13 year old cat with high thyroid test

[catsallover]

Well, I took Bird to the vet today, because we noticed that over the last week she was feeling boney (she has short hair, but it's very thick, so we didn't notice the weight loss until it showed up in her face

.She lost a pound since June, when she had her shots, and 2 lbs since last May(2 yrs ago), but she is small boned and was probably a little heavy at 9.5 lbs, so none of us thought anything about it, vet included, and sure enough, hyper(I do have the right one, right- I get 'em mixed up

) thyroidism. It didn't help that the (nice and well intentioned) lady down the street was feeding my cats because she thought they might be stays, and Bird was stealing Gretta's kitten food (I just thought she liked it

), and now that both of those are gone, I have a skinny cat.

They put her on meds that I am having mixed with chicken flavoring at the pharmacy, and it will be ready tomorrow. I am planning to try to keep her in until her next appointment (3 weeks), so I can monitor how much she's eating, drinking and tee teeing, and because I want her to gain her muscle mass back before I let her go hunting again.

Does anybody have any experience or advice to pass on? This is my first elderly cat

.too.

 

[sharky]

Lots of wet food s... Kitten ask your vet my 2.5 yr old eats it but yours is much older and may need lower protein yet higher fat( Royal Canin make a few like that in senior)... For a while I used Nutri cal with my Kandie she gained a little wt that way...

 

[catsallover]

Thanks. Ooo. I didn't think about the high protein in the kitten food (I started letting her have the kitten's food (that she'd been stealing

) again yesterday. I wonder if too much protein would bother her kidneys?She has lost a lot of muscle mass over the last month, so I thought she might need the extra protein, but I just don't know.

Right now she is on Felidae Chicken and Rice, dry and I planned to give her Natural Life Chicken and Veggie Platter wet food (from Walmart, but ingredients are good and no fish- other cat has allergy, and this is their treat food

). I am giving her her first dose of medicine tonight. Does your cat have the same thing? If so, do you mind if I ask what meds your cat is on, what dose, and about how much it costs? Bird is on Methimazole (liquid, chicken flavored) 2.5 mg (1/2 ml) twice a day, and it was $35 for a 30 day supply. She may just have to take the bloomin' pill (cheaper!), but I was wondering what else might be available (new vet, not real sure about her yet

). and if there were any once a day options. Thanks again!

 

[sharky]

I have a CRF girl ... Hopefully Pat , Hissy or one of the "wise" ones will come for Thyroid ... My girl eats a raw and canned diet ... and will be starting some potassium gel and hla

fun stuff you get when the accupucturist hears Kitty wont pill

 

[cloud_shade]

Spot was hyperthyroid until his passing in April. We used the pills, but he was really easy to give pills to. I would not recommend trying any once-per-day options because the methimazole leaves the system in about 12 hours. If you only give the medicine once per day, their T4 levels end up like a really big roller coaster. The disease is hyperthyroidism. It's like hyperactivity in the thyroid--it sends the metabolism into overdrive. In the U.S., methimazole/Tapazole is the only readily available medication for hyperT. There was also another medication (Iopanoic Acid) but it can be hard to find (and therefore probably more expensive anyway). In addition to liquids and pills, methimazole can also be made into a transdermal cream that is rubbed on the ears. The ears do have to be cleaned after each application.

There are other treatment options as well, though they are more costly up front. First, there is a surgery. The surgery is somewhat risky, though. Some cats end up hypothyroid, and sometimes the parathyroid gland is damaged. Both situations can mean that the cat requires a different medication for the rest of its life. The other option is radioiodine (I-131) therapy. It is very expensive up front (usually between $900-1500), but it is also a cure in about 90-95% of the cases.

I would be careful when letting her outside unsupervised. Older cats, like older people, have slower reflexes, so she is more at risk of injury. Plus, the medication works best if given as close to 12 hour apart as possible. If she's out hunting, she may not be back in time.

Does your kitty wear a collar? Is she microchipped? If she does spend much time outside, I strongly suggest you have some sort of identification on her, especially since your neighbor thought she was a stray. While my cats are indoor only, Spot had a special tag with the words "Hyperthyroid, needs medication" engraved on the back. Because hyperthyroid cats get so skinny, especially when their levels are high, it is easy to mistake them for strays or unhealthy (i.e. contagious) cats, and others might end up taking her in thinking she's homeless. I ended up with Spot because he was so skinny when I found him wandering at the local track. He only weighed 7.5 pounds, and he should have been a 12+ pound cat. He didn't have any ID, and no one ever claimed him. I just don't want the same thing to happen to your Bird.

 

[twilight]

Hi ya hun my cat is the same as yours iv just found out this in the last week or so read the thread that i posted might be helpful to you

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94696

 

[catsallover]

Thanks for all the replies!

No, Bird isn't microchipped and she goes nuts with a collar, so... She is in until she puts her weight and muscle back on (which has been fun

so far -the miniblinds are suffering, but I think she is tired from all this, so she hasn't been as crazy as usual when she is confined to the house . All my cats are indoor/outdoor (well, except the kitten who is getting spayed today

) in a quiet neighborhood on a dead end street, and they tend to stick to our yard, the woods directly behind on our lot and parallel to our street, and maybe a neighbor or two, especially when they go on our walks with us (that's how we know how far their territory is-they only go so far, and then wait on us to get back

). The lady who was feeding them gets alot of strays, because she has acreage at the end of our street, and now she knows, so I think it will be okay now-(our immediate neighbors know who our cats are )and if you didn't know Bird, and hadn't felt her back and hips, you wouldn't know she was sick- she's short haired, but shiny with a VERY thick,fluffy coat for a shorthaired cat.
Our cats all come in at night for treats, so I have been giving her meds at 10am and 10pm, and I think that will work out fine, especially since I will HAVE to give treats EVERY night now (4 other very happy cats and a happy dog

. But if she doesn't perk up to her old self muscle tone wise, I have told her

that she will have to be a house cat!

And darn, I was hoping for a time release tablet or something, but she seems happy with the liquid- maybe I can sneak the pill in somehow and see- I guess I will get a few days worth, and check before I run out of her liquid -If only she liked minimarshmallows as much as the dog! She gets her once a day heart meds that way-SO neat and easy!

 

[cloud_shade]

With Spot, I put the medicine in a gel cap. I would open his mouth, shove it in, firmly but gently hold his mouth closed and tell him to swallow. I knew he had swallowed when he licked his nose. With pills, you always want to give food or a squirt of water afterwards to make sure the pill makes it to the stomach. Some people use spray cheese or bits of chicken to make a pill-treat. There are also commercial options, such as pill pockets.

 

[catsallover]

Thanks! Unfortunately, we are well aquainted with the "swallow this stupid pill already, would ya?!?" thing

from my cat with the fish allergy's bladder infections (until we figured it out

) Bird is a much easier pill swallower, thankfully! I figured I would try the whole pill hidden in the canned food, then if that doesn't work, the crushed pill mixed in, and then back to the chicken flavored liquid if I have to. I will also check and see if the pill pockets and the pills were cheaper than the liquid if I needed to- if she doesn't like them, the dog will get some flavor variety in her morning med!

It is SO nice to be able to come on here with a scary problem, and get so much help!

Thanks again, everybody!