High thyroid #s. caused dementia?

[StormyPeak]

Hi, it's been a while since I posted. The last time it was about my 3 legged cat, Thump.

This time it's about my elderly cat, Song, age 14).
I adopted her when she was 2 years old, and almost always fed her dry kibble, and she self regulated her eating of it. But when I got Thump, Thump would eat her own food then go eat what Song left in her bowl for later. So I had to feed them just a small amount two to three times a day.

When Song was a solo cat, she usually got slightly pudgy in the winter and then come summer wouldn't finish out her daily food on some days, and she dropped her winter weight. Last summer, her weight went down, but she didn't really put on that bit of 'puffiness' during this past winter. She was having hairball issues, and upchucked often with a hairball there upon occasion.
So I thought it was due to that. I put her on hairball treatment and switched to canned food hoping that she could digest it easier and any remaining hairball(s) would slide on through. She did quit coughing them up...however her weight continued to drop.

I took her to my vet. It turned out that the hairball stuff hid a deeper issue given the weight loss. Song has high thyroid numbers.
For 3 weeks now, she's been on what will be lifelong meds. However, a few days before the diagnosis and meds, she started showing dementia symptoms.

I had another cat, named Ashley who lived to 21 years old, so I recognize what's happening.
So far, with Song, the episodes are only about 30 seconds to a minute long, but they are getting more frequent. And unlike Ashley who just meowed constantly while walking during her episodes. Song sits and YEOWLS! Sometimes she's facing a wall, or once in the kitchen, facing the oven. The first time it happened I thought she had Hurt herself!

Fortunately, her confusion stops as soon as she sees me, AU, my golden retriever, or Thump. My other cat, Ashley... I could never get her to snap out of her dementia episodes.

Anyway, I haven't found much info on the internet about this, but I read that high thyroid numbers can cause dementia in cats. But what I can't find is if treatment that starts early on, in Song's case, just days later...can that help reverse the dementia?

If anyone has had any experience with this thyroid connected dementia, I would sure welcome the information.

This is Song:

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Stormy

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Pretty kitty! I can't confirm or deny a connection but would ask if you have had Song's BP checked. Oftentimes hyperthyroidism can cause high BP, and the BP could be the reason for the howling. Normally, if the high BP is from hyperthyroidism, and the hyperthyroidism is caught early and properly corrected, the BP may go back to normal without further treatment.

Feeby's hyper-T was caught reasonably early and has been managed well but she still went on to develop high BP for which she now takes meds to control it.

Get Song's BP checked first, and make sure her hyper-T is being well controlled. Once a cat's hyper-T is under control, they still need to have their T-3 periodically checked to make sure no dosage adjustments are needed.

 

[StormyPeak]

Thanks for the information. She's to go back to the vet for her 2nd thyroid test the first week May.
She absolutely sounds like she's in pain...but I honestly don't think pain is the issue. She's never had one of those episodes in front of me, or if AU or Thump are within sight. She's always done it when she's wandered off into another room....and/or wakes up at night and can't see me.

She likes to sleep in the computer room and I sleep in my living room in a recliner. So that yowling...while it sounds like pain, I think it's something more like fear/confusion. She's eating well, but also, about the same time the dementia started...she no longer wants to drink out of the water bowl. She is constantly going into the bathroom and wanting to drink water running from the tap. I put a small bowl of water in that sink, just in case she would drink from it...and she does. She rarely did that before. So, yeah, she's getting a little weird on me.

I'll ask my vet about the blood pressure. And too, maybe she might know something about any connection between dementia and the high thyroid situation.

BTW: I made a cross post in the other pets section that is related to Song's situation. I'll post the link here if anyone wishes to read about it. : )

My Golden Retriever has a new job

Stormy

 

[Alldara]

Lily wandered and yowled before she was on medication too. But it reversed pretty quickly on meds...even though we never got her thyroid back in to normal levels.

 

[StormyPeak]

Lily wandered and yowled before she was on medication too. But it reversed pretty quickly on meds...even though we never got her thyroid back in to normal levels.

This gives me some hope.

Too be frank, on Sunday late night, to early morning hours, Song woke me up about 5 times, scaring me each time out of a much needed sleep with the sudden and loud yowls. I was so tired, and I've been through this process before with another elderly cat, and I started to cry.

I was thinking that maybe it's just time to say goodbye to her as it's been almost a month on the meds, I'm poor, and just on her alone, I spent $40 on canned cat food, and she doesn't look like she's gained an ounce of weight, and her dementia seems to have become worse. : (

I know she's not hurting, but I can't imagine how terrified she must be when she's 'lost' to yowl like she does. She's always had a quiet, soft meow, so hearing her do that really makes me wonder if it's fair to keep her around for much longer.

I'll talk with my vet next month, see what the results are on her 2nd test and hopefully in a near future, see her gain a little weight, get her switched back to mostly dry kibble, and cross my fingers and hope the meds help with the episodes she's having.

Stormy

 

[Alldara]

This gives me some hope.

Too be frank, on Sunday late night, to early morning hours, Song woke me up about 5 times, scaring me each time out of a much needed sleep with the sudden and loud yowls. I was so tired, and I've been through this process before with another elderly cat, and I started to cry.

I was thinking that maybe it's just time to say goodbye to her as it's been almost a month on the meds, I'm poor, and just on her alone, I spent $40 on canned cat food, and she doesn't look like she's gained an ounce of weight, and her dementia seems to have become worse. : (

I know she's not hurting, but I can't imagine how terrified she must be when she's 'lost' to yowl like she does. She's always had a quiet, soft meow, so hearing her do that really makes me wonder if it's fair to keep her around for much longer.

I'll talk with my vet next month, see what the results are on her 2nd test and hopefully in a near future, see her gain a little weight, get her switched back to mostly dry kibble, and cross my fingers and hope the meds help with the episodes she's having.

Stormy

It's so hard as they get older and that's always the hardest decision. You know her best, and it's always a great idea to talk it over with your vet.