Storm & Pearl's Vet Visit- Update On Storm's Latest Thyroid Test 5-15-11

[krazyaboutkatz]

Today I took both Pearl and Storm in for their annual exams. Pearl cried the whole way and Storm was very quiet in the car. Storm decided to make himself heard though when we were at the vets. Pearl weighed in at 8.8lbs and she's 5 years and 11 months old. Last year she weighed in at 9lbs so she's okay in the weight dept. My vet said that she's in excellent health and her teeth look great too.:) I was thrilled because I've been brushing everyone's teeth once a week for quite a while now.:)

Storm is 15 years and 3 months old and he only weighed in at 12.8lbs.:( He's been feeling skinny and boney to me lately and this confirmed it. I looked up last years weight and he was 14.1lbs. My vet also felt a small nodule on his thyroid so they took some blood. They'll be doing both a thyroid and a comp panel. I should know the results some time tomorrow. Please send some positive vibes Storms way that they results will be good ones. Thanks in advance.:) My vet did say that all in all though Storm does look good for his age which I was very happy to hear.:)

One funny thing that happended, while I was trying to find Storm to put in the carrier, Blaze hopped in and he was all ready to go to the vets. When I got home and let out both Pearl and Storm, Blaze hopped in the carrier again.:) I guess it's not a threat to him just yet. I'll have to see how he is in August when he and Alani go in for their annual checkups.:)

[Pinot's Mom]

Prayers for Storm that all turns out well.:love:

As for the carrier incident? Pinot walks right into a carrier, too. Our RB kitty Jamara never went in one. She turned into psycho kitty so we gave up trying.

[Barbara]

Good to hear it all went well organization wise. Thumbs up for the Pearl girl. And paws crossed for Storm- let's hope it is only some old age ailments and that he is ok otherwise.

[Freedom]

Hey Pearl, Hi Storm, sure hope you got some treats and / or chin rubs once you were home again!

Paws crossed for easy to cope with test results.

[phesina]

Prayers for Storm that the test results are good. Well done, Pearl!

[Randi]

Tracey, I hope Storm's bloodwork will come back with fine results. It could be that now it's warmer, he doesn't have quite the appetite as during winter. What are you feeding him? Older cats tend to lose muscle mass also, but I'm sure you that.

I'm glad Pearl's health is so good. :) I'm impressed you are able to brush their teeth. I have tried that few times with Fister and he is not amused!

Give them all some kisses from me! :love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

Tracey, I hope Storm's bloodwork will come back with fine results. It could be that now it's warmer, he doesn't have quite the appetite as during winter. What are you feeding him? Older cats tend to lose muscle mass also, but I'm sure you that.

I'm glad Pearl's health is so good. :) I'm impressed you are able to brush their teeth. I have tried that few times with Fister and he is not amused!

Give them all some kisses from me! :love:

Yes, I do know that older cats lose muscle mass as they age. I'm feeding the older cats Wellness Core dry and some of the Wellness grain free canned as well as some Natural Balance canned Chicken & Green Pea and Salmon & Green Pea. Some days Storm doesn't eat well but other days he has a big appetite. Alani & Blaze are on Chicken Soup For The Cat Lovers Soul in dry Light for extra fiber and also some of the canned in adult hairball formula. They just didn't do well on the Wellness.

Thanks everyone.:) I hope to hear some good news and I'll report back later tonight about it. I sure hope he won't need to be on more medication.:( I also forgot to add that he does have some gingivitis but in general his teeth look great because they don't have tartar build up since I've been brushing them once a week. None of the cats like it but it has to be done so I just open up their mouths and go over their teeth a few times and I even brush their tongues.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again for all of the good vibes and prayers. All of Storm's blood work results are normal.:D He's not eating as well again today so I still don't know what's up with him. He's even on pred which is supposed to increase his appetite. Hopefully he'll eat better tomorrow.

[cassiesmom]

Dear handsome Storm... your fellow grey kitty Cassie and I hope that you can eat better tomorrow! You are such a beautiful guy, and I'm glad your lab work looked good. :)

P.S., kisses for Storm and Pearl, Sky and Ziggy Stardust, Blaze and Alani!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Dear handsome Storm... your fellow grey kitty Cassie and I hope that you can eat better tomorrow! You are such a beautiful guy, and I'm glad your lab work looked good. :)

P.S., kisses for Storm and Pearl, Sky and Ziggy Stardust, Blaze and Alani!

Thanks so much Elyse and Cassie. I guess yesterday wore him out because he's been so tired ever since his vet visit.

[chocolatepuppy]

Great to hear Storm is doing well!:)

[Randi]

So glad to hear Storm's results came back normal. :) I hope his appetite will pick up, also! It seems you're feeding him all kinds of yummy and healthy stuff. Give him a big kiss from me! :love: .... and the others, too.

Fister gets fed up with his food quickly, so I try to change between different senior brands, but one funny thing is that if I feed him by his cat tower, where I brush him and give him treats, then he will eat what he won't eat in the kitchen.

[Freedom]

Good news on the blood work, hooray!

