Hyperthyroid Cat With Anorexia - Running Out Of Ideas... :-(

Question
Sorry, long story...

Our two 13-year-old sister-cats were diagnosed with hyperthyroid last Spring (through bloodwork). At the time they showed NO symptoms of hyperthyroid, but the vet put them on Methimazole.

They both had very bad reactions to the med - horrible vomiting, diarrhea, stopped eating, lethargic and lying on the floor. Tried lowering the dose - stopping and starting it again - they just would not tolerate it.

Both had a life-threatening allergic reaction to nasal vaccine 4 years ago and are hyper-sensitive to all meds, so not a surprise that they reacted badly to the methimazole...

Next, the vet tried them on SP glandulars for hepatic and thyroid - these started to cause vomiting and diarrhea after a couple of weeks and had to be discontinued.

Before the meds they seemed OK, but since the meds they are now showing the symptoms of hyperthyroid - drinking lots of water, howling, hungry all the time but losing weight, occasional vomiting.

I am at wits end and the vet has become 'unresponsive' - probably has no other ideas either.

The main thing now is getting them to eat enough - they have lost a lot of weight.

They are eating, just not enough.

Because of the allergies, they are on a grain-free diet. I have tried all the tricks in the book to get food in them - opening different cans of food, warming the food, nutritional supplement gel (causes diarrhea)... They love tuna but that can only be a treat because it's bad for them on a regular basis.

They will no longer eat either of the two grain-free kibble varieties they loved, just their grain-free canned foods and some all-meat dried treats.

One of my girls is on a low dose (1.25mg) of prednisolone for itchiness (fur mowing) and 5mg famotidine (for nausea). She is also the thinnest - bony, really. She acts like she is starving, but sniffs the food and walks away, or just takes a few small bites - unless it's tuna... :-)

Stopping either of those meds makes things worse.

They are both indoor cats and have much love and attention. It is killing me to see the weight loss and not be able to do anything about it.

I would very much appreciate any other suggestions for getting them to eat or treating the hyperthyroid...

Answer
Hi Birdie,

Sorry to hear that your two furry companions aren't doing so well. First off, on the thyroid treatment, I pulled a few links up that will give you listings of vets who specialize in treating bad thyroids in cats in Florida. I don't know what area you live in but hopefully one of these are near. If not give them a call. They should be able to recommend some one in your area. Or call your local veterinary school. They will also be able to help.

The best treatment for hyperthyroidism is to either remove the thyroid or kill it off. Your cats will then be put on a thyroid replacement hormone,(like humans#. They will be fine.

http://catthyroid.com/

http://localmarket.mypeted.com/Cat_Hyperthyroidism_Treatment_Clearwater_FL-p1585

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/thyroid_radiotherapy_facilitie.html

Here's a great link about what to feed your cats. There is a lot of good nutritional info here that will help your guys.

http://catinfo.org/?link=felinehyperthyroidism

Hope this helps. Good luck and take care.

Ciao, Karen


Hi Birdie,

I'm not sure you understood my answer. You are using a drug to treat your cats hyperthyroidism. It treats the symptoms but not the disease itself.  It does have the side effects that your cats are having. I'm recommending you to either get radioactive iodine therapy for them or surgery to remove the diseased thyroid from the cats. This will cure the hyperthyroidism thereby alleviating the necessary of your cats taking the Methimazole anymore.

I am attaching my recipe for something called Kitty Glop. Try feeding this to your cats. I have had a lot of success using this for sick and malnourished cats. It should help. I definitely would look into getting the radioactive iodine therapy for your cats. This is the gold standard for treating this disease.

Please be aware that cats that have hyperthyroidism also have kidney disease. You should have your vet check and see if the hyperthyroidism is masking any kidney disease. These two diseases go hand in hand with cats a lot of times.

Good luck and take care.

Ciao, Karen



KITTY GLOP

INGREDIENTS:
1 can goat milk or evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed. You can get goat milk at Wal Mart.
2 tbsp. plain yogurt,not low or non fat. Greek yogurt is good.
2 tbsp. mayonnaise, real not light or No-Fat
1 tbs. Karo Syrup light
1 pkg. Knox unflavored gelatin
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 cup Pedialyte, unflavored
2 jars Stage One Meat Baby food, chicken,turkey, or beef
1 can cat food, same flavor as baby food

INSTRUCTIONS:
Mix milk, yogurt, mayonnaise, baby food, cat food, and syrup together well. Hand blender works well for this. Bring 1 cup pedialyte to boil and mix in Knox gelatin. Set aside. Mix egg yolk with small amount of milk mixture and beat well.

Add gelatin and pedialyte to milk mixture and beat well. Add in egg yolk mixture and beat well. Remember to not use egg substitute and keep egg white to a minimum.

Pour into bowl with cover and set in refrigerator. Glop will last for two weeks covered in refrigerator. Try freezing the mixture in ice cube trays and store the cubes in the freezer, thaw as many as needed.
Feed a couple of tablespoons to cat 3-4 times a day. If he wants more let him have it.

Always warm glop to room temperature ,milk form, or a little warmer, before feeding.