I Don't Know What To Do - 15+yo Cat

[FeebysOwner]

Mini update.

Vet called. We're a 'go' for the pills (I forgot to ask dosage amount - oh well. This is his call, not mine.) He said whatever form I wanted it in was fine with him. But, after talking a bit about the options, he suggested I try the pills first. He said if I crush them and add liquid, I am essentially doing the same thing a compounding pharmacy would do. And, if I make up my own doses daily, I am not hastening expiration of the meds as would happen with multiple doses being compounded by the pharmacy all at once. Plus, I can change the liquid 'at will'.

He wants her to be on the meds for 3 weeks before we do another thyroid test. He also said it is not a complete failure if I can't get her to take it twice a day, but of course that is the ideal dosing in order to maintain a more constant decrease in thyroid hormone production. Now, I just have to go pick them up. Here we go...

 

[verna davies]

Good luck,. I hope you hit the jackpot straight away, let us know how you get on.

The tablets Guinness was on were called Vidalta and they couldn't be crushed or broken, had to be given whole which was a pain. Will Feeby let you syringe the liquid into her?

 

[FeralHearts]

We've been thinking of you both. *Fingers crossed and sending love and good vibes your way*

 

[FeebysOwner]

Good luck,. I hope you hit the jackpot straight away, let us know how you get on. The tablets Guinness was on were called Vidalta and they couldn't be crushed or broken, had to be given whole which was a pain. Will Feeby let you syringe the liquid into her?

Man, I sure hope my vet knows what he is talking about with the crushing of the pills! I'll look them up when I get them, just to be on the safe side.
The only time I tried to syringe feed Feeby anything was with her Orbax liquid (which apparently doesn't taste good either). She spit, hacked, and foamed at the mouth. Her next dose was mixed with canned tuna water, and she took it just fine. So, I am kind of thinking that trying to syringe feed her would probably be a bad idea ()...

 

[FeebysOwner]

10/19 – 11/01 Feeby Update

The past couple of weeks have been fairly status quo with Feeby. She has her good-eating days and her bad ones too. One day, she was lucky to eat 180 calories and not that many days later she ate 350. But, in all fairness, that day contained a 3.0 oz can of Wellness Core, which is a very high calorie (212) food. Nonetheless, she still managed to eat an average of 258 calories per day. She weighed 12.9 pounds today, which is 2 ounces less than two weeks ago – down 5 ounces since her 8/20 vet visit. Down 2.7 pounds from a year ago. I hope this is solely related to her H-T and can be halted once the meds start to work.

Speaking of which - she is on her 12th day of H-T meds. The first 5 days were at the higher 2.5 mg 2x a day and then we decreased it to 1.25mg 2x a day - out of an abundance of caution. She seems to be tolerating it well (knock on wood), no digestive issues or any other behaviors I could call side effects. I know based on what I have read it could take 3-4 week for issues to appear, but I am hoping she remains issue-free.

The incessant squawking is still going on. Not all day, mostly during the afternoon hours - when she is not sleeping, that is. She is still living with fleas; not many, but I still find a few on her when I flea comb her. She started hanging out on her back room perch looking out the window - I don't think she's been on that perch for months. But, this past week, it has been a daily routine of hers. It could be the fleas that she is trying to get away from - don't really know.

 

[verna davies]

Did the vet say how long it will take for the meds to kick in and does he expect her to put on weight once they are controlling the H T

 

[FeebysOwner]

Did the vet say how long it will take for the meds to kick in and does he expect her to put on weight once they are controlling the H T

The vet wants to recheck her blood work after being on the meds for 3 weeks - to determine if the level is sufficient or not. I didn't ask about the weight, but from what all I have read, some cats do regain at least some of their weight back. I'll have to remember to ask him when he calls me back with the test results at the 3 week mark. I seem to recall it can takes months to reverse the H-T trend, but I suppose that is different for each cat.

Edit: What was the weight deal with Guinness?

 

[verna davies]

She was originally 13lbs but at the time of diagnosis was 9lbs. I managed to get her back up to just over 10. Apparently they don't often gain back the weight but it is possible.

 

[FeebysOwner]

She was originally 13lbs but at the time of diagnosis was 9lbs. I managed to get her back up to just over 10. Apparently they don't often gain back the weight but it is possible.

