Shaking and excessive meowing hyperthyroidism?

[tracy1213]

Hi everyone...
My vet has been telling me my cat most likely has ibd as he's always starving, losing weight, and has constant diarrhea.

But over the course of the last week or so my cat has been meowing nonstop (never previously meowed), is extremely shaky and wobbly, and can't seem to rest or relax. This sounds more like hyperthyroidism to me. His bloodwork in Jan showed T4 at 1.3 which doesn't seem abnormal but how fast can this disease progress?

I have an ultrasound scheduled for this Monday and can get a thyroid test done then but I'm just curious if any of these symptoms sound more like hyperthyroidism vs ibd.

Also what can I do for him now if I have to wait a week for this test. He's starving and crying constantly and nothing I give him satisfies him. Just trying to figure out how to get him to Monday for testing when he won't stop eating and having diarrhea.

Thanks everyone!!

 

[neely]

Did the vet give your cat something for diarrhea? A T-4 of 1.3 is within normal range. If he had bloodwork in January you could certainly ask the vet to repeat the T-4 test. I thought this article about Hyperthyroidism would be helpful and provide some additional information for you: Hyperthyroidism in Cats

If you have any doubts about his diagnosis by all means look into getting a second opinion, preferable with a feline only vet.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! Is this the same cat in your recent previous thread? If so, does that means the Prednisolone has not helped? Also, ask if the Prednisolone could impact the ultrasound results. IBD help!! Multiple questions....probiotics...proteins...etc...any and all advice greatly appreciated!! | TheCatSite

Neither the shakiness/wobbling nor the diarrhea are common signs for hyperthyroidism, but every cat is different. A big appetite is also, however, not a real typical sign of IBD. No vomiting? The excess meowing could be related to being hungry but could also indicate pain/discomfort.

I don't have any real advice to give but will suggest that if they find something during the ultrasound, make sure they will go ahead and do a fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology on any 'suspect' tissue, which is merely drawing out cells/tissue via a needle for further analysis. It, like the ultrasound, is non-invasive.

 

[tracy1213]

Thank you!! I will check it out. In the beginning of my cats symptoms he was not displaying any of these shaky meowing starving symptoms. So the vet assumed ibd and said let's do the ultrasound.

He did just prescribe me metronidazole today and I haven't tried that before.

 

[tracy1213]

Did the vet give your cat something for diarrhea? A T-4 of 1.3 is within normal range. If he had bloodwork in January you could certainly ask the vet to repeat the T-4 test. I thought this article about Hyperthyroidism would be helpful and provide some additional information for you: Hyperthyroidism in Cats

If you have any doubts about his diagnosis by all means look into getting a second opinion, preferable with a feline only vet.

Thank you!! I will check it out. In the beginning of my cats symptoms he was not displaying any of these shaky meowing starving symptoms. So the vet assumed ibd and said let's do the ultrasound.

He did just prescribe me metronidazole today and I haven't tried that before.

 

[tracy1213]

Hi! Is this the same cat in your recent previous thread? If so, does that means the Prednisolone has not helped? Also, ask if the Prednisolone could impact the ultrasound results. IBD help!! Multiple questions....probiotics...proteins...etc...any and all advice greatly appreciated!! | TheCatSite

Neither the shakiness/wobbling nor the diarrhea are common signs for hyperthyroidism, but every cat is different. A big appetite is also, however, not a real typical sign of IBD. No vomiting? The excess meowing could be related to being hungry but could also indicate pain/discomfort.

I don't have any real advice to give but will suggest that if they find something during the ultrasound, make sure they will go ahead and do a fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology on any 'suspect' tissue, which is merely drawing out cells/tissue via a needle for further analysis. It, like the ultrasound, is non-invasive.

I had seen this online and that's what got me thinking!!

Yes he took the pred for 2 days and wouldn't eat one bite of food and had multiple bouts of diarrhea daily. About 24 hours after stopping the pred his appetite returned.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I see what you are looking at, but when my cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, her T-4 was 4.5 and there was none of that going on. She had also gradually gotten to that level over many, many, many months. Her only symptom was weight loss. But as I said every cat is different.

Did they also take a stool sample and perform a full fecal PCR? That looks at a lot more than just the standard parasitic conditions done in a basic fecal analysis as it includes testing for unusual parasites as well as certain fungal/bacterial/viral conditions.

 

[tracy1213]

Yes I'm super confused by everything right now. I did bring a stool sample to the vet today and in all the craziness I completely forgot to ask about it!! I'm waiting for the vet to call me and will ask about it then!

 

[neely]

As FeebysOwner mentioned every cat is different when it comes to Hyperthyroidism symptoms. Our cat was literally yowling, eating up a storm and had some vomiting. He did not have diarrhea or shaking/wobbly. How old is your cat? H-T tends to present itself in middle-aged to older cats but there are exceptions.

 

[tracy1213]

I'm seeing that every cat has very different symptoms. He's going to be 8 in a few months. I'm going to have his thyroid retested regardless but my vets first guess was ibd but it seemed more like thyroid to me...but what do I know!?