Danielle has a Thyroid condition

vjoy

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WWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

Danielle's blood test came back.... she is okay except for a thyroid conditon. The vet said the normal range is from 10-50. She is a 72. He said she might have to be on medicine for the rest of her life...

I can't get her to swallow a pill now.... MY poor baby.... I have been reading on the net that the meds can be dangerous....


Hubby and I are devastated....

Does anyone here know about thyroid conditons in cats?????


 

boo

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Val, I don't know about thyroid. But I do know that there are ways of getting medication into cats, and if it's a regular thing, part of her routine she will get used to it.

I am sorry that she has this condition, but at least it is something treatable.
 

hissy

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Ask you vet for a pill gun- it is a plastic apparatus looks like a big syringe (kind of) you put the pill in the slot and open kitty's mouth, shoot the pill in. I also take a really small amount of liver sausage (braunshwager) and coat the pill so it slides down the throat easy. The best way I have found to administer pills is to kneel on the floor with the cat between your knees, gently raise her head up and open her mouth and shoot it in. With kitty wedged that way it is hard for her to escape. Bacardi has been on pills for over a year now and will continue to be on meds her whole life. Ask for monthly blood work at first so the vet can monitor how her body is on meds. Good luck
 

hissy

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Here are my links for this condition

HYPERTHYROID
http://www.vetmedcenter.com/Consumer...so1XX.xml&dt=A
http://www.vetmedcenter.com/Consumer...p?id=8517&dt=p
http://www.vetmedcenter.com/Consumer...n=07080709.htm
http://www.vetcentric.com/reference/...ON=1&MODE=full
http://www.vetscape.co.uk/
(on left side, click onto clinical resources, then feline)
http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/reference.html
http://www.pawcare.com/cats/clinic/E...&sub=ovr&ID=70
http://www.pawcare.com/cats/clinic/E...sub=ovr&ID=181
http://www.allpets.com/petcyclopedia...thyroidism.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/cats/hyperthyroid.htm
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/hyperthyroidism.htm
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/p..._diagnoses.asp
(to see video-not graphic)
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/repo...hyroidism.html
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/thyroid.html
http://www.petshealth.com/library/hy...idismcats.html
http://www.petshealth.com/library/riodine.html
http://www.radiocat.com/
http://www.radiocat.com/section6.htm
http://www2.southwind.net/~ihac/int14.html
http://cfainc.org/health/hyperthyroidism.html
http://petview.com/hypert/sandd.html
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/P...1/hlthlnks.htm
http://www.vetinfo.com/catindex.html
http://www.netcat.org/articles_links.html#H
http://trfn.clpgh.org/animalfriends/links.html
http://vetmedicine.miningco.com/
http://www.animalnetwork.com/cats/li...es/default.asp
http://felinediabetes.com/thyroid.htm
http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/ceps/PetColumns/
http://www.lbah.com/Feline/HyperT4.htm
http://www.fabcats.org/
http://www.vetinfo.com/catindex.html
http://www.acatclinic.com/
http://www2.southwind.net/~ihac/int14.html
http://www.radiocat.com/section6.htm
http://www.cfainc.org/health/hyperthyroidism.html
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/repo...hyroidism.html
http://www.vetinfo.com/catindex.html
 
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vjoy

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Thank you Hissy


Pills....UGH... Danielle is getting more and more afraid of us, and we are failing dismally at the pill thing. Hubby hold her down with a towel, and I administer her eyecream, pill, and ear wash and drops... ooh 6 more days of this!!

This is breaking our hearts

I will ask the Vet for a pill-gun.

The Vet told me that the thyroid meds could be put in food, and they are so small in one bite she would have taken them. I will probably get them Thursday when we go back.

Thanks so much for the links. I will check them all out. My poor baby, a new home, and then her mommy and daddy attack her twice a day and force nasty medicine in her..... I hope she does not go wacko on us. Right now she is hiding and cowering under a desk

In between treatments, I try to shower her with affection, (she avoids my husband totally now
) But right now she seems to be getting more and more defiant. She is scared stiff.


Thanks again Hissy.
 

dodo

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Vjoy, I have read that other than the pills, there are 2 other ways to fight against hyperthyroidism; 1) removing the thyroid, which has the risk of removing parathyroid glands, or there may be thyroid tissue in other parts of the body not removed, thus no cure 2) injection of irradiated iodine which destroys all thyroid in the body. This method is a costly one & requires a 3 day hospitilization.

