Feline Hyperthyroidism
Discussion
So, I think our BSH rescue cat has developed hyperthyroidism. I've got an appointment this evening to get a blood test, but I figured the responses here are fairly swift so I'd ask for opinion based on observed symptoms.
Duke is around 10-11 years old. No one is sure as he came in as a street cat via Cats Protection League. They estimated him at around 4yrs at the time based on looking in his gob. He was skinny at the time but put on weight once we'd taken him in. Active cat, loves wandering and outdoors in general, but can be persuaded to lounge in front of a fire if required. Activity wise, he's got a large range (about 1km radius) and brings in double digit number of mice each season plus pigeons and other asorted wildlife.
However, this winter he's been a bit different. He's not put on the winter bulk of previous years and seems (to visitors who've noticed a change) to have lost weight on his haunches. He's not too keen on dry food any more and will quite easily go through 3-4 wet food packets plus raw meat from dinner if offered. Previously he'd get dry food in the am (and through the day) and wet in the pm (usually 2 packets as he's large). Water is fresh and available at all time.
Despite being an outside cat he has his limits, so with the evil weather we've been having he's not been keen to go to the loo outside and has been using the litter tray. In the last couple of weeks I've noticed that there's proportionally more pee clumps in the try than there used to be. So I'd assume he's drinking more. Poop wise, same as always.
His activity has been constrained by really poor weather; we've had snow / rain / wind the same as everyone but we're in an exposed country place so he's been less keen to go out. This is true of most winters so I can't tell whether his energy levels have dropped.
Like I said, internet opinion only, but does this sound like hyperthyroidism?
Duke is around 10-11 years old. No one is sure as he came in as a street cat via Cats Protection League. They estimated him at around 4yrs at the time based on looking in his gob. He was skinny at the time but put on weight once we'd taken him in. Active cat, loves wandering and outdoors in general, but can be persuaded to lounge in front of a fire if required. Activity wise, he's got a large range (about 1km radius) and brings in double digit number of mice each season plus pigeons and other asorted wildlife.
However, this winter he's been a bit different. He's not put on the winter bulk of previous years and seems (to visitors who've noticed a change) to have lost weight on his haunches. He's not too keen on dry food any more and will quite easily go through 3-4 wet food packets plus raw meat from dinner if offered. Previously he'd get dry food in the am (and through the day) and wet in the pm (usually 2 packets as he's large). Water is fresh and available at all time.
Despite being an outside cat he has his limits, so with the evil weather we've been having he's not been keen to go to the loo outside and has been using the litter tray. In the last couple of weeks I've noticed that there's proportionally more pee clumps in the try than there used to be. So I'd assume he's drinking more. Poop wise, same as always.
His activity has been constrained by really poor weather; we've had snow / rain / wind the same as everyone but we're in an exposed country place so he's been less keen to go out. This is true of most winters so I can't tell whether his energy levels have dropped.
Like I said, internet opinion only, but does this sound like hyperthyroidism?
I'm not sure,
Cats normally tend to lose weight all over but increase appetite a lot, they can seem more skittish and hyped up than they used to be.
Your vet will be able to basic cks such as heart rate (usually very high with the condition) however a general blood test (to ck kidneys, glucose, thyroid and liver) would be a good idea. You are right to get him ck'd over.
Cats normally tend to lose weight all over but increase appetite a lot, they can seem more skittish and hyped up than they used to be.
Your vet will be able to basic cks such as heart rate (usually very high with the condition) however a general blood test (to ck kidneys, glucose, thyroid and liver) would be a good idea. You are right to get him ck'd over.
bexVN said:
I'm not sure,
Cats normally tend to lose weight all over but increase appetite a lot, they can seem more skittish and hyped up than they used to be.
Your vet will be able to basic cks such as heart rate (usually very high with the condition) however a general blood test (to ck kidneys, glucose, thyroid and liver) would be a good idea. You are right to get him ck'd over.
Bex, thanks for the reply.Cats normally tend to lose weight all over but increase appetite a lot, they can seem more skittish and hyped up than they used to be.
Your vet will be able to basic cks such as heart rate (usually very high with the condition) however a general blood test (to ck kidneys, glucose, thyroid and liver) would be a good idea. You are right to get him ck'd over.
He still has the odd mental-moment where he goes haring off round the house after his own shadow, but the next minute he'll settle down on the sofa, turn turtle and fall asleep.
Food wise he doesn't eat anything odd, and frequently cleans our plates in preference to his. We did wonder whether age / teeth would be coming into play by pushing him away from dry (formulated) food and more onto the soft wet food.
Grooming wise he's not looking too scraggy and vocally he's on top form when there's the option of food so he's not exactly lethargic.
