cats with hyperthyroidism, tips on feeding etc.

[TeWiSavesTheDay]

We have two older cats with hyperthyroidism, both coping well without medication. However they are of course slowly losing weight and I'm wondering what approach people take to feeding in this situation?

They are actually still quite fussy and will ignore bowls of dry left out all day because they want more wet food! DH thinks this is fine, but I think he's treating them as they were when they were younger (and a bit fat!) and we should give them more wet if that's what helps keep their weight up.

What do other owners do?

Really?
We cooked for our cat, he liked beef stew and baked salmon and bolognaise sauce and white fish and pilchards and sloppy food that was easy to eat.
He was old and ill and we adored him, so when he went off dried food we didn't mind counting him as an extra when we cooked for ourselves.
You didn't ask for sane and sensible advice and that's what we did.

that's what I want to do! It's DH being all 'if they're hungry they'd eat the dry...' and making me doubt myself.

I feed them anyway so they have been extra pouches and meat leftovers!

My 18 year old cat used to be fat too, but has lost weight since being diagnosed with hyperthroidism, and has really skinny legs now. She is controlled with tablets, and still eats quite well, little and often. I have been buying more expensive cat food to tempt her appetite- she likes the gourmet senior tins.

Well, my OH is a cat tolerater rather than a lover or even a liker.
So that means he stays well clear of my decisions, even if he thinks they're daft. He occasionally asks a puzzled question...
Your cats are losing weight and on medication, so I'd pamper them.

Hyperthyroid cats that are well controlled on medication shouldn't ideally be losing weight. It's important to make sure that their t4 levels are measured regularly along with other important parameters like kidney and liver levels, checks on red blood and white blood cell levels and ideally if your vet offers it, blood pressure monitoring. It's also important to make sure there aren't any other issues like dental problems which are extremely common in older cats and often go undiagnosed. I would give your vets a ring and have a case discussion with them, raising your concerns about visible weight loss despite being on medication. It could be as simple as increasing the thyroid medication dose. Good luck- please post back and let us know how you get on.

I'm not sure how much they weighed at their really quite fat peak (they were ILs until recently) but I think they've definitely halved in weight now, which feels quite shocking when they otherwise behave as though they are not ill at all.

I'll keep spoiling them, good to read that's how others handle it.

sorry - they aren't actually on medication at the moment (ILs decision) but maybe that is something we should review. They are checked over and weighed every two month at the vets.

Thanks. With my cat her T4 levels were too low on 2.5mg felimazole twice a day, then too high on 2.5mg once a day. She is now on 2.5mg in the morning and 1.25mg at night, and the last blood test was ok on this. My vet wants to repeat it in 6 weeks, and does check blood count and kidney function as well, but not blood pressure. I will be glad if she she doesn't have to have blood tests so often. She takes the tablets well squashed into a small piece of cheese.

amigacat used to be a 6kg tank. Her weight loss alerted us to hyperthyroid. Even on medication she dipped to a scrawny 3.25kg and is now on 2 x 5mg tablets a day. She's up to 4kg and had a good blood test Monday.

She always ate Hills but now she'll only eat wet pouches, she was on 6 a day (!!!!) now 4 or 5. We use a timed feeder in the night so we get some sleep and she tends to eat less during the day.

Hmm. Definitely a trip to the vet and more wet food then.

They are both under 4kg now.

Whoops yes sorry- I see they're not
on medication- missed that. Between 8-10% of hyperthyroid cats will show reduced appetite although by far the majority of cats start getting very hungry and lose weight despite this. It's something I commonly hear at the surgery that owners can't understand the weight loss as the cat seems so well and is eating more than ever with a good appetite! Good luck at the vets!

oh, that's interesting Emily - I have been waiting for them to suddenly seem ravenous as the point at which to start medicating, because they don't beg for food are still being fussy and don't really seem to eat all that much... but perhaps they're in that reduced appetite group of cats.