Cat with Hyerthyroid - anyone else got/had one?

Question

My poor little cat has been having a toughtime and vet thinks this is what it is. Just looking for some info and support really.

Answer 1

Hi
This is a very treatable disease. Most people choose to give pills which are called tapazole. Your cat would have to make trips to the vets for bloodtestst to detremine how the pills are working and find the right dose.
Expensive, but cheaper in the long run if you can afford it is the radiation treatment. It is a one time deal and is extremely successful That is what I would recommend.
I also strongly suggerst that you start feeding quality foods which means, no dry I wish you the best of luck. Please treat this promptly


Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard; dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Please read the label on what you are feeding? What are the ingredients? Do you know what they mean?
http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Food_Ingredient_Label
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods. Rashes, scabs behind the tail and on the chin are all symptoms
The problems associated with Dry food is that they are loaded with carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process them. Also, Most of the moisture a cat needs is suppose to be in the food but in
Dry, 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Another thing, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods. Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Does a hard pretzel clean your teeth or do pieces of it get stuck? http://www.felinefuture.com/nutrition/bpo_ch4a.php

Please read about cat nutrition.
http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics.html
http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food_vs_Canned_Food.__Which_is_reall

Answer 2

Hi Ice Queen. My cat Jem has just been treated for hyperthyroidism. She was losing a lot of weight, would nag for food all the time, but wouldn't eat it and her coat looked rough and unkempt and slightly oily. She also had the personality from hell, moody, aggressive and antagonistic to my other cat.

I popped her to the vet who suspected hyperthyroidism from her symptoms and he just did a quick blood test to confirm. When he called me back in, he said that she did have an overactive thyroid and he gave me the treatment options. I started her off with pills (two a day), but she hated them and would spit them out and generally lose it with her claws. After about a week trying to persevere with that, I rang the vet and he booked her in for surgery.

She went in the next day and had her thyroid removed. Bless her, when I picked her up she didn't look happy. She had most of her chest and throat hair shaved off and about a 1 and a half inch cut going down her throat (they can't use a collar for obvious reasons).

That was about 6 weeks ago, and she is a completely different cat. She is eating well and gaining weight, got her loving personality back and her coat has returned to the smooth and shiny state it should be in. She doesn't need any pills or other treatment at all.

Just put your cat in the care of the vet and he/she will be fine. I know it's worrying, but the worst is over, you know what it probably is, therefore it can be treated.

Good luck with everything x

Answer 3

Hyperthyroidism is the most common endocrine (hormone) disorder that affects cats. It creates a wide range of signs resulting from the overproduction of thyroid hormone made by the thyroid gland.

There are currently three ways to treat hyperthyroidism in cats:
* Medical treatment with the anti-thyroid drug, methimazole
* Surgical removal of the affected gland
* Treatment with radioactive iodine
All of these treatments have their advantages and disadvantages and some are better than others for different age and disease presentations.

Answer 4

Yes, ours is on methamazole, which we have compounded at the pet pharmacist since Hershey is so hard to pill. Instead of a small pill twice a day we just put a dab of goo in her ear every 12 hours and she's been regulated really well with that.

I believe it's called tapazole when it's in pill form.

Answer 5

i'm not sure what would the symptoms be?