Feline hyperthyroidism

Jet

My cat has just been diagnosed after losing lots of weight and a change in condition and temperament. Her reading was 279, whereas as normal cat should be around 40! :eek:

The vet has prescribed Vidalta tablets, at over £27 for 30 days supply to start with and see how she responds. Once we get her stabilised, I might look into getting the prescription from the internet, however the vet did say that I would get the £38 blood tests for about £20 next time once she is diagnosed, so not sure if that means that I need to buy the tablets from the vets?

Anyway, I was wondering how long it will take for her to get back to her normal self?

I'd like to read your experiences of Vidalta on your cats.

Sooz00

Hi Jet

My cat is 10 and was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism around 3-4 months ago. We initially had her on Vidalta carbimazole but we struggled to get her stable on it. Some cats get some side effects and unfortunately my girl was one of them, it made her vomit quite a lot so we switched to felimazole. The drugs are very similar, neither one better than the other, it's just a matter of what works for your cat. The reason most vets tend to start with the vidalta is because it's 1 tablet a day whereas felimazole is 2.

They can become stable on the tablets within a few weeks. Our vet retested after 3 1/2 weeks on the felimazole and she was stable. She does have a side effect to the felimazole as well, she has a pink, slightly scabby rash above her eyes and below her ears. She's on a non-steroidal cream for this which is helping. Apparently, around 10% of cats on her tablets get it.

When your cat is stable your vet may suggest other treatment options but they need to get her stable first as sometimes hyperthyroidism can mask other problems.

There's another thread with some more info and links, I've posted the link below as it may help:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2767822

As my girl is now stable (T4 is 37 and heart rate slightly high at 154), we have opted to treat our girl with I131, it's one injection of radioactive iodine and it is curative in about 95% of cases. Only a few places in the country do it as UK legislation on it is strict. We've chosen it as it's less risky than the surgery. We are also lucky that she is insured so the cost isn't an issue. I know the treatment isn't for everyone but we think it's the best option for our girl. We had our initial consult 10 days ago and she is due to go in (to the Animal Health Trust) on 1st November and will be with them or 3 weeks. The only reason the stay is 3 weeks is so they can ensure that all of the radiation is excreted before she comes home.

Anyway, we wish your girl all the best on the tablets for now and hope some of the info above and on the other post is useful.

Sooz xx

P.S. Forgot to say that we've got our girl back up to just under 4kg now (she went down to 2.7kg). I think this is a combination of getting her stable along with upping her meals from 2 a day to 4 a day!

paddypaws101

My cat is much older at 16.5 years, and has been on Felimazole x2 per day for a couple of years now. Because of her age I decided against surgery, and not being insured also ruled out the Radiocative option....not that I think she would have tolerated being away from me for 3 weeks as she is very dependant.
She has had no side effects from the drugs and stabilised pretty quickly, putting back on lost weight and improving coat condition.
I get a prescription from my vet and buy the tablets cheaply online, although she does need regular 6 monthly checks on her T4.
How old is your cat and are you insured?

Jet

Hi,

Not sure how old my cat is, I'm her third owner, at least, I think. She just moved in from one of my neighbours one day. Luckily her owner was happy for me to be adopted by her cat! We think she is around 13 yrs old though.

No insurance, I'm afraid, but I can afford the medication, so it's not a problem.

She's had 2 days of tablets now, and no side affects that I can see, so far.

snowman2_2

Jet wrote: »

however the vet did say that I would get the £38 blood tests for about £20 next time once she is diagnosed, so not sure if that means that I need to buy the tablets from the vets?.

This will be a subsidised blood sample from the manufacturers and will be based on the vet purchasing tablets. They will get a limited number of subsidised tests depending on sales. If you get the tablets elsewhere, I wouldn't give you a subsidised test. I had a free blood sample offered recently that I passed on to a good client, friendly people who when the test came back positive, will use me for the treatment.