She lost that much weight from H-T? 10 doesn't sound too bad! Was that a good weight for her?
Feeby really doesn't need to gain the weight back, but I really would prefer she didn't lose a whole lot more - at least not from uncontrollable circumstances. The vet did say that he thought she probably should weigh 10-11 pounds.

 

[verna davies]

I think part of it was due to getting older, she was 15 yo when diagnosed. I would have liked another pound but she wasn't skinny at 10lb. Feeby is a nice weight and if she can hold that now she is on the meds, that would be great.

 

[MissClouseau]

It’s been a while since the last update. How is everything with Feeby?

 

[verna davies]

FeebysOwner . As MissClouseau asked, how is Feeby doing.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi guys. Thanks for asking!!

This past week was pretty much another status quo week. We're back in a rhythm with her food selections - just not the same ones she was eating!! Keeping my fingers crossed that she will stick with these foods for a while before I have to go through the process of throwing out food on a near daily basis again. Beef, turkey, and most all fish flavors are completely OUT. She is so into chicken and chicken/liver, for whatever reason. She also likes the turkey/duck combo by Wellness Core, so the duck must completely override the turkey taste, I guess.

She weighed 13.0 pounds yesterday, so actually an ounce more the last week. And, she averaged about 275 calories per day - in the ballpark of where she has been for the past couple of months.

She is on Day 20 of her H-T meds, so far she seems to be tolerating it well. I will taking her for a re-check later this week, to see what her thyroid level is after 3 weeks on meds, and to make sure nothing is showing up about any kind of kidney issues since H-T can mask problems. The pill splitting is a major PITA, never have I gotten all 4 parts of one pill split equally! But, the H-T forum says in the big scheme of things it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[verna davies]

I know how you feel about throwing food out, I could feed the entire feral colony of South Wales with the amount I waste.

Let's hope the blood tests show a good result, they should have kicked in by now.

Must be difficult splitting the pills, don't they do them in different strengths.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I know how you feel about throwing food out, I could feed the entire feral colony of South Wales with the amount I waste...Let's hope the blood tests show a good result, they should have kicked in by now...
Must be difficult splitting the pills, don't they do them in different strengths.

Throwing out food is a new experience for me - she's never been one to turn her nose at much of anything, besides fish flavors! I haven't had to do it much yet, so I certainly feel for you!

The testing at the 3-week mark is to determine whether the dosage is too little, too much, or on track. I kind of hope it is on track, but that is just wishful thinking. The generic meds (human Methimazole) that she is on right now doesn't come in any smaller amount than 5mg - and they are already teeny, tiny pills! I do have Felimazole (specifically for cats) in 2.5mg that I could switch to and only have to split once in half, but thought maybe I should stick with one 'type' to start with. Once we can get a dosage amount that looks good for her, compounding is probably going to be the way to go.

 

[verna davies]

I wonder if something like this would work.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081KZMYXF/?tag=

 

[verna davies]

How has Feeby been doing this past week?

 

[FeebysOwner]

I took Feeby in last Friday for her follow up blood work. The vet called Monday and told me that her thyroid level was down to the mid-range of normal and there was no change in any of her kidney values. So, he said to 'stay the course' and, unless I want it sooner, he would recommend re-testing in 3 months. I hadn't posted here as I was waiting for a copy of the test results. I am still waiting. I've put in two requests and still haven't received them. Unlike his office to drag their feet...I will be putting in Request #3 today.

She is not showing (so far) any side effects from the meds, so I hope it stays that way! She still has her up and down days with the quantity of food she will eat, but managed to average 266 calories per day this past week. She stayed stable on her weight, once again weighing in at 13.0 pounds on Monday.

Thanks for asking again!

 

[verna davies]

It all sounds positive, maybe the thyroid being stable will stabilize her eating and weight. Well done Miss Feeby.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Another update: Finally got the test results from the vet's office!

BUN was higher than before, but creatinine was pretty much the same as last blood work. I understand that BUN can be impacted by many things, including stress and a tad bit of dehydration, so I'll reserve judgement on this. HOWEVER, her triglycerides went through the roof!!!! 396 (compared to the last 3 readings of 53, 58, 98 - reverse chronological order going back to 4/2019).

I asked the H-T forum about this, no one seems concerned. But, they did state that Feeby needs to be tested sooner than in 3 months.
I haven't found much on any correlation between H-T, H-T meds, and elevated triglycerides, but I cannot understand why such a change if there is not a connection.

I will post to the other thread I started (Hyperthyroidism in Feeby - Questions), but I am befuddled.