One weird one, my dad noticed that one of his back legs appears to be preferentially placed a little more under his body than the other one. Don't know if that makes sense. Now, he's not been clipped by a car or anything as we live at the end of a private track with no houses beyond ours. Only thing other than metabolic that could injur him would be if he fell off a wall. Which has happened in the past.
Suppose we'll see what the vet has to say.
Vet did a check up and took some bloods. Seems he's dropped around 0.6kg since his last visit; not skin and bones but a 'significant amount'. He's not diabetic as they dipped for sugars and it was in bounds.
Should get a phone call this evening with results. Suggested it was leaning towards hyperthyroidism and that there were two flavours of tablet, radio-iodine or surgery as options. But that tablets were the standard and suggested approach.
We'll see as the results from the 'Old and Skinny Cat Test List' cover liver, kidney, heart and thyroid. Can't see it being anything but tablets though whatever way you cut it.
Should get a phone call this evening with results. Suggested it was leaning towards hyperthyroidism and that there were two flavours of tablet, radio-iodine or surgery as options. But that tablets were the standard and suggested approach.
We'll see as the results from the 'Old and Skinny Cat Test List' cover liver, kidney, heart and thyroid. Can't see it being anything but tablets though whatever way you cut it.
I hope it's all OK. 0.6kg is a significant amount of at loss. Iodine tx is worth considering. There is some criteria to meet and probably for the insured cat, unless money no object!
Tablets can be very effective and relatively simple as long as you have a complient cat! But they occ have there side effects.
Tablets can be very effective and relatively simple as long as you have a complient cat! But they occ have there side effects.
bexVN said:
I hope it's all OK. 0.6kg is a significant amount of at loss. Iodine tx is worth considering. There is some criteria to meet and probably for the insured cat, unless money no object!
Tablets can be very effective and relatively simple as long as you have a complient cat! But they occ have there side effects.
He's gone from 4.7kg to 4.1kg but his frame hides it well. He's not a lap cat so there was no real way to 'feel' the change.Tablets can be very effective and relatively simple as long as you have a complient cat! But they occ have there side effects.
He is insured, I just need to dig out the paperwork and make the call.
Compliant in this instance means I've worked out his technique for accepting the tablets so I'm not worried about that. He doesn't do crushed or hidden tablets and the wrapped-cat technique is no good. Simplest option is to prise the jaws apart and chuck the tablet down while dodging the flailing claws. Then simply a matter of clamping the jaws shut till he's swallowed the smartie.
Dr_Rick said:
bexVN said:
I hope it's all OK. 0.6kg is a significant amount of at loss. Iodine tx is worth considering. There is some criteria to meet and probably for the insured cat, unless money no object!
Tablets can be very effective and relatively simple as long as you have a complient cat! But they occ have there side effects.
He's gone from 4.7kg to 4.1kg but his frame hides it well. He's not a lap cat so there was no real way to 'feel' the change.Tablets can be very effective and relatively simple as long as you have a complient cat! But they occ have there side effects.
He is insured, I just need to dig out the paperwork and make the call.
Compliant in this instance means I've worked out his technique for accepting the tablets so I'm not worried about that. He doesn't do crushed or hidden tablets and the wrapped-cat technique is no good. Simplest option is to prise the jaws apart and chuck the tablet down while dodging the flailing claws. Then simply a matter of clamping the jaws shut till he's swallowed the smartie.
Turns out Scraggy has a similar problem. Picked up in the bloods while keeping an eye on his heart condition, which they found due to the crystals in his bladder.
So apart from the special food for the bladder, pills to widen arteries, pills to take water off the lungs, and now pills for the thyroid, he's the model of health. Well apart from the arthritis, and bouts of gingivitis of course.
The nurses at the vets know him on sight now. How long can a cat survive on a cocktail of drugs...
So apart from the special food for the bladder, pills to widen arteries, pills to take water off the lungs, and now pills for the thyroid, he's the model of health. Well apart from the arthritis, and bouts of gingivitis of course.
The nurses at the vets know him on sight now. How long can a cat survive on a cocktail of drugs...
One of ours - Boris - had this. His weight dropped by around half a kilo and whatever he ate - which was absolutely everything and anything at any time - he didn't put it back on. He was 12 at the time so middle aged but very fit but nervous so we opted for tablets to see how it went as we really didn't want an op if we could avoid it.
About a year later, he has put the weight back on - and more - and eats his meals with a tablet powdered on it twice a day. He's fine and back where he was in terms of eating and body shape etc. It's more expemsive than an op over a long period but less traumatic. The dose may need to change a some point but the vet sees him every six months and no problems to date.
