Cat and possible thyroid problems/removal

Iguana

keelykat wrote: »

Spoke to soon i think, had to put ollie down today

I am sorry!:grouphug: :sad:

lovebourg1

My lovely cat has the same problem, since July last year we tried tablets to control this, but he is now not responding very well and is losing weight again (he's always beeb slim, so this is not good). The vet said it costs about £250.00 to have the operation. Although i'm terrified to have this done to him, I think it's for the best......

Take Care,

Suzanne

digital

This thread has been seriously useful: thanks.

However, could anyone explain how prescriptions work, please?

If the vet provides a prescription (free of charge) for, say, a month of medication and the cat needs the medication long term, do you have to ask for a prescription every month or can the internet supplier continue to supply on the basis of that initial prescription?

TIA

Waterfalls

you will need to ask for a prescription for each supply.(vets are able to charge for them now) so if ur getting it from the internet make sure u leave plenty of time to ensure u dont run out.

to ensure u are 'under the veterinary surgeons care' u are likely to need to return to the vets ever 6 months for a check up and possbile blood test. if it is a new condition u may need more regular consulations untill the condtion is stabilsed

spookylukey

digital wrote: »

This thread has been seriously useful: thanks.

However, could anyone explain how prescriptions work, please?

If the vet provides a prescription (free of charge) for, say, a month of medication and the cat needs the medication long term, do you have to ask for a prescription every month or can the internet supplier continue to supply on the basis of that initial prescription?

TIA

This is an old thread that has been resurrected, the law has now changed which means that vets are now able to charge for prescriptions so the saving will not be as great.

If your pet needs long term medication you can ask the vet for a repeat prescription which the online pharmacy will hold on file. Your pet will still need regular check ups whether you were going to be buying the meds direct from the vet or online so no added cost there.

digital

spookylukey wrote: »

the law has now changed which means that vets are now able to charge for prescriptions

Ah! Progress... not.

Thanks for the update. I would have expected the move to have been in the other direction: able to charge to unable to charge rather than to charging.

Wig

Need_More_Money wrote: »

If it is an overactive thyroid ask about radioiodine treatment. This is used widely in humans and I believe some vets do it for cats. Not sure how widely available it is, but I'd imagine it could be cheaper than surgery.

I'm researching the this whole subject at the moment as I am suspicious of my cat having Thyroid problems, (going to have a blood test done). The reason I am suspicious is that yesterday her meow was croaky. It was an overnight change in her voice from normal meow to croaky meow. Reading about hyperthyroidism can cause croaky voice, and can make them skinny and eat more food, I realised the "skinny" and "eating more" could be said of my cat. However I can't feel any lump on her throat. Best course of action is to take her to the vet to see what he thinks.

Does anyone know the cost of a blood test to test for thyroid and/or renal problems?

In my internet travels on this subject, I have found out the someone had their cat treated radioactively at the Royal Veterinary College in London, and they said it cost a bit over £1,000.

I will consider surgery very favourably if it is £200 -.£250 as this one off treatment is better for the cat and not much more expensive (possibly cheaper) than long term tablets.

On the subject of prescriptions & tablets, is it not possible to order from outside the European Union with no prescription at all? You could still have the cat regularly checked by the vet to ensure the tablets are still working.

orlao

Wig wrote: »

On the subject of prescriptions & tablets, is it not possible to order from outside the European Union with no prescription at all? You could still have the cat regularly checked by the vet to ensure the tablets are still working.

On my searches through the net I've never come across Felimazole available without a prescription.....plus as you will be quickly reminded here;) it is illegal to import a POM without the correct paper work!

My cat has had an over active thyroid for 5/6 years now - it would probably have been cheaper in the long run to have let her have the throidectmy (sp!) but I was warned by my vet that there was a possibility that she would still need meds if the wrong amount of the thyroid was removed.....either for over active or under active thyroid.....

skintchick

My cat has thyroid problems. She used to be on one Femiazole (or whater it's called) but recently had to have her dose doubled and is on something else. The tablets are dusky pink and bigger.

Kizzy has never taken tablets properly (even the vet can't do it) so we crush them to a powder and mix them in food. It does say you shoudln't crush them but the vet said if that's the only way of getting them into her then it's better than nothing.

An operation isn't always the answer - Kizzy is so old that she simply wouldn't survive an anaesthetic, so it's tablets or nothing.

Oh, and she was the opposite to the usual symptoms - she ate hardly anything, but was very skinny and tired with bitty fur and a sad expression.

Her sister had the same thing - and the fur was always the indicator. Sadly, Garfield was prescribed the op rather than tablets and I didn't know any better. She died on the operating table as her overworked heart couldn't cope with the pre-op. She'd have survived had she had tablets.

digital

orlao wrote: »

I was warned by my vet that there was a possibility that she would still need meds if the wrong amount of the thyroid was removed.....either for over active or under active thyroid.....

We were told that cats have two thyroids. Removing one might be effective, two should be, and if both were removed then no harm would come to the cat as they can live quite happily without them. In addition, no further medication would be required.

It took two separate operations, the second a month after the first, at ~£260 each to remove the two thyroids and he seems to be quite OK and is putting on weight he had lost.

Two separate operations were needed to make sure he survived as removing both thyroids in one operation might have been too much.

I'm not a vet, I can only report on what two vets told my wife and myself.