My 14-year-old cat Tigger was recently found to have hyperthyroidism and I could just use some advice from others who've had to deal with this. I adopted him when he was 8 and he's been the best kitty. I'd never heard of it before, although the vet told me it's very common. I've been reading a lot about it since the diagnosis. I suspect it's what killed my parents' cat last month (my parents didn't like to take their cat to the vet so I'm guessing).
Anyway, the vet prescribed me methimazole for him, and I decided to go with the ear gel kind because giving Tigger medicine is extremely difficult. Unfortunately I discovered when picking up the medicine that it's also expensive - $69 a month! I'm not sure how long I can keep that up with all my other expenses (big rent increase last month) but for now I'll just do my best and budget harder somehow. The vet prescribed him 3.5 mg twice a day. Is that low? It doesn't seem to be doing much yet but he's only been on the medicine a week as of today. But I'm also worried he might not tolerate it. Although we were doing fine the first few days - I made him some cooked chicken for positive reinforcement - he now meows when I give him the medicine. I'm worried it could be causing a reaction or hurts his ears. They don't look any more pink than usual to me (I am visually impaired though) but his ears are naturally very pink due to his coloring (he's a marmalade). I did notice him scratch at his ears once, but he also sleeps with an ear against the mattress, so maybe it's only bothering him right after he gets it. How can I tell if I should stop the ear gel? I also remember flavored liquid medicine was an option, and am wondering if I should have gone with that, or should ask about it when I see the vet in a few weeks. Has anyone had any experience with that? Maybe I could mix it into his food? Shoving medicine into his mouth is pretty much impossible because I'm on my own.
I was also wondering: is it safe to give him fish? He's a tuna fiend, but from what I've read maybe fish isn't a good idea because it has iodine. But if I were to get the liquid and mix it into food, fish would be the easiest to get him to eat and it's also helpful when he's being fussy about food. Is there any kind of food that's best to give him? I've tried to feed him grain free wet food most of the time I've had him, but maybe something else would be better?
Another question I have (so many!) is if anyone has a hyperthyroid cat who ISN'T ravenous? Because he's been fussy about his food for several months now, although he's also definitely hyper. He stopped eating his favorite Wellness turkey, and I was wondering if maybe they changed the recipe when they changed to the new labels. Before the hyperthyroid diagnosis I assumed he was turning kittenish because his diet had finally started working (he's been overweight since I adopted him 6 years ago). So ironic I have to worry about him losing weight when I was worried about him gaining more for so long.
After I adopted him I learned that Tigger has an enlarged heart and a heart murmur. I worry now about how that combined with the hyperthyroidism could affect his life expectancy. The vet said not to worry, but maybe she was trying to be kind?
I'm also feeling so much guilt about this because when I read up on potential causes of hyperthyroidism. I discovered that apparently the bigger cans of food (12.5 oz) often have BPA in them which may be a cause - and I was using the bigger cans because it came out cheaper. And then I read hyperthyroidism could be caused by flame retardants in things like carpeting or foam - and one of his favorite places to sleep is on this decades old armchair that's been leaking stuffing that I've been meaning to replace. I research everything, why didn't I ever think to research what cat food cans are made of, or what chemicals are in old foam? I just feel so crazy guilty. Does anyone else and how do you stop? (And I still have most of a case of some of those big cans, can I even use those up now? Or would using them make his thyroid worse?)
Sorry this is so long. I love my cat because he's the best, snuggliest cat ever who seems to have decided that his job in life is to purr me to sleep every night, so hearing that he has this disease has really disturbed me. Thank you for reading and any advice or comments are appreciated...
Anyway, the vet prescribed me methimazole for him, and I decided to go with the ear gel kind because giving Tigger medicine is extremely difficult. Unfortunately I discovered when picking up the medicine that it's also expensive - $69 a month! I'm not sure how long I can keep that up with all my other expenses (big rent increase last month) but for now I'll just do my best and budget harder somehow. The vet prescribed him 3.5 mg twice a day. Is that low? It doesn't seem to be doing much yet but he's only been on the medicine a week as of today. But I'm also worried he might not tolerate it. Although we were doing fine the first few days - I made him some cooked chicken for positive reinforcement - he now meows when I give him the medicine. I'm worried it could be causing a reaction or hurts his ears. They don't look any more pink than usual to me (I am visually impaired though) but his ears are naturally very pink due to his coloring (he's a marmalade). I did notice him scratch at his ears once, but he also sleeps with an ear against the mattress, so maybe it's only bothering him right after he gets it. How can I tell if I should stop the ear gel? I also remember flavored liquid medicine was an option, and am wondering if I should have gone with that, or should ask about it when I see the vet in a few weeks. Has anyone had any experience with that? Maybe I could mix it into his food? Shoving medicine into his mouth is pretty much impossible because I'm on my own.
I was also wondering: is it safe to give him fish? He's a tuna fiend, but from what I've read maybe fish isn't a good idea because it has iodine. But if I were to get the liquid and mix it into food, fish would be the easiest to get him to eat and it's also helpful when he's being fussy about food. Is there any kind of food that's best to give him? I've tried to feed him grain free wet food most of the time I've had him, but maybe something else would be better?
Another question I have (so many!) is if anyone has a hyperthyroid cat who ISN'T ravenous? Because he's been fussy about his food for several months now, although he's also definitely hyper. He stopped eating his favorite Wellness turkey, and I was wondering if maybe they changed the recipe when they changed to the new labels. Before the hyperthyroid diagnosis I assumed he was turning kittenish because his diet had finally started working (he's been overweight since I adopted him 6 years ago). So ironic I have to worry about him losing weight when I was worried about him gaining more for so long.
After I adopted him I learned that Tigger has an enlarged heart and a heart murmur. I worry now about how that combined with the hyperthyroidism could affect his life expectancy. The vet said not to worry, but maybe she was trying to be kind?
I'm also feeling so much guilt about this because when I read up on potential causes of hyperthyroidism. I discovered that apparently the bigger cans of food (12.5 oz) often have BPA in them which may be a cause - and I was using the bigger cans because it came out cheaper. And then I read hyperthyroidism could be caused by flame retardants in things like carpeting or foam - and one of his favorite places to sleep is on this decades old armchair that's been leaking stuffing that I've been meaning to replace. I research everything, why didn't I ever think to research what cat food cans are made of, or what chemicals are in old foam? I just feel so crazy guilty. Does anyone else and how do you stop? (And I still have most of a case of some of those big cans, can I even use those up now? Or would using them make his thyroid worse?)
Sorry this is so long. I love my cat because he's the best, snuggliest cat ever who seems to have decided that his job in life is to purr me to sleep every night, so hearing that he has this disease has really disturbed me. Thank you for reading and any advice or comments are appreciated...
