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.

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!

[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.

[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]

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]

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!

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.