Try giving him a different brand of canned. Just buy 1 can of anything, see if it is the food. Or put some chicken broth on his food. See if any of that tempts him.

I know my dogs refused to eat Wellness. :rolleyes:

[Taz_Zoee]

So glad Storms blood work came back okay. I hope you can get him to eat something. I remember going through the same thing with Taz. I spent years dealing with him being overweight and then suddenly I was trying to get him to gain weight.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks but he's not out of the woods just yet.:( My vet called and left a message this morning at 7:15am while I was in the shower. She said that his thyroid test came back a high normal so she thinks he may have hyperthyroidism which was what I was afraid of.:( She wants to do an add on test which is called a free T test to confirm this. I called back and I had to leave a voice message because she was busy with a client. Please keep the prayers coming and I'll let you know something as soon as I get these results.

Storm mainly ate canned food yesterday so he had some diarrhea last night before bed.:( He decided to wake me up at 4:30am and he wanted loving. He kept getting in my face and waking me up so I had to let in out of my bedroom. He seemed very hungry this morning and ate his canned and most of his dry food and now he's taking another nap. To me he also seems extra tired. I wonder if hyperthyroidism causes this too or it's just old age. Thanks again.:)

[phesina]

Continuing prayers for Storm that the additional test goes well too and his appetite improves. :love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[Kirsten]

I'm sorry to hear Storm may have hyperthyroidism; however, this could explain the weight loss. Keeping my fingers crossed that it can be treated easily!

[lvpets2002]

:love: Glad Pearl's checkup was good.. So sorry to hear about Storm's.. Hope he gets to feeling better.. Sending Lots of Prayers & Huggss..

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again. He did eat better this morning so I hope he'll continue to do so.:) I still haven't heard how long the other thyroid test takes so it may be a few days before I know the results. My vet can e-mail me and I can also e-mail her so I'll probably receive the results that way. I still don't have a cell phone.LOL:o

[Medusa]

As you may recall, my Boo had hyperthyroidism and once we got the med dosage straightened out, he did very well, so try not to worry too much about that. :)

[Freedom]

Frustrating that the initial report was "all is well."

I've had a few w/ hyper thyroid, and as Mary said, it can be managed. It would explain the weight loss; but . . . he should be ravenous with it! :confused:

Let's get the added report, start some meds, see how it goes. Paws crossed!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I just received an e-mail from my vet and she said she just got a note saying that Storm's test results won't be in until Fri. or Sat. Since she works Sun.-Wed. she said she'd call me on Sun. so we can discuss the results.

[Lizzie]

Pouncing back in after a long absence. I see you have a few new cats since I last visited, pretty ones too.

Like others here, I've had several cats with hyperthyroidism and it is almost always easy to manage. Occasionally a cat will have a poor reaction to Methimazole, but that's rare. You can either pill or get it made up into a cream which you massage into their ears. Or, you can go the radioactive iodine treatment route, which I did with one cat and it worked out very well.

Most cats do eat constantly and still lose weight so I was flumoxed when one lost his appetite, but the vet said that could happen. Your vet will know this very well, that hyperthyroidism can mask the early stages of renal failure because the more rapid blood flow will cause an increased flushing of the kidneys. Once the hyperthyroidism is treated, the renal failure will show. Considering Storm's age, it is a possibility - BUT, also very highly treatable. When he has a second test to check the medication is working, it will show all levels.

Wishing you both well, with an easy treatment and lots of years of fun to come.

[chocolatepuppy]

Prayers for Storm. {hugs}

[krazyaboutkatz]

Frustrating that the initial report was "all is well."

I've had a few w/ hyper thyroid, and as Mary said, it can be managed. It would explain the weight loss; but . . . he should be ravenous with it! :confused:

Let's get the added report, start some meds, see how it goes. Paws crossed!
Yes, it was actually not my vet that left the first message. Maybe it was just about his blood profile which didn't include the thyroid test. I read some info about hyperthyroidism and it did say that in some cats it can be hard to diagnose and some will even lose their appetite because they may have some other underlying illness. In Storm's case he already has small intestinal disease and this was causing him to vomit so he's been on 2.5mg of pred every morning for it for a little over 1 year now. He's also on 5mg of pepcid at night to help soothe his tummy. His tummy is very sensitive these days.


Pouncing back in after a long absence. I see you have a few new cats since I last visited, pretty ones too.

Like others here, I've had several cats with hyperthyroidism and it is almost always easy to manage. Occasionally a cat will have a poor reaction to Methimazole, but that's rare. You can either pill or get it made up into a cream which you massage into their ears. Or, you can go the radioactive iodine treatment route, which I did with one cat and it worked out very well.

Most cats do eat constantly and still lose weight so I was flumoxed when one lost his appetite, but the vet said that could happen. Your vet will know this very well, that hyperthyroidism can mask the early stages of renal failure because the more rapid blood flow will cause an increased flushing of the kidneys. Once the hyperthyroidism is treated, the renal failure will show. Considering Storm's age, it is a possibility - BUT, also very highly treatable. When he has a second test to check the medication is working, it will show all levels.

