Anyone out there have experience with hyperthyroid kitties?

[shadowriderhope]

And now for something completely different

Comments

[braider]

Have you talked to ladysprite or spiritdancer, both of whom are vets?

[shadowriderhope]

I do not know either of them - would you be willing to point them at this entry, which I just unlocked?

[braider]

Alternately, you could check my profile page, go to their pages, and message them, saying I sent you. ;-)

[ladysprite]

Hi there

[phecda]

treebones cat Quinn was hyperthyroid. If memory serves me right she went the surgery route.

[hsifyppah]

The cat in my icon, belonging to my in-laws, was hyperthyroid. She lived with it for 7 years, when she died at age 25, possibly just from old age. (They got her at age 18 from a lady who was going in to a nursing home and couldn't keep her.) If you end up deciding to stick with the chronic methimazole treatment, you can save some money by filling the RX at a human pharmacy (vets usually charge a larger markup, sometimes double what pharmacies charge - at least this is true in Canada. Worth pricing it out, anyway.) and maybe skipping the pill pockets - we drained the water from tuna cans and mashed the pill(s) in a teaspoon or so - one can's worth lasted almost a week, and we got to eat the tuna too. The cat BEGGED for her tuna juice medicine every day

[shadowriderhope]

(have to go to bed, so short replies now) Thanks so much for writing - the cat in your icon is so cute, how wonderful that she made it to 25! And thanks for the tip re: filling at human pharmacy - I'll try the tuna can method, perhaps

But at this point I'm leaning towards the radioiodine - more below for why. *hugs* and thanks.

[sheraton]

I've sent a PM to wren13 and chryssalis, veterinarians whom I know and love and respect greatly. Hopefully one or both of them will see the ping and answer here!

Good luck; I just spent a hefty amount on my 14 year old kitteh. They did rebuild him, he is better (but not faster or stronger), and he just might be renamed Steve Austin, 'cause after all those bills it feels like he's a six million dollar cat. :D

[shadowriderhope]

Thanks much.... I'm glad to hear your "Steve Austin" kitteh is better now! Hooray for lifesaving medicine for our kittehs.

I feel kind of guilty spending the money when there are so many humans who need health care, but .... he is part of my family. My boys, they are my kids, or as close as I will get. So to me, it makes sense to spend the cash. They're worth it.

[elizilla]

Morsel's brother Sparkle also has it. The neighbor, Kim asks me to pill him when she's out of town. I've never seen a cat take pills so calmly and easily. He doesn't struggle at all. Which is good since he's the burliest, strongest cat I've ever put my hands on. He gets two pills a day.

Our vet liked to stick with the pills, she said, because when the cat gets older you can balance the thyroid against the kidney failure that gets every old cat if nothing else gets them first. OTOH I know Tracy kept Quinn alive for years beyond what I would have expected, after she got her the radioactive iodine.

[shadowriderhope]

Thanks - interesting that Sparkle has it, too (and good that he's easy to pill!). I hate it when I have to pill Morsel conventionally (i.e. sans pill pocket) - he *hates* it and struggles something fierce. Luckily the pill pocket method works well. :)

I'm thinking at this point that I'll probably go with the radioiodine - I think it's the best long-term choice for him, and the vet seemed to agree. She said if he was her cat, she'd go with the treatment (and she's not the treatment center that gets the cash).