- Joined
- Mar 22, 2015
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- 8
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Hello all,
I'm new here but have gotten such great information from this site.. I figured I'd reach out for some thoughts on my old man. My cat Gabriel is almost 18, he's been healthy his whole life (thankfully!). But, he is not doing well these last few days. He has seen his vet and we get blood work back tomorrow. Here is what has been going on:
5 days ago I noticed he was stumbling a lot and drunk walking. Then he was only eating about 1/4 of his normal amount so I brought him to his vet and he said he was stable. Didn't do blood work because he had it done on 3/1 and everything looked great. He has had a lump on the side of his neck on and off for a few months. Mentioned it each time I have been and vet says it doesn't concern him. About 6 months ago the lump was more long and almost oval shaped and it actually went away. This time, it feels more rounded. He has no temperature, is drinking water (sometimes obsessively), and will eat if I hand feed him. Vet suggested mirtazapine every 72 hours. He did ok on that, it did make him eat a little bit more but still only about 1/2 of his normal amount. Vet suggested pain meds, I have some left over buprenex from 3/1 gave him a few doses of that but I don't think he's in pain and he isn't pooping, so, I stopped that. He is peeing normally, perhaps even more than normal (due to all the water he's drinking?).
Now that it is a few days later, he seems weaker... the most alarming thing is that he goes into such a deep sleep that he doesn't respond to us at all. Usually he would respond when we touch him with at least a little murmur. He seems to be sleeping very deep/hard. But perhaps this is due to the meds as he wasn't doing that two days ago?
He is still going to the littler box, drinking water, every few hours he walks around a bit, and every time he is awake, I hand feed him. His breathing and temperature are normal. He is not purring or interacting with us at all, which is devastating as he is usually very vocal and very affectionate.
Not satisfied with my vets approach, I got in touch with a highly recommended home care vet in my area. She was great! She took blood and we get the results tomorrow. She agreed with checking his thyroid. She is also concerned about the twitching.
It is so hard to see him like this while we wait ;(. I know he is almost 18, but, with healthy blood work on 3/1.. I don't know... To just take him home to deteriorate without at least running blood work didn't feel right! I don't want him to suffer, but, I'm also not going to put him down because what if he is just sick?
All the symptoms line up with apathetic hyperthyroidism. Has anyone experienced this?
Thanks in advance!
Gabe's mamma
I'm new here but have gotten such great information from this site.. I figured I'd reach out for some thoughts on my old man. My cat Gabriel is almost 18, he's been healthy his whole life (thankfully!). But, he is not doing well these last few days. He has seen his vet and we get blood work back tomorrow. Here is what has been going on:
5 days ago I noticed he was stumbling a lot and drunk walking. Then he was only eating about 1/4 of his normal amount so I brought him to his vet and he said he was stable. Didn't do blood work because he had it done on 3/1 and everything looked great. He has had a lump on the side of his neck on and off for a few months. Mentioned it each time I have been and vet says it doesn't concern him. About 6 months ago the lump was more long and almost oval shaped and it actually went away. This time, it feels more rounded. He has no temperature, is drinking water (sometimes obsessively), and will eat if I hand feed him. Vet suggested mirtazapine every 72 hours. He did ok on that, it did make him eat a little bit more but still only about 1/2 of his normal amount. Vet suggested pain meds, I have some left over buprenex from 3/1 gave him a few doses of that but I don't think he's in pain and he isn't pooping, so, I stopped that. He is peeing normally, perhaps even more than normal (due to all the water he's drinking?).
Now that it is a few days later, he seems weaker... the most alarming thing is that he goes into such a deep sleep that he doesn't respond to us at all. Usually he would respond when we touch him with at least a little murmur. He seems to be sleeping very deep/hard. But perhaps this is due to the meds as he wasn't doing that two days ago?
He is still going to the littler box, drinking water, every few hours he walks around a bit, and every time he is awake, I hand feed him. His breathing and temperature are normal. He is not purring or interacting with us at all, which is devastating as he is usually very vocal and very affectionate.
Not satisfied with my vets approach, I got in touch with a highly recommended home care vet in my area. She was great! She took blood and we get the results tomorrow. She agreed with checking his thyroid. She is also concerned about the twitching.
It is so hard to see him like this while we wait ;(. I know he is almost 18, but, with healthy blood work on 3/1.. I don't know... To just take him home to deteriorate without at least running blood work didn't feel right! I don't want him to suffer, but, I'm also not going to put him down because what if he is just sick?
All the symptoms line up with apathetic hyperthyroidism. Has anyone experienced this?
Thanks in advance!
Gabe's mamma