And since I have been reading about heart conditions for Yumosh, I have learned that the consequence of hyperthyroidism may be cardiomyopathy. Hope Danielle would be treated before this occurs.

For the pill, how about crushing it well & mixing it with a little bit of water & giving it with a regular injector ??
 
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vjoy

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Dodo:

Yes I know about the other 2 treatment options. So far, the doc wants to try the pills. When we go back to the Vet on Thursday, I will ask all these questions, and get more info.

As far as the pill.....AAAARRRRRGGGGGG.... She is onto us. She ate the pill crushed in food once...now she knows and won't eat it.

Smarty cat. :LOL:



It was a BATTLE but hubby and I got the pill down her this morning.


I am going to have to call the Vet's office this moring, cause we need MORE of 3 of her meds. More of the meds went OUTSIDE her body than in, in the last three days during the struggles. OY.....She still has 5 days more of treatment for her infections. I only have 2 pills left.


And the ear drops and eye cream are almost gone. Too bad her infections are not on her fur, they would be cured by now! :LOL:


As far as the pill gun, I am going to ask about that this morning.

Thanks Dodo..
 
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vjoy

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Danielle is now CRINGING away from hubby (he is the one who holds her desperately thrashing body down while I medicate her for her infections)..... It is so sad to watch. She does still come to me sometimes, but with him, it is breaking his heart. He and I will continue to do what must be done, but watching the terror in her at the site or presence of him in the apartment is crushing our hearts and our spirits. It is getting worse each day. I only pray that after the treatments are over (5 more days) that she will come around to him again. This may be destroying her trust in us forever. I dunno. I am still new to the cat world.

We love her so much.


Sorry. Just Venting.
 

jojo

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Dani wasn't nearly as sick as your kitty. After I gave Dani her pill, I periodically held her in the same position as when I gave her medicine so that she (I hope) understood that I wasn't just the bad guy. I don't know if it would work in your case. Have you tried wrapping a towel around her to keep her a bit quieter? I hope she's feeling better soon.

JoJo and Dani Night Stalker
 
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vjoy

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JoJo,

Yes, we use a towel. Rich (my hubby) tackles her on the floor with the towel, trying to get her stabilized. That is NOT easy LOL....
She fights like her life depended on it. While he is using both hands to TRY to hold her down, cause she is VERY good at sqirming out from the towel and the grasp, I administer the ear drops, pill, and eye cream.
Usually most of it winds up outside her body, LOL... I just came from the Vet with more meds, cause we have gone through so much wasted, I am running out before the ten days are up. I asked the Vet for a pill gun. They will have to order it for me, so I won't have it right away.

We just came home from being out. She was curled up in a chair. She did not run from me when I approached her, but she kept her eyes trained on hubby who was across the room. She suddenly SHOT across and into the bedroom to hide under the bed. We had not even planned on doing anything at this time, until tonight. Just the sight of him TERRIFIES her.

I know we must get these meds into her, and hopefully on Saturday, it will be all over. But in the meantime, I am really worried about her emotional health. She seems very depressed, sleeps more than she did before the meds, and is a basket case, suspicious of our every move. She is not the loving little mush ball she was before. Her emotional health is as important as her physical health. We had not had time to bond before we discovered she needed this stuff.

We keep trying to tell ourselves, it is just for one more week, (WE HOPE).... but then she goes on thyroid meds, but I understand that is much less of a problem to administer. Sigh..... I am torn to pieces.

I am just so worried about her psyche.


Sorry, Venting again.

Thanks JoJo.
 

jojo

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It's okay. Please don't give up hope. My heart goes out to you, your precious hubby, and your furry darling. Dani and I are sending cyberhugs to you, may they give you the energy to succeed.

JoJo
 
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vjoy

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It is getting worse. Now Danielle can't be in the same room with Rich, she hides almost constantly when he is in the apartment. She is truly terrified of him, and very wary of me. She won't come out, and only responds to me, alone, after the initial shock after a treatment. She does not feel safe anymore in her new home. And this is killing us.

I don't know how much more of this she can take mentally.

