Thyroid problem - cat

paul2louise

rainybird wrote: »

Hi,

I recently visited (Oct 2014) the Langley Animal Hospital in Bristol for the health assessment which is required before the Radio Active Iodine treatment. The whole treatment plan is capped at £2400 this includes everything & they except payment direct from your insurance company. ( £24 admin charge.)
My 12 year old boy Joseph was diagnosed with over active thyroid in Jan 2014. Our vet recommended the RIT & we got a referral to Bristol. This includes up to a 3 night stay to assess if your cat is suitable before they agree to do the treatment. Every test is done to make sure they are fit & healthy enough for the treatment. All the tests are non invasive like Ultra Sound & Scans. The staff are fantastic & the hospital is state of the art. (if only our health care was as good).

Unfortunately our boy was one of the unlucky few who wasn't suitable. The scans showed he had un-diagnosed lymphoma of the stomach & only had a few months left to live.

Although we were devastated by this news we were also very lucky to find out & be able to enjoy him while we still could. 6 months on he is still with us & enjoying life to the full with the help of steroids. Without the tests at Bristol we never would have been able to treat him appropriately.

Bless you, you brought a few tears to my eyes. I have a 4 year old son and before he came along my little girl Pebbles was my baby. I have to admit that she has been a bit sidelined since my son arrived and this diagnosis has made me realise that she is still very precious to me and perhaps a little bit guilty. thank you for sharing your story.

paddypaws101

Webbox sticks.
Pinch off a cm and shove the pill into the centre of the stick, squeeze the stick around it and offer to cat. Sometimes takes a couple of attempts as sometimes the pill drops but is pretty effective overall.
Are the tablets Felimazole? If so it is better to split the daily dose in two and give every 12 hours. You can buy a pill cutter from most chemists, wash hands thoroughly after cutting or handling the pills

paul2louise

paddypaws101 wrote: »

Webbox sticks.
Pinch off a cm and shove the pill into the centre of the stick, squeeze the stick around it and offer to cat. Sometimes takes a couple of attempts as sometimes the pill drops but is pretty effective overall.
Are the tablets Felimazole? If so it is better to split the daily dose in two and give every 12 hours. You can buy a pill cutter from most chemists, wash hands thoroughly after cutting or handling the pills

She is taking 2 felimazole a day, is this so her hormones come down to normal. I dont mind 1 tablet a day, when she has stabilzed, i think I can cope with that. I will have a look for these chewy sticks. I think i have seen something like that in aldi. I used to buy them for her.

rita-rabbit

just seen this & feeling mean/gutted about little Mia. I thought she was just an energetic, greedy madam who got upset if I came home late & ate plants & yacked up to spite me - the weight loss is recent - she used to be fat (I got her as a tubby kitten at 6 weeks old) & pushed the adult tomcat out of the way to eat & he allowed her to fill up before starting eating himself. Suffice to say she's off to the vets - I will have to discuss a payment plan

paul2louise

Well i can say that that the iodine treatment has been been succesful so far. Pebbles has had her blood checked at 3 months and was spot on. Just got her 6 month check next month fingers crossed and then i can say the treatment was worth the hard work.

rita-rabbit

no insurance so will be going down the meds route I imagine. Currently giving slippery elm bark & oatstraw & lemonbalm - by pipette. I want her to put some weight back on & in better health before she goes to vets again. If needs be I will just give this to her long term. I make infusions for myself that I drink daily & so it's possible. Wouldn't work for some1 pet sitting for me however!

rita-rabbit

Mia had thyroid removed - the right enlargened part.

she is doing very well. I'm feeding her no fish tinned food, but half Butchers classic meat & half raw - usually turkey gizzard chunks. once a week I give her tinned sardines. I also add ground eggshells for calcium just a pinch.

she won't eat liver or kidney raw & so this is as far as the raw feeding will go for her - she likes the taste/smell of Butchers classic & so I'm happy to continue feeding her this way.

oh she gets some bone/chicken carcass broth - which seems to last ages - boiling it up & just pouring it over the solid food.

50Twuncle

Update
Our cat was operated on over 2 years ago - and is currently eating way too much (he eats at neighbours too) - but is a fat happy 6 kg - so we are leaving it at that !!
Please don't tell us to put him on a diet - he is fine and ALIVE at 6kg...

paul2louise

Great to hear updates. Pebbles us doing brill after her thyroid treatment. She too had put weight back on but rightly so after she lost so much. She is a lively happy cat again.:) best decision I ever made

Shoshannah

50Twuncle wrote: »

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 ??

Technically it is; most cases of feline hyperthyroidism arise from a benign tumour of the thyroid gland.

At eleven years, your cat is on the young side for hyperthyroidism and that's exactly why I would choose radioactive iodine for treatment. There is now evidence that long-term use of anti-thyroid medications can convert the benign enlargement of the gland into malignant cancer (although this research is still in the early stages, it's a worrying finding all the same).

Only radioactive iodine and surgery are curative. Radioactive iodine requires referral and a stay away from home (although some centres offer shorter stays than two weeks nowadays) but has the advantage that it doesn't require anaesthesia and can also guarantee that all the thyroid tissue is treated. Surgery carries a risk of missing ectopic thyroid tissue - which isn't uncommon in cats - in the chest. There also risks regarding the calcium balance with accidental to adjacent parathyroid glands. However, surgery is often more achievable financially and without referral, and is the best option if radioactive iodine is not possible for whatever reason.

The most expensive treatment option for hyperthyroidism in a younger cat is tablets, which can add up to £3000 for four years (radioactive iodine generally works out less than this and is curative). Surgery is the cheapest, with costs varying from £500-2000 depending on the vet.

If my cat ever becomes hyperthyroid and is otherwise a suitable candidate, he will be having radioactive iodine treatment.