My cat Trixi

[PinkPixi]

My cat Trixi is 13 and is showing all the signs of hyperthyroidism, she is also not cleaning herself, resulting in a matted coat, and not using the litter tray any more. I love her to bits and know that she is getting old but she still has plenty of life (and attitude!) in her. I don't particularly want to fill her full of medication and wondered if there was a natural alternative to using thyroxine in cats or whether I do need to take her to the vet for a prescription.

[Rae'ya]

ALWAYS take your pets to the vet when they're showing signs of disease. Always. Get the check up, get the diagnoses, get the advice, THEN make the decision on what you want to do about it. Especially when they're in their senior years, because there could be several things going on that you would never know about until it's too late. In an ideal world, we would be doing screening blood tests on every pet every year, and then we wouldn't have such a high incidence of late stage hyperthyroidism and kidney failure. Unfortunately, by the time you've noticed physical signs at home, the disease process is already well progressed and you'll have a harder time bringing it under control.

Anyway, thyroxine is used in hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), not hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). The drugs we use in hyperthyroidism in cats is usually Carbimazole or Methimizole. Unfortunately, sometimes those drugs can make them feel a bit sick, but sometimes it'a a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils. Hyperthyroidism causes elevated heart rate and blood pressure, which can lead to heart failure as well as masking existing kidney disease. It also causes hyperactivity, increased metabolic rate (which can lead to weight loss) and poor coat condition through changed hormonal balance. Hyperthryoidism is one of the main diseases that we see in older cats (along with kidney failure, diabetes. and dental disease) and it will shorten their lifespan. The body just isn't equipped to deal with being permantantly run on 'overdrive', which is what this disease does.

My parent's cat has recently been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which we picked up during her yearly check up, not because she was showing obvious signs of disease. I put her on carbimazole, tested her TT4 and kidneys four weeks later and things were going well. Unfortunately, her system is now not liking the drugs so much and it was making her nauseous, so I've stopped the meds, am about to blood test her again and mess with the dosage to see if we can get it under better control without the side effects. I'd actually like to send her off to the specialist for some radioactive iodine treatment, but my parents are dragging their feet, because they don't understand the health risks and long term consequences that this disease can have (plus it's expensive treatment, but in the long run is cheaper than twice daily medication for the rest of her life). If she were mine alone, I'd have sent her off weeks ago and had her cured by now, but alas, I am just the lowly vet tech daughter. lol.

You might find some 'natural' therapy that will help control the hyperthyroidism, but please please please take her to the vet first, get an actual diagnoses, and monitor her bloods. If you're going to go the 'natural' route, do it through a holistic/naturopathic vet, don't do it on your own. Make sure that you have someone who knows the side affects of the therapies, and who can monitor her kidneys and heart function throughout. Hyperthryoidism is NOT just about the thyroid, you need to look after the kidneys and heart too, and carefully monitor both the thyroid and kidneys when starting treatment. You can't do that without blood tests. This is a complex disease and NOT something that you can treat on your own from a book or website of natural therapies.

EDIT: and yes, I do mean 'diagnoses' not 'diagnosis', because hyperthyroidism is often co-morbid with kidney disease, heart disease, heart murmur, etc etc

[Old Witch]

The above post is the very best advice you are going to receive. Spot on Rae'ya!

[WitchJezebel]

I always find it curious why people come here and post about their pet's illnesses, and then wait for responses instead of taking the initiative for the benefit of the pet.

At the risk of sounding catty, I love you guys but I don't give a crap what your advice is when my dog is sick. I get him to the vet to get checked out first and then I might come here and talk about it.

That poor old cat needs a vet ASAP.