 

missycat

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Now that I have to give a daily pill to my Missy, I can understand how hard it is for you to see Danielle mistrust you and your husband. Missy has always been wary of people (all her 14 years), and men in particular, which agonizes my husband to no end. When I was traveling recently, she got to be better friends with him, but as soon as I came back, she forgot all about it.

Part of the problem (I suspect) is that Danielle not only hates being medicated, but she probably is in some discomfort too, while she's healing. And add to that the many and varied medications she has to get, and it's no wonder she's upset. But keep at it - right now her physical health needs to take precedence. Once she's down to only one pill a day and she realizes you no longer will put stuff in her eyes and elsewhere, she'll probably come around. And when she feels better, she'll begin to trust you both more.

Have you tried to follow up each medication session with treats? I give good canned cat food (which is a treat) to Missy after her pill, partly as a reward, partly to make her understand I don't want to torture her, and partly to remove the taste of the pill form her mouth. She still goes to sit under my husband's chair, but eventually she comes out and forgives me.

Cats withdraw so much when they're sick, so I'm hoping Danielle will return to herself when she feels better. Good luck. You're doing the right thing.
 
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vjoy

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Missycat,
Thank you.

Danielle won't eat treats. What I do do, is give her the wet food as a treat. Unfortunately, she won't eat if for about an hour or more after the meds. The Vet told me that the ear drops and the eye cream , and pill, all in her head make food taste yucky for a while, so she won't eat right away. The only other reward I can give her is petting, but she runs and hides, cowering, so I can't do anyting, except show her extra loving when she does come out. (Which is when my husband is not around)


Sigh....I understand she is healing (I hope). I can tell she is very depressed.
We have 5 more loooooooooooooooongg days of meds left. I hope desperately that this series of meds wipes out her infections. Her eyes are looking a lot better. And she is not scratching her ears as much. Thank God. I hope this sticks.

She and we cannot go on this way for much longer. It is making her sooo miserable. Of course I will do what needs to be done, but if the Vet says she needs to continue the antibiotics for much longer than the 5 days, we have to have a talk with the Vet about possible other ways to introduce them. Danielle can't take this. Depression is not going to help her immune system. Then after these meds, she starts her thyroid pills. OH JOY.

I ordered a pill gun from Drs. Foster and Smith. I should have it tomorrow. Don;t know if that will help, but can't hurt to have it.

Thanks again Missycat. Love to your kitty


Also, thank you JoJo for your support. I appreciate it a lot.
 

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It does not take brute strength to hold a cat down to give her a pill, and the reason that Dani is responding so fearfully to your husband, is because sometimes men don't know how strong they really are especially to a creature as delicate as a cat. There are two easy ways you can pill a cat. One is take your biggest beach towel that can wrap around kitty safely. Stitch up 2 sides and one end (making a big sack with an open end. Insert kitty inside sack, wrap it safely around her making sure her paws are well inside, snug it GENTLY around her neck and hold her then pill her. But the best way to pill a cat is so easy that one person can do it without terrorizing the poor thing. Kneel down on the ground so your knees and legs are flat and your body is up. Cross your ankles behind you, and sit down this way. Put kitty between you legs so that her rump is against your body and just talk to her, pet her and soothe her and make your actions slow and non-jerky. Gently raise the cat's jaw, open her mouth and using the pill gun shoot the pill into the mouth. If you don't have a gun, use your finger but don't get bit. Instead of letting the cat spring free, pet her to calm her, but don't hold her so tightly that it further tends to scare her, then release her. A cat's normal instinct when you pill them like this is to back up away from you, and she won't be able to get away because as she backs up she meets the resistance of your legs and can't go anywhere.

You know Val, sometimes special needs kitties need special care and attention and there is nothing wrong in admitting that perhaps this household is not one that is well suited for Danielle. It is hard enough to own a regular kitty for the first time, let alone one that has special needs like Danielle. I know you love her a lot, but maybe you should think about releasing her to another home to someone who has had experience in this kind of thing. I know that if some of us lived closer, we would be happy to come over and help you with this first experience. Right now I would imagine that any animal rescuer near you has their hands full with dealing with all the lost and orphaned animals from the attack.
Or you could call them and ask for someone to come over and help you. They do this in my area for a small donation, or the promise of the person asking to volunteer in some capacity. I remember how overwhelmed I felt when we got Tag and Marbles (both completely blind and brain damaged as well) and I had been working with cats for over 8 years by that time. It was daunting at times,so I just wanted to suggest to you that there is no harm in saying that you can't do this right now, not under the current circumstances anyway.
 

lotsocats

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You do not have to give the thyroid medication by pill!!! Ask your pharmacist to put the medication in a gell. Then, simply put a drop of the gell on your finger and rub your kitty's outer ear. Cats love getting their ears rubbed, so this will actually be pleasurable. The medication is absorbed through the skin and into her bloodstream. This works wonderfully and removes the trauma of pills.

