Question
Queen Janice
Hi Shanti,
I have a 14 year old, beautiful feline that was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism about a month ago.
My vet ran full blood work on her right before the holidays because she needed/needs to get a molar pulled. All of her blood work came back okay, except he said that she has hyperthyroidism (though he said borderline..??).
Unfortunately, he could not pull the tooth due to an abscess and said we needed to go to a specialist. But after 3 vet visits in a week, my cat was traumatized (me too!). So we decided to give her a break until after the holidays.
Anyhoo, in-between now and then, we noticed rapid weight loss.
2 weeks ago, she suffered from a bout of constipation accompanied with clear, foul smelling vomit. I was worried that she may not have been fully chewing up her dry food, due to her tooth, and that it was causing the constipation. That and she was not eating as much as before.
We then went to the pet store and got her a few cans of Science diet mature cat formula. She seemed perfectly fine after that and for a few days, ate the canned food without any problems.
But her weight loss still had me concerned.
So, I went to my vets office to discuss it with him. He said the weight loss was from the hyperthyroidism and cats get sometimes get constipated with vomiting.. being that this was not the usual vomit of a hairball and that my cat has never had constipation (seemed as though she was struggling to get it out). I wasn't happy with that answer. Plus I have been worried that her weight loss was due to her not eating as much but he stated again, that it was due to the Hyperthyroidism.
Asked him if she should be eating a prescription food instead and he gave me a few cans of Science diet, senior C/D formula. As well as, thyroid medication (Tapazole).
The following day, after 2 tapazole's and the C/D food, she got extremely ill! This time, diarrhea and vomiting, both horribly foul smelling. Poor little thing felt so horrible, she did not even want to be petted.
So back to my vet, I went. He said that sometimes, thyroid medication does not agree with certain cats and to take her off of it for 5 days. Then to try again.. If that doesn't work, then we would try to paste form of thyroid medication inserted in the ear.
But.. being that the Tapazole made her so sick. I did not want to put her through that again.
Now, a week has passed since she was so sick from the medication and I am unsure what to do.
I do not want to treat her like a test subject and try different medications (or different levels of medications) that will make her sick. while waiting to see if the medication will even work for her..
Plus I would rather try a homeopathic approach, same as I do for myself.
After reading through your answers to others. I am more than willing to give her a raw diet (Nature's variety). Also saw that you recommended, NuVet Vitamin supplements.
And, I am not sure if this was you or another expert, but a homeopathic treatment of "Resthyro" for hyperthyroidism or would another homeopathic treatment be better suited?
Now for my actually question.
Should I try introducing a raw diet, the NuVet Supplements and Resthyro all at once or take it one at a time? Also, if you have a better recommendation than the Resthyro, please please let me know.
Thank-you so much in advance!
Catherine, slave to Janice the cat ;^)
-sorry for being so longwinded but wanted to make sure that I gave you all the info I could.
AnswerHi Catherine,
You have brought up many different issues and I will try to address...
I think the c/d could of made her ill. It is extremely RICH AND FATTY and it is odd your vet recommended it as it is often for crystals. That could absolutely cause vomit and diarrhea.
With hyperthyroidisms cat do sometimes have diarrhea or vomiting if it is not treated.
Also, if she has an abscess in her mouth it will be extremely painful and difficult to eat and she could lose weight from not eating as much because her mouth is in so much pain.
A cat losing weight too rapidly from not eating is quite dangerous and can put a cat into liver failure so do tend to her tooth asap.
Raw food is not the answer for all cats -I personally prefer cooked organic human food- with specific supplements such as added taurine - specifically designed for feline needs. This should be figured out with someone trained in the field. Older animals also have a hard time switching to raw. If they have loose stool i don't recommend switching to raw either.
Is she finicky? You can try samples and see how she does.
With hyperthyroidism- cats will absolutely lose weight as their metabolism is in overdrive from overproduction of thyroxine.
The woman who recommends NuVet vitamins works for the company so profit is an incentive.
I use Chinese herbs and nutrition.
I am not certain that the methimazole made her ill. It could of been the c/d.
The methimazole can be reduced and the cream formula is now as easily absorbed in full dosage. He can decrease the dosage. If it it too high it will only make her tired usually.
Methimazole acts immediately and will leave the bloodstream in 12 hours. So it must be given twice daily.
When a feline is at a borderline stage of hyperthyroidism she can be treated with alternative therapies- but when it is "full hyperthyroidism" then supplemental care can be used with the medication.
Hyperthyroidism will absolutely effect the other organs of the body and that is why once it is in full swing it must be treated with medication or it will put undue stress on the heart and can cause cardiomyopathy. This will lead to heart failure.
The alternative treatments are best to treat imbalances leading to chronic disease to prevent chronic disease.
Or they can be used in conjunction with western medicine.
Having said that -yes there have been many chronic disease cases successfully treated with only nutrition and holistics but a cat is challenging because the herbs required are so bitter and they are often very finicky about food and eating the diet they should be eating after eating cat food their whole life. There are cats that are easier than others to administer herbs orally and change diet and I hope your girl is one of them!!
-in holistic medicine there is no one prescription cure all for each disease. There are some supplements that work better for certain diseases but holistic medicine is very uniquely tailored to the underlying imbalance of the individual. This is homeopathy and chinese medicine.
That would need to be assessed in full with a complete history assessed. I would see a homeopath and get it done properly or if you like you can
contact me via my website www.thenatureofthebeast.org
Other symptoms of hyperthryoidism is being unusually vocal and sometimes irritable and they are full of energy and always starving!!
But, please get her tooth treated asap. She may have slowed down eating because of pain. And again, if she is hyperthyroid she would be eating more and losing weight. She sounds as if she is having multiple issues that could be causing the weight loss.
Good luck!
Shanti
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