Hyperthyroid cat

[Spotpatch]

Hi! My 14 yo male cat is diagnosed with hyperthyroid last Friday & after taking his Carbimazole (5mg twice a day dosage), his diarrhea has since stopped three days ago but his appetite is still going well (put on a little weight now). His activity level is not too bad, lazing around most of the time. Does it means his condition is under control already? Has this one week medication convert it to hypothyroid since he still has good appetite?

After starting on e medication, he seems more picky with his dry food choice though he loves his Wellness Core chicken wet food. Have been changing his dry food for the third time now & would like to know whether should I feed him high or low protein food? He has an elevated liver & kidney values since the last blood test on Friday before starting on the medication. Most commercial food contains higher Iodine (fish oil & kelp), phospohrous, sodium selenite, carrageenan and Iodize salt. Is it alright for his condition? Is there any recommendation on the food? Is Wellness, Natural Balance & Evo good enough?

I could not find any radioactive cure nor Hills Prescription y/d diet for him in Singapore. Can I know by taking Carbimazole for life will he still enjoy a longer lifespan? Is the dosage alright for him? He's about 5kg now. Thank you.

[Spotpatch]

Hi! Sorry for late reply. So how's Whtroze?  

So far my cat, Moggie has his blood tested e 3rd time. He's still on 2 tabs of 5mg Carbimazole a day. Have tried cutting down to 1 tab per day but his thyroid level went up from 2.5 to 8 so back to 2 tabs a day... =(

E vet says it's ok not to give senior food & also Singapore does not have much choices. So in e end I just feed him normal Wellness Core & Wellness normal wet food. Occasionally some Natural Balance cans (heard very high carbo, is it true?) & Nature Instinct Lamb can. He prefers pork, red meats & poultry more over seafood/fish... Tats funny but also gd thing for him... haha... I add some steam or oil free pan fried pork/beef/chicken into his wet food to entice him to eat almost daily. It's ok? One vet recommends me to give him some kitten food for high protein since his livers & kidneys are normal. So I bought some kitten kibbles for him & gave him once every 2 days. He's mostly on wet food now. When he was 1st diagnosed he was 4.75kg & he's 5.5kg currently. =) He's eating well now after he got used to his med. Initially he kept vommitting & no appetite for 1-2 wks.

His dosage should be ard 10mg a day but Im still worried this high dose will damage his organs in long run... As mentioned w e reduced dosage his thyroid levels shoot up... Dunno wat to do... Haiz...

Thanks a lot for sharing & advise. ;) Hope ur miss lady is doing well...;)

[msloa]

I told have a furr baby with hyperthryoidizm.  She was diagnosed at 8 years.  She has been on Methimazole 5mg.  She gets half a pill twice a day.  Everything Whtroze is what I have experienced.  Miss Lady even had a heart murmur from her system being in overdrive, but with the medicine she is fine.  She still eats good, and I do feed her (and my other furr babies) senior cat food:  Both can and dry.  I don't feed them fish much, mostly poultry.  She does go in every 6 months for her blood work and yes they are on the medication for life.  However, my vet did tell me about another treatment for this.  I know there is a criteria for it, but it's like chemo.  They thryoid is blasted with radiation to kill the bad portion and appearently cures the condition.  It is rather expensive (was quoted $1800).  I decided with the cost factor involved in what I am currently paying for meds and blood work and the average life span of my kitties, it is best I just keep with the meds.  Plus I do not have that kind of funds available.  :-)  

All I can say is make sure your furr baby is taken in for his blood work.  

[opus88]

hey...your welcome, we try to help out our furry babies all we can and welcome anyone who has some input or a problem to discuss.
I am sending you a link to Medhelps Dog community, you'll get more help asking your question over there......btw good luck♥

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Dogs/show/4?controller=forums&action=show&id=4&camp=msc

[Spotpatch]

Hi there! Thanks heaps for your help & advise. Really appreciate you taking your time to help us. ;)

After what you have mentioned, it has given me more hope in treating my cat w med. Thanks for tat pc of gd news!

However, my cat has some soft stools today so it means tat it hasnt been regulated yet after 1 wk? Has been trying to give him more food to fatten him up but he's fussy w his dry. Since you've mentioned there's no known restriction on the diet, so it means I'm able to feed him fish flavour food? I've been looking everywhere for mostly chicken/Turkey meal & I managed to find Natural Balance green peas & chicken but he hates it. He also dislikes Wellness Core Chicken dry. Is there other Hollistic brand w low sodium worth trying?

Oh yah, I was given 6 Vit B12 jabs. Have to jab my cat every wk to help strength his guts. Rather scare of doing it myself but Ive no choice as e vet is 45 min dr away & Ive to do it myself in order not to stress him. It did help w my dogs though. Hope it work e same for my cat.  

