My Sophie - Thyroid issues etc...

[jennielynn1970]

Haven't been on here in a while due to personal issues (major break up with Dave, and break down following it, then getting back together, and another break down following that break up... will I ever learn??!!!)

Well, during all the turmoil in my life, I kind of lost track of what was going on in my cats' lives. I noticed a few weeks ago that my petite gal Sophie was a lot more petite than usual. She was sneezing up a storm, she was gulping like she had acid indigestion, and she looked totally disheveled. I've been off of work to get myself back together mentally and physically, so I had to scrape together some money to get her to the vet the other day (turned out NOT to be enough... holy crap is blood work expensive). What the vet had to tell me just broke my heart, but was better than what I had thought was going on. What I had found on line, and thought she had was FIP. The vet, being one of the best I've ever met, thinks it's her thyroid. The poor little girl's heart rate was over 300 beats per minute. Her temp was fine. She lost over 4lbs of body weight, and is only 6.2lbs at this point. Her coat is matted and just horrible (Jen Luckenbach will be getting a call once things are looking up so she can get groomed), and the most heart breaking of all was that her toenails were so long they had grown down and under and INTO her paw pads!!! They had to be cut and removed. There are huge chunks of what they think are dried pus and scab that they didn't want to pick at on her tiny little paws. She's not a scratcher. I have to admit that, and I always used to cut her claws for her. I just lost sight of everything with what was going on with Dave since October of this past year. I was overwhelmed and lost. This was my wake up call. I could have lost my Sophie girl.

Right now she is on methimazole for the thyroid, and baytril for the infection in her paw pads. I have to pick up more of the methimazole later if it does prove to be her thyroid. I should get the results today. I have also have to see if I can get it cheaper anywhere else, or if it's cheaper at the vet. I'm on a really tight budget, and every penny counts for me at this point.

I know there are others on here who have gone through the thyroid issue deal with their cats, how long does it take for the meds to kick in?? She's on really good food (California Natural) with a sprinkle of probiotic over top of it (eagle pack) for her digestive tract. All the cats get that actually. I have one or two barfers and the store I go to recommended it to me and said it may help with the digestive issues. We'll see.

As for the paw pads, I'm spraying peroxide on them twice daily on them while holding her in a blanket. She's not fond of it, but she still puts up with it and purrs the entire time. She's such a good girl.

Thanks for listening. Jennie

[mrspunkysmom]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I've been there recently, too, so I understand.

Sophie's thyroid issues didn't appear overnight, so it may take a while. The thyroid levels take less than a month to return to normal, but the physical symptoms may take a little longer. It took Emily a while to stop eating so much, but she had been starving for a good while. Some of this was psychological.

Just watch her symptoms to make sure the meds aren't too much.

And good luck.

[Freedom]

Aw, hugs Jen, sorry you've had it so tough.

Poor Sophie, she hasn't been feeling well! The meds can take some time to build up in her system. A few weeks. The dosage may need to be adjusted once or twice. Prayers this is the only issue she has, and the meds will manage it for her.

[jennielynn1970]

Well, talked to the vet, finally, after playing phone tag for over a week. Sophie's thyroid is fine! So we have no idea what is going on with her. She's lost over 4lbs. Is pooping outside the box and it's really runny poops. I think part of the pooping outside the box was her little paws hurting, but she's still doing it every now and then, and her paws are fine now. Maybe it's a learned habit at this point? I don't know. I know I'd like it to stop. Part of me thinks she's older than she is. She's very petite, and when I found her, I guessed her to be very young. She could be quite a bit older than what I guessed.

I just don't know what to think. So much weight lost. Pooping outside the box. She's being very clingy. My poor little girl.

[Freedom]

So she is off the med for the thyroid, right, lol. That may make a difference in a few days.

Most of what I can suggest you would already know: moved or changed the litter box, changed the litter. Change in the house.

Do you have the space to start her in a small area (bathroom) and retrain with the box?

Changed food that resulted in the runny poop? If not, then do change it, and give something else a try?

See, you already know all that stuff!

[Karen]

The runny poop and pooping outside the box could definitely be food issues, and that could be contributing to her weight loss. Can you feed her separately from the others? If so, try starting her on a one-ingerdient-at-a-time diet, like either chicken or fish for a few days, see of her poop firms up. Then you can begin adding back other things, and see how she does with it. As a human with some food allergies and some intolerances, I know when I am battling a new one, I don't really trust food or want to eat much until I figure out what is safe again.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jenn, I'm sorry to hear this. When you said that she's pooping outside of the box and that her poops are runny, this brought back bad memories of my RB Starr's problem. He also started pooping outside of the box and I just thought that it was behavioral. I later learned that he had IBD and Colitis. He wasn't trying to not use the litter box, he just couldn't make it to the box in time. I actually saw him explode a few times with full blown diarrhea. The vets at the vet hospital that I was going to at the time just couldn't give him the care that he needed so I went to another vet who specializes in cats. By this point he had lost so much weight, his fur looked horrible, and his whiskers were breaking off. She took one look at him and knew exactly what was wrong and what to do. He was put on prednisolone,vitamin B12 shots, and a special prescription diet. The special prescription diet didn't go over too well so he was later put on a grain free diet which was better. If I tried to feed him canned food he couldn't tolerate it and it just made him worse. I also had to end up going to a holistic vet which did help some. I hope that this isn't what's wrong with Sophie.

My two cats Alani & Blaze have always had very sensitive tummies and they can't tolerate canned food either. They've neverpooped outside of the box though. I found that by feeding them a high fiber diet, that this helps to make their stools firmer. They couldn't tolerate a grain free diet because it may be too rich for them. Now they're on Chicken Soup For The Cat Lovers Soul in the Dry Light Formula. It doesn't have any wheat or corn in it. It does have barely, rice, and I think also oats as the grains. Maybe something like this would help Sophie.


I know that money is tight for you right now. Can you afford to go to a different vet to get a second opinion? If so then I'd do this first before trying anything. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent Sophie's way. Please take care. (((HUGS)))