hyperthyroidism questions

Lam975

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Hi. I'm new here. My 10 year old black cat named Vertie was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism just a few days ago. Lost a little weight and was meowing alot at night. Her T4 was 14 and her heart was very mildly enlarged which vet said could be due to the HT. I opted to try the food first, Hills y/d. scoured the state to find 4 cases and bought them all. It's no where to be found online either except someone selling it for $140 bucks a case on Ebay. I have methimazole in case she decided she didn't want the food, but if that's the case, I will get the ear gel. I'm so worried about medication side effects. I'm so sad about her diagnosis, shes my little princess. Glad I found this page. Has anyone ever tried to make their own raw diet and bone broth for their cats? I was reading about that a bit.
So far she is eating the food. The can y/d and the dry. She isnt thrilled about it though. Hope everyone's babies are well today.
Lisa
 

Furballsmom

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Hi! A very warm welcome to you and Vertie!!

It's no where to be found online either
I'm so sorry, I was afraid that would happen again with the hills y/d, dang them!

Raw is a possibility, and earlier when I was researching about all this, I came across mention of a person who was making their own broth, feeding y/d and some raw, and it worked for that kitty. The Honest Kitchen has broth for pets, as do some other companies.

Try what I did when my angel Poppy was in the midst of this earlier this year. In his situation he already had liver issues so I had no choice but to go the diet management route.

I did a LOT of research into commercial foods, and the Weruva brands consistently keep their recipes at the minimum aafco requirements along with no carageenan etc. The iodine is 0.6 mg/kg.

(Additionally they have a WX variety that has extremely low phosphorus which may be useful for you in the future since hyperthyroidism can often mask other issues such as kidney problems).

In any case, the Weruva representative told me that some of their customers add chicken to the chicken varieties to bring the iodine down even further.

I'm not affiliated, just a fan. Their website is wonderfully transparent and gives the nutritional analysis in both As Fed and Dry Matter.

weruva.com

I'll see if I can't get on ebay and find and report that seller.
Done, report of price gauging sent to ebay.
 
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Lam975

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Hi! A very warm welcome to you and Vertie!!


I'm so sorry, I was afraid that would happen again with the hills y/d, dang them!

Raw is a possibility, and earlier when I was researching about all this, I came across mention of a person who was making their own broth, feeding y/d and some raw, and it worked for that kitty. The Honest Kitchen has broth for pets, as do some other companies.

Try what I did when my angel Poppy was in the midst of this earlier this year. In his situation he already had liver issues so I had no choice but to go the diet management route.

I did a LOT of research into commercial foods, and the Weruva brands consistently keep their recipes at the minimum aafco requirements along with no carageenan etc. The iodine is 0.6 mg/kg.

(Additionally they have a WX variety that has extremely low phosphorus which may be useful for you in the future since hyperthyroidism can often mask other issues such as kidney problems).

In any case, the Weruva representative told me that some of their customers add chicken to the chicken varieties to bring the iodine down even further.

I'm not affiliated, just a fan. Their website is wonderfully transparent and gives the nutritional analysis in both As Fed and Dry Matter.

weruva.com

I'll see if I can't get on ebay and find and report that seller.
Done, report of price gauging sent to ebay.
I reported them too. Lol. How awful. I wish another company could come up with a thyroid food. I honestly dont care for Hills as a company. They are owned by Colgate palmolive which is all about money and more money. Thanks for your help. Ugh. I'm sick about this
 

Furballsmom

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I saw your post in that other older thread, I don't know if you'll get any responses there, but I doublechecked and there's no sodium in The Honest Kitchen's bone broth. I'm not overly excited about the turmeric, it's supposed to help prevent, but I don't know about animals who already have hyperT. You could consider talking with a veterinary nutritionist.

3.6 oz Instant Beef Bone Broth with Turmeric

HOME this is a website for the American College of Veterinary Nutritionists

I looked online, there are some sellers of organic bone meal although I don't know if it is what you want.
 
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lucyrima

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Hi, just got your note... crossing all paws for you. Ecco's now (temp) on azithromycin for sneezing (messy), and I guess it is helping... he doesn't need that on top of the other. Still eating like a mooch, but I'm more careful to not just jump every time he whines and also lowered the amts by a bit... and he seems fine, certainly a v. good wt. I do think he got into the habit of my jumping every time he asks and that's my fault as much as anything, but waiting to see if this all goes anywhere, or just holds for a time... the new litter's not terribly dusty (yet, anyhow), and does clump better than Tidy Cats 'pillows', so a bit easier to clean up if nothing else. Will recheck thyroid in another few mos. Took him off the T. Support Gold altogether - think it started, or at least aggravated the sneezing (whatever they say). Good luck with your baby - hope you find a way to balance things - took a while here, but they are better.
 

neely

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L Lam975 A warm welcome to TCS! :welcomesign:I also saw your post on another member's thread. Furballsmom Furballsmom has given you some great advice. I also have a cat who was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism and noticed your cat's T-4 level was 14 which is very high. For this reason, did your vet discuss and explain other options/treatments to you? Best of luck with your kitty. 🤗 I know how difficult it can be when our cats are diagnosed with this illness.
 