By any chance, do you know about dogs coughing? One of my 14+yo Jack Russell is on fortekor for many yrs & recently she has developed some cough but it does not go away even after trying some cough & Pred syrups & Lasix. X-ray shows her pipe is narrowing due to old age. Vet mentions maybe checking for Bronchitis next wk since he says it shouldnt be infection nor heart failure. But she's still very active with extremely good appetite, eating non-stop esp from evening. What is there that I should be worried abt?  She's allergy to dust mites, should it be e cause of e cough?

Sorry loaded w more qns again.... Once again, thank you.

[Spotpatch]

Hi! Thanks heaps for those info.

Wanna fatten him up more so hope some dry food (carbo) may help. Have been switching from Science Diet to Pronature to Natural Balance & Wellness Core dry, but he only likes Pronature. Am afraid this brand is too high in Iodine for him due it being fish flavoured.

He has some soft poo today but he seems alright & eating well, except fussy w his dry. Will cont w his C-Lium to help harden his stools. Thanks again for your concern & help!

[Whtroze]

I had a kitty that was diagnosed hyperthyroid when she was 9 years old. You can actually see the effects physically pretty quick. I saw a difference in my kitty within 3 days. However, that doesn't mean they are regulated yet. It just means NEW thyroxine produced by the thyroid was blocked. But there is still the hormone from before the medication was started in the bloodstream. This takes about a month to clear out. Your vet probably said they want to check the Free T4 in a month....this is why. By that time the bloodwork with show how much hormone is in the bloodstream now that excess is being blocked with the medication.
If the dose is way to high, they can go hypothyroid. However, because of the residual hormone in the bloodstream it shouldn't go to extreme before the doctor rechecks the values and finds the values are going low. This is why it is very important to make those recheck times until they are regulated. If the kitty would get super tired they they are exhausted all the time or stop eating, then call or get to the vet even if its not time for the recheck yet. Getting them regulated can take time and depends on how bad the disease is and other factors. Vets usually also change doses gradually so that you don't force the system into an extreme value. This is another reason it can take time, but it is also the best because its the safest thing to do. I was lucky and my kitty got regulated in 3 months. As for dosage it really isnt based on weight. Its based on how severe the disease is. What ever dose works to get the values back to normal is the dose they need. This is why blood tests and rechecks are so important. Also, the dose may not stay the same for life as the disease still progresses. Remember the medication just blocks the hormone, but it is not fixing the problem of why there is too much hormone being made in the first place.
As for the elevated kidney and liver values before medication...this is not surprising and also not something to worry too much on since the reason is because of the hyperthyroidism. With hyperthyroidism the metabolism is increased. The kidneys particularly and also the liver have to deal with the body being in over drive so they too are working harder than normal. Once the thyroid hormone levels get back to normal, those values should come down. This is also another blood value that will need to be monitored.
As for food, Wellness is a good food. There really aren't any major restictions for diet with hyperthyroidism that I was ever told as long as the food fed mets nutritional needs for a cat that age. (senior diet). On thing I would watch is the salt content. This should be on the relatively low side. Lots of salt can put stress on the kidneys making them work harder and then blood pressure could increase which then could affect the heart. This is however even a recommendation for any senior pet, not just ones with hyperthyroidism. But since the kidneys get slammed when hyperthyroidism when the values get too high, its not a bad idea to not add to that stress.
As for living a long life on the meds for life...yes your kitty can and can be happy too!! Just as long as you keep all recheck appointments and monitor the blood values so they stay in normal ranges. My kitty lived another 7 years with her condition and was no different than my other kitties other than she got a "treat" (her pill) twice a day.
Sorry this is so long, but hope it helps answer some of your questions. Although I'm not a vet., I am a veterinary assistant so I've seen lots of clinic cases of this disease and also as mentioned I also owned a hyperthyroid cat for many years. Never be afraid to ask your vet regarding anything with this disease. They are there to help you and your kitty. Hyperthyroidism is fairly common in older cats and also fairly easy to treat and monitor compared to other diseases that older pets can get. Good luck!

[opus88]

hi and welcome. I will send you a link to our Expert Forum where there is a Vet that does do some occasional replies when she's able.

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Animal-Health---General/show/112?controller=forums&action=show&id=112&camp=msc

On this Cat community we are just owners and cannot give out medical information, only our own experience...if there is someone here with this experience I'm sure they'll reply too.

I can comment on the food. Wellness Core has a good reputation. Much better than Hills prescription diet.  I would most definitely feed wet and not dry.
I will send you a site with good nutrition info, perhaps this will answer some of your questions.
the Vet also gives a list of best commercial foods by clicking on a tab on the right side of her article.

www.catinfo.org

good luck to you and kitty. keep us posted on his ongoing condition we are happy to have you both as new members♥