Calling on anyone with cats and hyperthroid / kidney disease!

[ilovetotravel1977]

Hi all

Just looking for advice from anyone who has gone through this cats before? My two just got diagnosed and we are devestated.

I have read the meds for the thyroidism does more harm than good.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Hi all

Just looking for advice from anyone who has gone through this cats before? My two just got diagnosed and we are devestated.

I have read the meds for the thyroidism does more harm than good.

Mocha, my little chonker of a covid pet has hyperthyroidism and is doing just fine! When she came to us she was on Hills YD food - look it up, that food maintained her levels without the need for any mediation. She also needs to take steroids for terrible itchy skin that has her pulling hair out in clumps so we used the wet food to pill her with. Both the wet and dry were in short supply so we had to transition her to a different RX food to help with the itchy skin and now she gets her thyroid meds in a cream I rub into her ear. She's still going strong, happy kitty with no problems as far as the thyroid goes. She's still itchy but i guess that's her! They can't have ANYTHING else to eat and we use distilled water for her fountain, no treats or the food won't work to control their levels. She's at least 10 now (rescue and they had to have lied when they surrendered her) and my constant companion, no issues with the medication or food. No comments about the kidney disease though, sorry.

 

[ilovevacation]

Our cat also had it. I believe she was 14 when diagnosed. Since she was elderly we opted for dietary management which actually worked very well. I had said if she was <10 and no other co morbidities that would anticipate her to die in the next few years I would have done the ablation. I didn't want to give her daily meds because it is a total pain and I know that I am the only one that have stood a chance of being able to do it ( so what do you do if you are on vacation or something happens to me?) I was concerned that the dietary change wouldn't be enough but it was fine. I suspect the challenge will be if >1 cat getting the cat to eat the correct food. Our cat never did treats so luckily we didn't have to stop them because from what I understood from the vet is it can be that prescription food only. The food is pretty pricey but manageable. I used chewy, they were great, super quick delivery and when we needed a script refill they contacted my vet on our behalf. Our cat lived until 17.5

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Thank you both.

Both are 16. Molly actually has it but her brother Stewie will eventually have it too the vet said.

I have read about the ear cream meds. I have also read that the meds can make them lose more weight as it makes them stop eating. And other side effects.

We are actually going to mexico during march break and now I am panicking about any meds that they/she might need. DS26 will be looking after them. Ear cream sounds easy compared to a pill.

I also found this as well: https://petwellbeing.ca/products/cat-hyperthyroid
I am going to ask the vet about it.

The kidney disease is the bad part. Vet suggested we inject fluids under their skin a few times per week at home. Ugh that sounds expensive and difficult for anyone to have to do. We have to go in to get a demo.

 

[sheilafri]

Mocha, my little chonker of a covid pet has hyperthyroidism and is doing just fine! When she came to us she was on Hills YD food - look it up, that food maintained her levels without the need for any mediation. She also needs to take steroids for terrible itchy skin that has her pulling hair out in clumps so we used the wet food to pill her with. Both the wet and dry were in short supply so we had to transition her to a different RX food to help with the itchy skin and now she gets her thyroid meds in a cream I rub into her ear. She's still going strong, happy kitty with no problems as far as the thyroid goes. She's still itchy but i guess that's her! They can't have ANYTHING else to eat and we use distilled water for her fountain, no treats or the food won't work to control their levels. She's at least 10 now (rescue and they had to have lied when they surrendered her) and my constant companion, no issues with the medication or food. No comments about the kidney disease though, sorry.

I have a dog who has suffered with itchy skin for years. A few months ago my vet recommended Cytopoint, a monthly injection, as a possible treatment. It has been amazing. It isn’t cheap, over $100 per month, but we can afford it and it has made such a difference in our 13 yo dog’s quality of life. I know it isn’t for use in cats, but it shows that there are new advances being made all the time. Check constantly with your vet.

 

[Donald - my hero]

Thank you both.

Both are 16. Molly actually has it but her brother Stewie will eventually have it too the vet said.

I have read about the ear cream meds. I have also read that the meds can make them lose more weight as it makes them stop eating. And other side effects.

We are actually going to mexico during march break and now I am panicking about any meds that they/she might need. DS26 will be looking after them. Ear cream sounds easy compared to a pill.

I also found this as well: https://petwellbeing.ca/products/cat-hyperthyroid
I am going to ask the vet about it.

The kidney disease is the bad part. Vet suggested we inject fluids under their skin a few times per week at home. Ugh that sounds expensive and difficult for anyone to have to do. We have to go in to get a demo.

If only we could find something that would make our little chonker less interested in her food! It will stop the ravenous hunger, constant begging for food and some weight loss even with increased food consumption that you might have noticed in your furbabies since that is caused by the thyroid being overactive (same thing happens with humans) but it shouldn't cause any extra weight loss. You should see a leveling off in both the hunger and them getting skinnier - the food is very heavy on calories so be careful with the amount you provide if this is the route you to take to correct this, just ask the vet to tell you how much to give them.

