Hyperthyroid with my cat

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Will166
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Hyperthyroid with my cat

Post by Will166 »

Hi Everyone,

Ive just joined, i was looking at people who have cats with Hyperthyroid, my one cat has had two operations to have both glands removed but its come back again, she is taking medication every day but her Blood count is still high, in her own way she is good but skinny, the medication is very expensive but is there anything else i could give her that does not require a prescription
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Lilith
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Re: Hyperthyroid with my cat

Post by Lilith »

Hi and welcome.

I'm sorry to hear about your cat. Why were two operations needed? Did the thyroid grow back? I confess I'm not an expert as I was lucky enough to be able to get my cat, Mouse, to a local centre where they administer the 'miracle cure' - radio-iodine treatment, which has proved a great success. It IS pricey, but I calculated that meds and frequent tests might prove just as expensive in the long term. But of course it's a matter of finding that lump sum ...

I don't know of anything over the counter that might counteract hyperthyroidism, but other members might have more ideas. However, if your vet will give you the script (and most will) you can get POM meds much more cheaply and quite simply on line from such as Viovet (in the UK).

Good luck :)
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fjm
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Re: Hyperthyroid with my cat

Post by fjm »

I opted for the radio-iodine treatment too - very expensive, but sorts 99% of cases once and for all and is minimally invasive. Has your vet told you why your cat has not responded to the operations? Some cats have thyroid tissue away from the main glands which is not removed by a thyroidectomy; in a very small percentage of cases the tumour is malign, which makes it much more difficult to cure, even by radio-iodine.

I don't know of any OTC medications or supplements that help, and certainly nothing that would replace the prescription drugs. Feeding a high protein diet will help her maintain condition, but it is important to get the thyroxine level down, and for that you need the right level of drugs - which means both the drugs and regular blood tests, plus blood pressure tests if possible.
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Kay
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Re: Hyperthyroid with my cat

Post by Kay »

Hills make a food for HT cats https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/dry ... ion/466962

the cat has to eat only this though, so has to like it, but you might care to try it
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Re: Hyperthyroid with my cat

Post by Antonio »

Hi, I'm sorry to read that your cat had two surgeries, and yet the problem has come back.
Did your vets run a test called scintigraphy?
This test shows the vets how increased in volume the thyroid glands are, but it also shows the vets if the cat has some hectopic masses, that means that one or more masses with similar physical characteristics as the thyroid have grown up somewhere else in the cat's body, generally in their chest.

If this is your case, the thyroid has been totally removed, but another mass is producing the thyroid hormones and the clinical situation looks like when the cat still had their original glands.

The scintigraphy test is a must when a cat is treated with I-131, this is to assess the amount of radio-iodine to be injected. Without a scintigraphy test, the dosage is just a guess. Too a low dose and the cat will still be HT even after the treatment, too a high dose and the cat will become Hypothyroid for the rest of its life.

I think that this test should be done in case of a surgery as well, in order to understand if the simple removal of the thyroid glands is effective or a more complex surgery is needed.

What could you do now?
I'd discuss with the vet to try and understand why this happened, if the scintigraphy had been done and what they did see.
If not, why they didn't.
And what options you have now.

The only thing without prescription you can give is, like Kay said, the specific diet food from Hill's, but if the cat doesn't like it, you have to stick with the medicine.
Or the I-131 treatment, if it's still possible.

My cat was HT and I chose the radio-iodine treatment over the meds and surgery that my vets wanted me to do. I know I did the best choice.
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Mollycat
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Re: Hyperthyroid with my cat

Post by Mollycat »

Humans have one thyroid gland in two lobes but cats have two separate glands. One can be removed with no problems but it is common for the other one to cause a problem and have to be removed.

Some cats then have some extra thyroid gland material deep in the chest cavity where it cannot be reached by surgery. In a few cats this can be where the real issue lies and then the only options left are diet control, medication, or curative radioodine therapy.

Your vet should have explained the surgery risks to you and discussed all 4 options before you decided to have the surgery.

If medication is too expensive for you then radioiodine most likely will be too and not all cats are suitable for it anyway. There is only one diet food available at the moment, it's Hills y/d extremely restricted iodine. Not all cats like it and you must be absolutely strict with it, no treats or any other food at all, for life.

My cat recently had the radioiodine treatment and by the time she has all the pre and post tests we won't see change from £4,000 although the treatment itself was £2,500. You can get it cheaper in the UK and I don't know what the cost is in other countries.

Medication can be obtained cheaper if you get a prescription from the vet and buy the exact same medication cheaper from a reliable source like VetUK or Pet Drugs Online. The Hills y/d works out around £30 a month.

Scintigraphy is not always needed but if it is a reputable radioiodine centre would have done this included in the price.

It's not that your cat has not responded, if the glands are removed they cannot grow back or still be faulty. It's the extra thyroid material deep in the chest that is most likely the cause. But your vet should have explained all this to you.

Sounds to me like your vet wanted your money rather then refer you to a radioiodine centre ...
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