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Newly diagnosed 12 year old Male cat with hyperthyroidism
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 1:01 pm
by Patthe-catlady
Trying to decide course of action. This must be treated.advice on using pils daily or try 1x dose radio iodine.
Re: Newly diagnosed 12 year old Male cat with hyperthyroidism
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 1:32 pm
by Lilith
Hi and welcome, and you've come to the right place, though sorry to hear your boy's hyperthyroid.
Many of us on here have hyperthyroid/ex-hyperthyroid cats - here are three links that I can recall off the top of my head, but there will be others. They deal with both regular meds and radio-iodine treatment.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5958&hilit=pallina
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6300&hilit=radioactive
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6789&hilit=pippin%27s
Good luck to you both and please let us know how you go on
Re: Newly diagnosed 12 year old Male cat with hyperthyroidism
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 2:28 pm
by fjm
As you will see from Pippin's thread, I opted for the radio-iodine treatment. I have been very happy with the results, although there were a couple of weeks when I wondered if I had done the right thing - Pippin suffers from arthritis, and got very wobbly through confinement and lack of exercise. Once he could pootle around the house and gardens he rapidly improved, though, and although he is still stiff and sore, even with daily metacam, he thoroughly enjoys lazing and snoozing in warm spots and eating as many meals a day as he can persuade me to produce!
Re: Newly diagnosed 12 year old Male cat with hyperthyroidism
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 6:58 pm
by Mollycat
Hello and welcome, sorry to hear about your boy.
There are more than two options, there are four:
- Daily pills
- Curative radioactive iodine
- Surgery
- Diet
Surgery is still used but has its issues, sometimes one gland is removed and the other one turns bad so another operation is needed, and then in around 1/3 of cats there is some extra thyroid material deep in the chest where it can't be removed and that turns bad.
Hills have recently formulated a diet that is ultra low iodine but it MUST be fed exclusively. My cat loved it. And as I knew she was going for radioiodine, I wasn't as strict as I should have been.
Radioiodine is not appropriate for all cats especially if they have any other issues. Mine now has mild renal failure. Hyperthyroidism can mask renal failure by increasing blood pressure so more flow through the kidneys, and curing the thyroid issue can bring the kidney issue out.
Re: Newly diagnosed 12 year old Male cat with hyperthyroidism
Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:25 am
by Kay
personally I'd be reluctant to go down the diet or medication route for a 12 year old cat, as that would mean the thyroid tumour would go on growing for perhaps 5 or 6 years - a long time to be on only one food, or on increasing dosages of pills
the radioactive treatment is IMO the best option for a relatively young cat