My cat has symptoms of Hyperthyroidism

[Babypaws]

I have a 16 year old cat who has recently started eating more, I have to feed her every few hours
and sometimes more often. A few months ago she started to meow quite loud but it was not often. The past week or so she does it more often thru out the day and sometimes I hear her during the night. I looked it up and she has some of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism…
Shes lost weight but that started a couple of years ago because there were spells when I couldn’t get her to eat much. At first I thought she was in pain but when she’s being loud she stops when she sees me. She walks okay and goes to the litter box although I’m not sure if she’s moving her bowels…I have several other cats that use the same littler box, unfortunately there’s not a way I can actually see which cat is doing what. I know she is peeing…
Has anyone have any experience with this?

 

[fionasmom]

This could be hyperthyroidism or diabetes. Don't panic, as both are treatable; however, she needs to see a vet for a confirmation of whatever is going on....or for the fact that she is okay and not in need of any medical treatment. Both conditions can become serious if left alone and are not possible to diagnose conclusively by observation.

 

[Babypaws]

Thank you…I hope it’s not diabetes. I’ll call the vet this week, I hate to put her thru the stress.

 

[StanAndAlf]

It could also be something very simple, such as internal parasites, so I would suggest a fecal test as well. Tapeworms can cause a large increase in appetite (which could explain the meowing) but also result in weight loss, as the parasite is absorbing all the nutrients.

Also, Google tends to give the worse possible diagnosis, and if you continued to search, you would find her symptoms compatible with a range of other scary diseases as well, so try not to stress too much until she has seen a vet.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I agree - it could be diabetes or hyperthyroidism, especially given her age. Get the blood work done, a urinalysis should be part of that process, and if she does go outside, or is exposed to the outside in some manner, a fecal analysis might be in order to look for parasites. All of of the above are treatable.

Please keep us posted.