Wishing you both well, with an easy treatment and lots of years of fun to come.
Thanks and welcome back.:) I hope that if he does have this disease that it will be easy to treat. I've already let my vet know that I don't want any kind of surgery done on him. I just want to be able to keep him comfortable for whatever time I have left with him. When my vet felt his kidneys she said they felt normal so hopefully we caught this early enough so it didn't affect them.


Prayers for Storm. {hugs}
Thanks so much.:)

[krazyaboutkatz]

My vet called me this morning and Storm does have hyperthyroidism.:( We're starting him off on Tapazole pills 2.5mg 2 times a day. In 2 weeks I have to bring him back in to get a weight check and another blood draw so his thyroid levels can be checked again. I already gave him his first pill and he took it without any problems. I just put it in part of a pill pocket and he thought he was getting a treat.:) I sure hope that the pills will do the trick. Please send some positive vibes his way. Thanks.:)

[phesina]

We are sending our good wishes to Storm with his new diagnosis.. So glad to hear he took his first pill so easily.

Prayers that all will go well for you, Storm, and the whole family!

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

[krazyaboutkatz]

We are sending our good wishes to Storm with his new diagnosis.. So glad to hear he took his first pill so easily.

Prayers that all will go well for you, Storm, and the whole family!

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

Thanks so much.:)

[lvpets2002]

:love: Sending Lots of Positive All Paws Up Vibes && Prayers.. Get well soon Storm..

[krazyaboutkatz]

:love: Sending Lots of Positive All Paws Up Vibes && Prayers.. Get well soon Storm..

Thanks Helene.:) I can tell that Storm's still not feeling well.:( He's taking his pills very easily but this morning he didn't eat very well. He also threw up some liquid back in my bedroom some time today. I've noticed that he's been drinking a lot of water today. He ate a bit better tonight so I'm hoping that tomorrow will be a much better day for him.

[Kirsten]

I'm sorry to hear that Storm has to deal with hyperthyroidism, and that he's still not doing well. Dealing with thyroid problems myself, I know very well how bad it makes you feel. Guess it will take some time until the meds do their job, and I hope that Storm will feel much better, once his free T's go down...

[Lizzie]

I'm sorry Storm tested positive and hope the meds kick in and make him feel much better soon. Will your vet allow you to use Mirtazapine to reduce nausea and give him an appetite?

[katladyd]

I'm sending up some prayers for dear Storm. Feel better soon, handsome boy!:love:

[Freedom]

It can take some time for the meds to take effect. Prayers that he feels better soon. It is such a worry when one of our furkids is ailing.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry Storm tested positive and hope the meds kick in and make him feel much better soon. Will your vet allow you to use Mirtazapine to reduce nausea and give him an appetite?

I don't know but he now seems to be feeling a lot better and he's finally eating better too.:) He's still on 5mg of pepcid at night to help soothe his tummy. I just hope that he'll start gaining some weight back. Thanks again everyone for your concerns and prayers. I think they're working so please keep them coming.:)

[krazyaboutkatz]

I took Storm back to the vet today for a weight check and blood draw. He's gained some weight and is now up to 13lbs.:) I will hopefully know the results of his thryoid test by Monday. Please send some good vibes his way that it will come back with good results. He seems to be feeling a lot better, is much more alert, eating better, and also his coat appears to look better to me too.:) He was such a good boy at the vet and both vet techs loved him. They couldn't believe he was a little over 15 years old because they said he looked much younger.:)

[chocolatepuppy]

Pawsitive thoughts headed Storms way!:)

[phesina]

Prayers and good wishes are being sent to Storm.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks.:) I received a call this morning about Storm's thyroid test results and they are now in the normal range.:D I can keep on giving him the same doseage that I've been giving him and hopefully he'll continue to do well on it. I was so worried that he'd have to start taking more medicine so now I'm so relieved and thrilled at the same time. Once again PT prayers have worked.:D

[katladyd]

I'm doin' the Happy Dance for Storm!! Way to go big guy!!:love:

[phesina]

What great news!!!!!

Well done, Storm, and keep on keeping on so well!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again everyone.:)

[Medusa]

That's excellent news! When I read that his coat looked better, I knew he was on the right track. When my Boo first had his thyroid issues, his coat became so dull and dry. This is the boy who always looked like a black panther wearing a mink coat. So when his shiny coat began to reappear, I knew he was getting better. Good news, Storm! Atta boy! :)

[krazyaboutkatz]

That's excellent news! When I read that his coat looked better, I knew he was on the right track. When my Boo first had his thyroid issues, his coat became so dull and dry. This is the boy who always looked like a black panther wearing a mink coat. So when his shiny coat began to reappear, I knew he was getting better. Good news, Storm! Atta boy! :)

Thanks Mary.:) I hope he'll continue to do well and that he'll be able to be with me for at least a few more years.

[cassiesmom]

Whoops I got it on fb but not here...

Cassie and I say this is terrific news about our favorite blue-grey fluffy, handsome Storm! Hip, hip, hooray for you, sweet Storm!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks Elyse and Cassie.:)