Hills thyroid care

[Korbs]

Hi all, I’m looking for some advice on whether to give my cat Hills Thyroid Care food.

He is 15, and at his last checkup the vet said he has mildly elevated thyroid levels and prescribed Hills y/d. I read that this food is only meant to help if fed exclusively. Well, my cat refuses to only have one food; he must have some variety. He’ll hunger strike otherwise. And I don’t blame him. For everyone’s sanity I do give him other kinds of canned food, alongside the Hills thyroid care dry food.

My question is, given that he’s not eating the thyroid food exclusively, does it actually help him? Because if not, then I won’t go out of my way to buy it (at a high price) and restrict him to this one dry food.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Antonio65]

Hi K Korbs , and welcome to TCS.

Yes, you have read it correctly. The Hill's y/d food must be fed exclusively, but in my experience isn't enough to fix the problem that your cat has.
His thyroid has started producing more hormones that it should, and I'm sure your vet has told you that this disease is degenerative, it means it will get worse every day to the point that the food only won't be enough.
The medical treatment is the methimazole, pills or transdermal gel, which, though, doesn't cure the disease, it only keeps most of the symptoms at bay, while probably damaging his liver, kidneys and stomach (if taken in pill form).
Hyperthyroidism itself is damaging his kidney and heart.

That's why I wouldn't rely on food only.
The golden treatment for hyperthyroidism in cats is the radio-iodine treatment that probably your vet mentioned to you. It cures the HT for good, no more unwanted food or pills or else.
It might be expensive, but in the long run you will get even with the vet bills and meds you'll have to pay for years while your cat isn't getting any better.

TLDR; Hill's k/d must be the only food in this case, but it isn't the solution to the problem.

 

[Korbs]

Thanks Antonio65
The vet hasn’t discussed treatment extensively with me since cat’s levels were only slightly elevated at the time. So I’ll see where he’s at at his next checkup. But good to know there is an actual cure. I’ll stop getting him this food then. Seems pointless if he’s also eating other food. Plus I read that apart from potentially helping with thyroid issues, nutritionally it’s subpar. And expensive, obviously.

 

[Antonio65]

It's too expensive, in my opinion, in comparison with what it gives in terms of advantages.
My cat liked it for a couple of days, then she refused it for good.

May I ask you when your cat's next checkup is?
For my cat the vets adviced me to have a checkup done every 5-6 weeks, especially whan she was on methimazole, because the dosage had to be adjusted frequently.