Make sure you wear a glove when you rub the medication so your skin doesn't absorb it.

Any pharmacist can put the medication into a gell. Please try this today so your kitty will not be so frightened.
 
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vjoy

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Hissy,

Thank you.

There is no way we intend to give Danielle up. We love her too much. We will do whatever she needs in terms of medical treatment.

We are learning, and it is just that she is such a fiesty thing, she kicks and squirms and is very, very agile. I cannot see being able to slip her into a sewn towel or pillow case. What we do now is wrap her in a big towel, and still hubby has trouble holding her. I did discuss the pillow case thing with hubby, and he agreed that he could not see slipping her in there.

As far as kneeling down and trapping her with my legs, .. I can't get down and do it. I have very bad knees and could damage them.
Hubby can get on his knees, but he is not used to administering the meds. I WILL talk to him about it though... Maybe we can work something out. But no matter what, we are going to see her healthy.

I just think we could have done better if we had more time to bond before all this came up. She was doing great, loved hubby before this. The trust has been broken. I only hope and pray that she will come around after the major treatments are done. (One more week)

AND she will NOT ever go back to the shelter. They did not take care of her, and that is why she has all these infections and the thyroid thing that was untreated. (which we didn't even know about, even though they said she went to the vet for a check up before bringing her to us. We were told she had nothing wrong with her except a chronic red eye. We wrote a letter of complaint about feeling mislead to the shelter directors, but that we were not returning her.)

We love her so much,
she has been a healing force and an angel in our lives. She does still come to me to snuggle, (when hubby is not home), so I guess she doesnt hate me at the moment :LOL: I try to make her as happy as I can with lots of attention and play when she wants it.

Thanks again hissy. I appreciate all your advice.
 
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vjoy

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lotsocats

Thank you!!

I WILL ask the Vet about the gel. Although that is for the thyroid, and we start her on that at the end of the week. But I will definately do that!!! Thank you Thank you!!!!!!!!!

The pill she hates now is Orbax, and antibiotic, and she is very strong and defiant. There is no liquid or any other form of that drug, the pill is it. I asked.

She also hates the ear wash, ear drops and eye cream that we have to assault her with twice a day for 10 days to clear up the infection in her ears, eyes, and mouth. So its a lot for a poor kitty to get all at once. But the Vet wanted to give her a good cleanup. I agree. And she was clearly suffering before (although in a better mood), because I often saw her scratching her ears and rubbing her eyes. This is what got me to take her to the vet sooner than I would have preferred, because I didn't want to traumatize her so soon. The Shelter Vet said she was okay,... so I was not worried.


I did not know that cats liked their ears rubbed!! I thought they hated it!

Thanks lotsocats
 

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Val,

I am not sure if rubbing Danielle's ears would feel good to her with the polyps (didn't the vet say they could be painful for her at times). You would be able to tell though. Take your thumb and rub the inside base of her ear (like a massage). If she likes it she will lean into it; almost pushing your hand. If it hurts her you will definitely be able to tell; I can't explain it but I know you will be able to. Have you tried the Rescue Remedy to see if it might help relax her? I know you, Danielle and Hubby will be able to pull through this! Keep your chin up! Maybe have Hubby try and make her warm up to him with a string. Mine can never resist strings, no matter how ruffled their fur gets. Whenever Patches gets mad at me I go and get the string and eventually she starts to play!
 

lotsocats

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Luckily you do not need to put the thyroid medication gell inside the ear. Simply putting it on the.....I don't know what to call it - in people it would be the ear lobe....the pointy part that is above the head (that is folded over in the Scottish Folds) -- will work. Therefore, even if she has polyps, it should be pleasurable for her to have the gell rubbed into the skin.

What do you call the outer ear in a cat?
 
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