Thyroid problem - cat

50Twuncle

Our, up until now, 100% healthy 11 year old, "all-sorts" male cat - has just been diagnosed with an overactive Thyroid !!
His blood test showed a thyroid level of 180 - whatever that means ?

We had thought the worst - that he had diabetes (we previously lost 2 cats through this)
The vet has given us 2 options - tablets or removal of thyroid
We will be trying tablets first
The signs were that he constantly wants feeding (and still lost 1kg in 6 months) and is very "clingy"
Fingers crossed - this will help (if we can get him to take a tiny daily tablet)
Any tablet giving advice - welcome !
Plus anyone else with a similar problem - did tablets work ?

Mrs_Z

Our cat got diagnosed at about the same age although we were not offered the option of the thyroid removal so can not speak for that option. Our cat was on tablets for 4 years (ie. rest of her life) and generally speaking did ok, except towards the last 6 months. The negative side of the tablets are a) they work out quite expensive £60 every six weeks (depending on the dose of course) and your cat will need regular check ups, every 6months will have check up fees and blood test fees b) if you go away, it might be problematic if your catsitter is not able to give him tablets and he's not taking them willingly with food. Still, I have no doubt in my mind that the tablets gave our cat another 3+ years of decent quality of life and as far as I'm concerned, it was money well spent and worth every penny.

Gold_Dust_2

There is a third option available, so you should consult your vet as to whether your cat is a good candidate for it: radioactive iodine therapy (i131 therapy). It is extremely expensive.

http://www.rvc.ac.uk/small-animal-referrals/advanced-techniques-and-specialist-procedures/radioactive-iodine-i131-therapy


http://www.vet.cornell.edu/hospital/services/Companion/Internal/conditions/felinehyperthyroidism.cfm

I highly recommend the RVC btw, they have such caring staff.

50Twuncle

Gold_Dust wrote: »

There is a third option available, so you should consult your vet as to whether your cat is a good candidate for it: radioactive iodine therapy (i131 therapy). It is extremely expensive.

http://www.rvc.ac.uk/small-animal-referrals/advanced-techniques-and-specialist-procedures/radioactive-iodine-i131-therapy


http://www.vet.cornell.edu/hospital/services/Companion/Internal/conditions/felinehyperthyroidism.cfm

I highly recommend the RVC btw, they have such caring staff.

Thanks - I was aware of this option - but unfortunately - the price is way more than we can afford
Plus - he would pine away (two weeks without his mother being with him) - as would she !!
We will try the tablets and consider surgery - if the Thyroid is removed - surely that is it - cured ?
Why would anyone consider radiation - it's not cancerous ??

dandelionclock30

Apparently the thyroid has 2 sides and they remove the side with the growth on thats causing the overactive thyroid. What can happen is that the other side then can overcompensate and then that can need removing later as well.
After you have had the thyroid removed the cat still needs regular blood tests etc.
I'm going through all this with one of mine at the present. We pay £26.00 for her tablets per month. You can get them cheaper on the internet if you wish.
You can either hide the tablet in the cats meat or give it to them by putting it at the back of her throat and letting it swallow. It depends on your cat of course.
Good luck with it all

moggymutt

I think it's best to have tablets before having the op anyway,
Don't know why radiotherapy works, but it's used successfully on humans as well, a friend of mine has had it done, she certainly didn't have cancer.

Iain_L

One thing that has been quite successful for the local branch of Cats Protection is Hills Y-D food, developed for control of thyroid conditions. It might well be worth looking at that, particularly if you have a cat that isn't too keen on tablets.

Is he an only cat? I ask that as if he is it'll make feeding much easier, as if you have another cat that eats normal food you have to be careful to ensure that the cat with the thyroid condition doesn't eat the regular food.

As I say we have seen seen good results with the food so that may be another option.

Iain

paddypaws101

At 11 years old your cat is still relatively young.
My personal recommendation would be to bite the bullet and go for the Radio active treatment which is guaranteed curative.
The surgery has draw backs and outlined above, also the diseased tissue can spread into the chest cavity and would still remain after surgery, so the issues re-occurs.
The food mentioned is basically an attempt to starve the tumour....the problem is that the dry version is completely meat free and the wet version does not contain much protein either. Over long periods of time, this deficient diet will likely cause other kinds of health issues ( diabetes being one of the risks)
Using tablets long term also has draw backs...the ongoing expense of medication and twice yearly blood tests. Also, the the meds can stop working and the cat will soon fade away, or cause serious side effects
The Radio active costs about £1200 I think.....if the cat lives another 6 or 8 years then that will be much cheaper than medication.

50Twuncle

paddypaws101 wrote: »

At 11 years old your cat is still relatively young.
My personal recommendation would be to bite the bullet and go for the Radio active treatment which is guaranteed curative.
The surgery has draw backs and outlined above, also the diseased tissue can spread into the chest cavity and would still remain after surgery, so the issues re-occurs.
The food mentioned is basically an attempt to starve the tumour....the problem is that the dry version is completely meat free and the wet version does not contain much protein either. Over long periods of time, this deficient diet will likely cause other kinds of health issues ( diabetes being one of the risks)
Using tablets long term also has draw backs...the ongoing expense of medication and twice yearly blood tests. Also, the the meds can stop working and the cat will soon fade away, or cause serious side effects
The Radio active costs about £1200 I think.....if the cat lives another 6 or 8 years then that will be much cheaper than medication.

TUMOUR ??
It is an overactive organ - not a TUMOUR

paddypaws101

50Twuncle wrote: »

TUMOUR ??
It is an overactive organ - not a TUMOUR

Yes, a benign tumour, that is what usually causes Hyperthyroidism

50Twuncle

Vidalta at £90 for 30 tablets - is what our vet charged
That appears to be pretty expensive. ...