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. :love:

[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!:love:

[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.

[kittykatharine]

My sydney has had hyperthyroidism for over a year and a half. My vet has her one one pill 2x a day to keep her levels in check. It took us some time to get the dosage right, so you have to be patient. Sydney has days where she doing well and days were she acts like she is not doing as well. We have managed to get her weight from 6lbs 5 ounces to 10lbs 4 ounces (we are SUPER happy about this!). She has been on the medication for about a year and a half and her monthly kidney values have stayed within normal range. I guess my point is she has been doing well despite the diagnosis - so I would keep my hope up! Good luck! :love::love::love:

[Medusa]

My sydney has had hyperthyroidism for over a year and a half. My vet has her one one pill 2x a day to keep her levels in check. It took us some time to get the dosage right, so you have to be patient. Sydney has days where she doing well and days were she acts like she is not doing as well. We have managed to get her weight from 6lbs 5 ounces to 10lbs 4 ounces (we are SUPER happy about this!). She has been on the medication for about a year and a half and her monthly kidney values have stayed within normal range. I guess my point is she has been doing well despite the diagnosis - so I would keep my hope up! Good luck! :love::love::love:

Hey, welcome back, girl! Haven't seen you for a while. Glad to hear that Sydney is doing well w/her hyperthyroidism. My Boo is doing better, too; he's gained 2 oz. That doesn't sound like much but he was so thin that he was almost transparent! ;)

[kittykatharine]

Hey, welcome back, girl! Haven't seen you for a while. Glad to hear that Sydney is doing well w/her hyperthyroidism. My Boo is doing better, too; he's gained 2 oz. That doesn't sound like much but he was so thin that he was almost transparent! ;)

Thanks Medusa! I know it has been a while. I have never forgotten this site and I have also never forgotten how wonderful everyone on here is. I recommend it to anyone who has a cat health issue. I am glad to hear Boo is putting on some weight! :D It is soooo hard to do when our babies are older, with health problems - so I know how exicting it can be to put on just alittle. It has taken us FOREVER to put these pounds on Sydney. It is funny how for months we would all baby talk to her while she was eating (she is such a little queen - soaking up all that attention ;) ). Sydney is still doing ok, although there has been some concern about the cancers return. We are being hopeful at this point, since she continues to be high spirited and put on wieght. Hope all is well with your fur babies! :love::love::love:

[Prairie Purrs]

I am very glad to hear that sweet Sydney is doing well. It's encouraging to hear that she's gained weight back and isn't having kidney issues. I hope Gatsby has the same success.

[moosmom]

Murphy goes to the vet on Friday for blood work to see if the transdermal cream is working. So far, so good.

[Prairie Purrs]

I hope Murphy gets good news from the vet!

[Killearn Kitties]

How are things going with Gatsby now?

Last week our vet tested Jessica for hyperthyroidism, The tests came back negative, but if we had had a positive result we would have to have taken the radioactive iodine treatment, because pilling Jessica is simply not an option.

[Prairie Purrs]

How are things going with Gatsby now?

Last week our vet tested Jessica for hyperthyroidism, The tests came back negative, but if we had had a positive result we would have to have taken the radioactive iodine treatment, because pilling Jessica is simply not an option.

Gats seems to be tolerating the meds pretty well. He's suddenly turned picky about his food, though. He eats, but it takes some serious guesswork on any given day to figure out what he'll polish off and what he'll nibble at reluctantly. It's driving me a little crazy because I want him to put some weight back on.

[Medusa]

Gats seems to be tolerating the meds pretty well. He's suddenly turned picky about his food, though. He eats, but it takes some serious guesswork on any given day to figure out what he'll polish off and what he'll nibble at reluctantly. It's driving me a little crazy because I want him to put some weight back on.

Boo does the same thing, Penny. I thought that he'd eat w/abandon but he doesn't. He had gained a couple of ounces then lost 4 ounces. I try not to worry too much about it b/c at least he's eating. :)

[moosmom]

Murphy's liver is good. Her kidneys aren't. I had to bring her back today to get a urine sample. She needs prayers. I pray it's a UTI and not kidney failure. Cost $135.00.

[Prairie Purrs]

Healing thoughts for Murphy.

[moosmom]

Still haven't heard anything from the vet with regards to the other urine tests. It could take up to...get this...2 weeks!!! :eek:

The first test that came back shows her kidneys aren't processing the urine properly. It's VERY concentrated. I hope and PRAY it's just a simple UTI.

[kittykatharine]

Waiting to hear how Gatsby is doing. Hope all is well. Please update us when you know something. You guys are still in my thoughts and prayers! :love::love::love:

[Prairie Purrs]

Waiting to hear how Gatsby is doing. Hope all is well. Please update us when you know something. You guys are still in my thoughts and prayers! :love::love::love:

Thank you for the good wishes!

Gatsby is doing well. He takes his meds like a champ. He suddenly decided that he no longer liked the food he'd been eating, which is a problem because he's on a prescription diet due to his UT issues. Of course the only thing he really likes now is something I can only get by mail order. :rolleyes: But at least there's something that he'll eat, so I'm hoping he'll regain some weight.

He's due for a recheck in the next week or so, and that will let us know how his thyroid levels are doing.

Otherwise, he's his usual sweet self and spends as much time as possible in my lap. :D

[phesina]

Good wishes and prayers to Gatsby and you..

[Prairie Purrs]

Gatsby had a recheck of his thyroid levels today, and they're within normal range! And his weight is up from 8.8 pounds to 9.5. He'll continue on the meds, which he's tolerating well so far, but I'm going to be setting money aside for the radioactive iodine procedure.

I'm really happy with my sweet boy's progress. Thanks to all who have sent healing wishes his way!

[Medusa]

Oh that's good news, Penny! Way to go, Gats!

[krazyaboutkatz]

This is wonderful news.:) I hope he'll continue to do well.:)

[phesina]

Wonderful!

More prayers for Gatsby's well-being.