Gatsby has hyperthyroidism. Good update! #31

[Prairie Purrs]

My poor sweet tuxie doesn't deserve more health problems--it's only been 11 months since his PU surgery. But he's been eating like a horse and losing weight, which made me suspect hyperthyroidism. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the case.

He's taking methimazole. His thyroid levels aren't extremely high yet. Poor baby is only 11, and I'm hoping we can keep this problem managed for a good long while.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so sorry to hear this. Hopefully the medicine will help him stay healthy and help him live a long happy life with you. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.

[Freedom]

Sorry to read this. Good that you got him in and have the diagnosis.

Did the vet talk to you about adding fluids to his diet? Or maybe he already eats plenty of wet food?

It takes a while for the meds to get adjusted and regulate things.

[Medusa]

That's the med that Boo is on, Penny. I just recently adjusted his med to 1/2 tablet twice a day and he's doing much better. He was hanging his head like a horse and I recalled my mother doing that very thing when she needed her thyroid meds adjusted. Boo was on 1 pill twice a day and he was hardly eating at all; he was too thin already! Since I've adjusted his med, though, he's doing much better and no head hanging. So if Gatsby appears to get worse before he gets better, don't worry too much. Just talk to your vet about adjusting his med. Boo is 19 and he's been hyperthyroid for about a year or so now. Poor Gatsby; you're right, he doesn't need this. I'm sure you'll get it worked out, though. Keep the faythe.

[Karen]

Hopefully the meds will balance things out, and you have plenty of time with him left.

[moosmom]

Penny,

Keep in touch, will ya? My Murphy has hyperthyroidism and I'd be interested to see how each cat reacts to the Methamizole. Murphy weighs 5 lbs. and she's 16 years old.

[Pinot's Mom]

Prayers Gatsby's meds get straightened out really quickly and is back to normal very soon!

[Prairie Purrs]

Thank you all. Gats is such a sweetheart, and I really hope this will be manageable. He's curled up on my lap right now, purring like thunder.

Gatsby only eats canned food, and I add some water to it because he doesn't drink much otherwise. He's on a pretty low dose of methimazole right now--5 mg once a day. I hope it does the trick.

[Prairie Purrs]

Gatsby's a lot less frantic than he's been lately, so maybe the medicine is beginning to kick in. He's still eating all of his food, but he's not wolfing it down in a matter of minutes--he eats some, then goes back later and eats more. I just hope he doesn't lose his appetite altogether, because he could stand to gain back a pound or two.

Has anyone opted for surgery or radioactive iodine treatment for hyperthyroidism?

[Cataholic]

I am sorry to hear this about Gatsby. My RB tux, Tex, was hyperthyroid. The medication worked really well for years.

I did consider the treatment, but it was 5 years ago, and it was somewhat 'new' and since the meds worked, well I went with that option. Today, presented with the same dx? I would do the treatment.

Good luck with it all, and special tuxie pets to Gatsby.

[Medusa]

I haven't considered either of those options due to Boo's age of 19. Perhaps if he were younger, I might consider the surgery but not the treatment. That just sounds scary to me.

[Freedom]

None of mine ever had the surgery or the readioative treatment. I wanted it for my first one, RB Amber. My vet said not necessary, he wasn't "that bad," and then he was gone 2 months later.

PetCo has this canned food, Soulistic. I am using the Harvest Sunrise and the Chicken in Gravy for my Sparkle. It has a TON of fluid in it, I bet you wouldn't even need to add water in that. It does come in 4 or 5 other flavors, they are fish related, haven't tried those just yet. It seems a good food, made in a human food facility, so high quality. You may want to check into that as well.

[krazyaboutkatz]

PetCo has this canned food, Soulistic. I am using the Harvest Sunrise and the Chicken in Gravy for my Sparkle. It has a TON of fluid in it, I bet you wouldn't even need to add water in that. It does come in 4 or 5 other flavors, they are fish related, haven't tried those just yet. It seems a good food, made in a human food facility, so high quality. You may want to check into that as well.

I also highly recommend this food. I only bought the two chicken flavors mainly for Storm but all of my adult cats loved it. Storm needs the extra moisture for his urinary problems. I read that it's Petco's version of Weruva which is a fairly expensive canned food.

[smokey the elder]

A lady in my rescue had the iodine treatment for one of her cats, who was only 7-8 years old at the time. It's expensive and the post treatment is a pain (you have to store the litter for awhile; it's radioactive at first) but the cat is doing very well several years later. But, as I recall, this cat was an absolute bear to pill.

[Prairie Purrs]

Thank you all for the info. I'll have to talk things over with my vet and find out how far we'd have to travel for either surgery or the iodine treatment. Gats is pretty easy to pill, so that's not an issue.