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Lam975

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L Lam975 A warm welcome to TCS! :welcomesign:I also saw your post on another member's thread. Furballsmom Furballsmom has given you some great advice I also have a cat who was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism and noticed your cat's T-4 level was 14 which is very high. For this reason, did your vet discuss and explain other options/treatments to you? Best of luck with your kitty. 🤗 I know how difficult it can be when our cats are diagnosed with this illness.
I have methimazole and a script for the ear gel. But I wanted to try the food first as giving her meds scare me. I've had so many animals in the past that have had side effects and bad reactions to meds that now I am a bit leery... she discussed the radio active iodine. But I'm not too keen on her having to stay there for 2 weeks and I can't visit her. She is basically by my side day and night , for her entire life so I'm not sure she would be ok with not being home. I'm so worried about stressing her out. Vet visits are usually catastrophic for her. Takes 3 days for her to settle down after just an hour long vet visit. I got her as a stay when she was just 4 weeks old. No mom anywhere in sight for days. She had an eye infection and it was winter. I had to scoop her up. Shes been by my side ever since. I'm just so confused and worried
 
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Lam975

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I saw your post in that other older thread, I don't know if you'll get any responses there, but I doublechecked and there's no sodium in The Honest Kitchen's bone broth. I'm not overly excited about the turmeric, it's supposed to help prevent, but I don't know about animals who already have hyperT. You could consider talking with a veterinary nutritionist.

3.6 oz Instant Beef Bone Broth with Turmeric

HOME this is a website for the American College of Veterinary Nutritionists

I looked online, there are some sellers of organic bone meal although I don't know if it is what you want.
Thanks for helping me
 

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Absolutely. As have a number of us, I've walked this path, particularly with taking the diet approach.
 
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Lam975

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Does anyone know about catnip toys and hyperthyroidism? My cat loves catnip toys, she doesnt want the catnip, just enjoys the pillows with it in them. Are they still ok?
 

neely

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It's my understanding that catnip should not be a problem for cats who are diagnosed with H-T. However, that being said they are always doing research on this disease and there may be other findings in the future. But for now it is not considered unsafe.

I thought this article from Cornell which is a highly creditable veterinary medical school may have some other helpful information for you about Hyperthyroidism in cats: Hyperthyroidism in Cats
 

Furballsmom

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I believe that catnip toys are fine. If she were eating it, I'd probably try and research further. For example I found that aloe, which is used in a number of coat and skin products has iodine.
 

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One of my cats was diagnosed with HT back in August. I hoped to get the I-131 treatment but cats have to first qualify (healthy enough to get the treatment).

First tried the gel but my cat didn't like that so ended up giving the pill. The pill helped to control things on regular dosage but vet upped to dosage as my cats numbers were still high. This brought about some side effects but luckily I was able to get him the I-131 treatment. He still has to get his thryoid levels checked a few times during the first year, but I'm hoping he is cured. He sure acts that way now.

In my situation, his I-131 treatment was one oral capsule and not the common one shot. He was only kept overnight at hospital then released back to me where I had to quarantine him at home for one week.
 

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As someone who went the pill/diet method, I have regrets. If you can do the iodine treatment, I'd recommend bringing yourself to do it. Two weeks is short in the potential extra time you could have.

We could not afford it at the time, but we only got another year as Lily's numbers were very high and we could not get them down with both food and medicine. They kept springing back up and she would get other infections as they are immunocompromised when their numbers are off.
 

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As someone who went the pill/diet method, I have regrets. If you can do the iodine treatment, I'd recommend bringing yourself to do it. Two weeks is short in the potential extra time you could have.

We could not afford it at the time, but we only got another year as Lily's numbers were very high and we could not get them down with both food and medicine. They kept springing back up and she would get other infections as they are immunocompromised when their numbers are off.
I couldn't agree more about the iodine treatment if kitty qualifies. As for cost, if you are doing the other treatments, you'd be paying anyhow for more tests to check kitty's thyroid levels. Two weeks can go by pretty fast.
 

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I couldn't agree more about the iodine treatment if kitty qualifies. As for cost, if you are doing the other treatments, you'd be paying anyhow for more tests to check kitty's thyroid levels. Two weeks can go by pretty fast.
That's fair. We didn't have $1200 upfront though, and because they won't take installments here, we couldn't get ahead. As soon as we would get $300 saved, she would need to go back to the vet for a secondary infection and recheck. Yeah, we paid more long-term, but it's Terry Pratchett's "cheap boots" situation. I'll never go without pet insurance again thanks to Lily.
 
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