thyroid

Question
I have a senior cat. She is appox 16 now is cat years. she has a thyroid disorder and is on medicine for it. The vet told us a while ago that we would be fighting a loosing battle. However he told me that thyroid is a difficult problem as it affects all the other organs. Can you tell me how? Or what is affected?
Last night she was fine and I thought we had won the battle, then this morning I got up and she wouldn't eat. She barley even takes the cat treats that she went crazy for just yesterday. And she is growling more at me than she did. She is a very vocal cat and gets mad when you disturb her but today she just growls for the sake of it. Does that mean she is hurting somewhere?  She did the same thing a few weeks ago and the vet increased her medicine. Now she is at it again. She is like part of my family as I'm sure you can understand with 13 of them! And I worry about her.
I appreciate your help.
Thanks, Joyce

Answer
Hi Joyce,

Thyroid disorders often go hand in hand with kidney disease and that may be what's making her feel bad.  Does she seem dehydrated? Pick up her fur at the scruff and let it fall back down.  It should just snap back, if it takes a few seconds to go back down that means she's dehydrated and may mean that she's in kidney failure, a very common ailment in older cats.  Its treatable with sub-cutaneous fluids and low protein food.  Ask your vet to check her for kidney disease if he hasn't already.
While your vet may be right about fighting a losing battle the goal is to keep her as comfortable as possible for as long as possible.  I had a cat that lived for three years after her diagnosis of hyperthyroidism and kidney failure (she was seventeen when she passed) because we treated her with thyroid meds and sub-q fluids.  When she started fighting the treatments I stopped and let her go peacefully.  
Her growling is in fact telling you she is not feeling well and you should take her back to the vet for whatever adjustment she needs to her meds.