two weeks and when I came back his weight loss was very noticable. His stools seems to be normal. He does vomit occassionally after eating, but not more so than normal.
He is displaying all the classic symptoms of Hyperthyroidism, but he is only 5 years old! I am absolutely certain about his age, because I was there when he was born. I am worried, because I can't imagine why a cat so young would develop this disease. I am worried that it is something else, something worse. I have a cat (20 years old) with hyperthyroidism, she was diagnosed at 15, and has done very well with medication. I am afraid that this might be something much worse. I'm terrified of what the vet will say tomorrow.
My brothers cat died of a specific type of intestinal cancer, and he started doing almost the same things. The cancer wasn't allowing him to absorb his food so he was starving all the time, and wasting away. At five years old, I would hate to think that Tyler has cancer either, but all the literature I read says that Hyperthyroidism is an older cat disease, which coincides with my experience.
If anyone has a young cat with Hyperthyroid, please let me know. it would let me rest easier tonight.
-Rachael and the Thundering Hoard.
My 5 year old neutered male cat Tyler has recently (past 6 weeks) had a drastic change in his behavior. Usually aloof and hiding, he is constantly underfoot, vocalizing and harassing everyone in the house. He seems to be frantic about something all the time, and he is RAVENOUSLY hungry. I've tried feeding him separate from the rest of the cats (in case they are depriving him of his fair share) and feeding him twice a day instead of once, but he is still starving and losing weight. He looks thin, severe abdominal tuck, boney. I was away the past two weeks and when I came back his weight loss was very noticable. His stools seems to be normal. He does vomit occassionally after eating, but not more so than normal.
He is displaying all the classic symptoms of Hyperthyroidism, but he is only 5 years old! I am absolutely certain about his age, because I was there when he was born. I am worried, because I can't imagine why a cat so young would develop this disease. I am worried that it is something else, something worse. I have a cat (20 years old) with hyperthyroidism, she was diagnosed at 15, and has done very well with medication. I am afraid that this might be something much worse. I'm terrified of what the vet will say tomorrow.
My brothers cat died of a specific type of intestinal cancer, and he started doing almost the same things. The cancer wasn't allowing him to absorb his food so he was starving all the time, and wasting away. At five years old, I would hate to think that Tyler has cancer either, but all the literature I read says that Hyperthyroidism is an older cat disease, which coincides with my experience.
If anyone has a young cat with Hyperthyroid, please let me know. it would let me rest easier tonight.
-Rachael and the Thundering Hoard.