I know the kidney things sounds daunting but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it and I can't imagine it's too $$ it's just plain IV fluids you'll be injecting

 

[Disney.fan]

Our Himalayan was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when she was 12 years old and she lived to be almost 21 years old! We just had to give her a transdermal gel in her ear twice a day which was very easy thankfully.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Our Himalayan was diagnosed with hypothyroidism when she was 12 years old and she lived to be almost 21 years old! We just had to give her a transdermal gel in her ear twice a day which was very easy thankfully.

Thanks for your feedback. I plan on asking the vet about this instead of the pills.

 

[amw]

My kitty had hyperthyroidism. We lost him in 2020 at 15 - but he was diagnosed at 7 so I take that as a win. I did the ear cream as well. I think it’s easier for the vets to adjust as needed and my cat was finicky with food. We had one scare around 10 years when he stopped eating and drinking, and loss weight quickly. Not ideal but the key for him was changing his food regularly, adding more liquid. And treats. Whatever he wanted. Basically spoiling him. We had to have bloodwork done regularly because he kept losing weight until we maxed out the meds. So that may be an extra cost too.

He was a chunky kitty in his youth. Long and weighed over 30 pounds. At the end, he was 5 pounds. But we was super loved, vibrant in personality, and just happy. I wouldn’t have traded that experience. Don’t worry about meds, or making adaptations — I think animals find us for a reason, and we can handle it. Good luck with your journey.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

@amw thank you

 

[saskdw]

Our very first cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroid at 12 or 13 years old. Although considered a senior I guess she was still full of life at that point and extremely healthy otherwise. We used the pills. We would just hide the pills in her wet food. She would sometimes not eat the pill or spit it out so we would feed her a little at a time until she ate it. This worked about 75% of the time.

We tried different doses to find what worked best. You could tell if it was working because she would lose weight if it wasn't and put it back on when it was. She was a big cat so losing a pound or 2 didn't hurt her.

Anyway, she lived to be 2 months short of her 19th birthday. By that time she had arthritis and she basically decided it was time. We tried pain medicine for the arthritis. She was the Queen of the house. Everything happened when she decided it would. She basically decided she would no longer take the medicine. We tried everything. She was done with it.

I think it really depends on the cat, but she lived a full and happy life into old age. The medicine did work for her.

 

[musika]

No advice on the thyroid but my cat was diagnosed with suspected early stage kidney failure at age 17. The only way to confirm was with a urinalysis and then would have to be a prescription diet only available through the vet for the remainder of his days. Due to the cost (additional $500 on top of our first vet visit plus the $60/month++ for food) and his advanced age we chose not to treat it. He was with us an additional 12 months and we put him to sleep last year at approximately age 18. He was an adult SPCA rescue and was estimated to be around 3 when I got him. He had a good long life and our vet did not pressure us at all to treat him. Once we took him in end stage they did give him a fluid bolus under the skin but he did not bounce back as hoped which is when we decided on euthanasia.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

@musika, thank you for sharing your experience with the kidney disease.

We plan on taking the cats to the vet appointments tomorrow night to hear what they have to say. The quote they emailed me had all kinds of charges. There is urine analysis, blood pressure analysis, blood collection for the thyroid T4 test, pills for thyroid, subq fluids/lines/needles, etc Very overwhelming. And no notes about how long these doses last (i.e., 60 pills $41, does that mean 1 month or 2 months worth? Fluids, lines, needles $45 x2) is that one week, 2 weeks, 1 month?)

If the the costs are per month, we are looking at $150 for the meds and fluids, etc. That doesn't even cover any new foods they might suggest. I can FIND $150/month, but do I really have it? No. Plus, I am sure there will be more follow up tests at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 6 months, etc.

Maybe we just give it all a go for a month or two and see how it all goes (if the cats are willing participants and if we can find the money). They are still doing moderately well, which actually makes the decisions harder.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Hi all.

I have a vet appointment on Feb 7 for both cats to undergo more testing: Blood pressure, urine and blood.

I also have the ear gel medication that I plan to start sometime this weekend. I'd like to be around most of the day when getting her started on it to look for side effects.

The thing is with Molly is she only weighs around 8lbs (on a fat day), so I really don't want her losing anymore weight!

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

I had a cat diagnosed with kidney disease at 13 and she lived to be 18. Without food management because she wouldn’t eat it so we decided to let her be happy for a shorter time versus miserable for longer. We did put her down when she became uncomfortable though.

My 11 year old lady is going to be hyperthyroid in the next year or so (borderline now) so we will have to cross that bridge with treatment soon too. She has crystals but we have been controlling that with diet for 6 years.

Don’t panic too much. They can still live a good life for a long time.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

We decided not to do the Subq fluids. We want our cats to still like us LOL

Hopefully nothing else pops up in the following testing and blood pressure is okay.

Did anyone's cats have bad reactions to the thyroid medication when administered by the ear gel?

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Molly has been taking the ear gel since Friday night and I am so happy to say so far she is showing no side effects! Her dose is 0.05ml every 12 hours, so likely the lowest dose. Hopefully when she goes back in 10 days for follow up blood work her numbers will be normal.

She is such a good patient too. She’s my girl

 

[Spotthecat]

We do the sub-Q fluids every 3-4 days, and it has made a world of difference, that along with the wet food (we have kidney issues, not the hyperthyroid). She's 19 and still going strong!