Hyperthyroid cat

[GrandmaW]

My lovely cat Thomas, age 14, has just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and has to start on medication - one tablet a day.
I'm dreading having to dose him. The vet has recommended just putting the tablet in his food ( whole, not crushed) and seeing if he will take it that way - because of his problem he has a good appetite so I'm hoping that will work.
Otherwise, its a case of holding him and trying to get it in his mouth and making him swallow.
Any one with experience of a hyperthyroid cat who can give me some tips please?

[TheNebulousBoojum]

My cat also had a thyroidectomy, cats have two glands. She doesn't have medication for hyperthyroidism any longer.

[Mibby]

We used to coat the tablet in meat or fish paste and he would eat it that way. Tubs of sanwich spread type stuff worked best. Good luck :)

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Cats don't need thyroid supplementation after a thyroidectomy as they are cleverer than humans.

[nipersvest]

grandmaw - he's ok so far, i am worried about him though and will most likely take him back to the vet and see if it's worth persevering with 1 tab a day, it's the 2 tabs a day which make his vomit. he's happy in himself, still runs around the garden like a kitten when it's windy!

his heart rate is up, that's down to the overactive thyroid, so untreated, it will put pressure on his other organs.

lonecatwithkittens - can i ask?, what is the prognosis if we leave it untreated? he's 14.

[nipersvest]

also, for those dosing their cats, i was told not to crush the tablets and that they had to be given whole as they weren't good for humans to handle.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Untreated he will lose weight rapidly, have a very high heart rate likely to develop blood clots and throw a pulmonary embolism so not great I am afraid.
There are two different treatments it sounds like you are on felimazole which can be a number of tablets a day, it maybe worth asking about vidalta which is a once daily slow release medication.
I do the thyroidectomy with three weeks worth of tablets on board as on balance the risk of the anaesthetic is less than the risk of not being medicated,

[nipersvest]

thanks, will take him back. it was felimazole he was on.

[GrandmaW]

Well I can report that the first tablet went down a treat.
I collected the tablets from the vet this morning - they are Vidalta which are one a day. While I was out I also bought some of the cat stick treats and a bag of prawns!
I tried the cat treats first (cut of about an inch, slit it and put the tablet inside). I was amazed - Thomas, bless him, wolfed it down and looked for more! No stress for me or Thomas.
I hope you get your cats medication sorted, nipersvest. It is worrying isn't it? the vet also said that Thomas' heart rate was really high, so I'm hoping these tablets will soon have some affect on him.

[Bakingtins]

The tablets normally normalise the thyroid levels in 3-4 weeks and the levels should be retested then to make sure the dosage is correct.
The other options you should have been offered are 1) Hills Y/D which is a low iodine diet (iodine is needed to make thyroid hormone). If you feed Y/D and only Y/D then it will normalise thyroid levels and mean you don't need medication. 2) Surgical removal of the thyroid glands 3) Radioactive iodine injection (only available in certain specialist centres and cat needs to stay there for several weeks after treatment).
The feline advisory bureau fabcats website has good information on all feline diseases including hyperthyroidism.

[Gaismith]

There is a new medication called Thyronorm. Its a liquid and you just squirt it into ur cats mouth. It have a sweet taste so a lot of cats like it