About a year later, he has put the weight back on - and more - and eats his meals with a tablet powdered on it twice a day. He's fine and back where he was in terms of eating and body shape etc. It's more expemsive than an op over a long period but less traumatic. The dose may need to change a some point but the vet sees him every six months and no problems to date.
Well the phone call confirmed hyperthyroidism. And just to make us feel even worse, the vet said the measured value was off the top of the regular scale that they use, which suggests he's had it for longer than we acknowledged. The scale goes to 12.9 (I think that's what was said) and he hit that quickly.
So this evening The Duke will start a course of tablets that will last for the rest of his life. Fair enough, he's a grumpy sod but worth it.
Incidentally, do those that have experience of this recommend upping the meals to counter the loss, or is this going to cause other problems?
So this evening The Duke will start a course of tablets that will last for the rest of his life. Fair enough, he's a grumpy sod but worth it.
Incidentally, do those that have experience of this recommend upping the meals to counter the loss, or is this going to cause other problems?
Dr_Rick said:
Well the phone call confirmed hyperthyroidism. And just to make us feel even worse, the vet said the measured value was off the top of the regular scale that they use, which suggests he's had it for longer than we acknowledged. The scale goes to 12.9 (I think that's what was said) and he hit that quickly.
So this evening The Duke will start a course of tablets that will last for the rest of his life. Fair enough, he's a grumpy sod but worth it.
Incidentally, do those that have experience of this recommend upping the meals to counter the loss, or is this going to cause other problems?
You can get high calorie foods to help restore a cats weight. Recovery from hyperthyroidism is given here as one of the uses:So this evening The Duke will start a course of tablets that will last for the rest of his life. Fair enough, he's a grumpy sod but worth it.
Incidentally, do those that have experience of this recommend upping the meals to counter the loss, or is this going to cause other problems?
http://www.thedailycat.com/nutrition/dietingredien...
Dr R,
Our moggie has exactly the same issue and is on wee pink pills every morning.
I pop it down is gob, the Mrs prefers to crush it up into his food (a small amount initially to ensure he gets it all).
We have been feeding him more and his weight gain is slow, but it's working. He was a stocky 5.5kg and is now only 4.5kg, but progress is being made.
Glad you've got it sorted - he's obviously been homed with the right folk
Cheers,
C.
Our moggie has exactly the same issue and is on wee pink pills every morning.
I pop it down is gob, the Mrs prefers to crush it up into his food (a small amount initially to ensure he gets it all).
We have been feeding him more and his weight gain is slow, but it's working. He was a stocky 5.5kg and is now only 4.5kg, but progress is being made.
Glad you've got it sorted - he's obviously been homed with the right folk
Cheers,
C.
Dr_Rick said:
Well the phone call confirmed hyperthyroidism. And just to make us feel even worse, the vet said the measured value was off the top of the regular scale that they use, which suggests he's had it for longer than we acknowledged. The scale goes to 12.9 (I think that's what was said) and he hit that quickly.
So this evening The Duke will start a course of tablets that will last for the rest of his life. Fair enough, he's a grumpy sod but worth it.
Incidentally, do those that have experience of this recommend upping the meals to counter the loss, or is this going to cause other problems?
There shouldn't be any need, the weight will go back on (and more probably) when the thyroid is under control. Also for cats high cal is probably also high protein which isn't what the old timers need.So this evening The Duke will start a course of tablets that will last for the rest of his life. Fair enough, he's a grumpy sod but worth it.
Incidentally, do those that have experience of this recommend upping the meals to counter the loss, or is this going to cause other problems?
A more general point is that it is worth testing the kidney function again once they are stabilised as in a few cases the hyperthyroidism masks the renal issue and they can go into renal failure as a result of the (correct) treatment. Also some cats have very high blood pressure which should be controlled sharpish to stop them blowing their retinas off.
I wouldn't personally worry about a really high T4, overall the success of treatment generally comes down to the ease (or otherwise) of giving tablets and the avoidance of side effects. Anaemia is the main one with the modern drugs in my experience.
Dr_Rick said:
So its £18 pcm for tablets. The only thing I've failed on is an annual insurance policy rather than a whole life. Which means that come renewal time I'll not have cover as it'll be a pre existing condition. Will have to find a solution either cheaper meds or a compliant insurer.
Towards the end of your policy year, ask your vet to prescribe a year's worth of treatment for the cat. Comments on the file to the effect of 'Very stable, monitor and see again 1 year' will help the cause. You'd be surprised how often they'll pay out on these, so worth a try.One of my cats developed an overactive thyroid when he was a similar age or a bit older. My memory of the event's started to fade, but if I recall correctly his appetite actually increased. Anyway, it wasn't really much of a problem, the vet sorted it out by giving us some pills for him. It was kidney failure that got the poor little bugger in the end. 
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