Hyperthyroidism - anyone's cat have it?

[Lottie4]

If your cat has hyperthyroidism, can you please tell me your experience. Is it controlled on tablets, how are they in themselves or have they had an operation?

My cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism this morning (totally out of blue as took for annual vaccinations and vet suggested a test as her weight was lower). Apparently her level is quite high. Vet has suggested two tablets daily initially, a check up in three weeks time and mentioned an operation if it couldn't be controlled.

[timtam23]

My cat was diagnosed aged 16. Initially we tried tablets but he developed a serious reaction to them (anaemia and other blood cell problems) so we went for the OP which he had the following week. The vet was happy to anaesthetise him and said it was a very common op in elderly cats. It cost a few hundred pounds including several aftercare checkups. The cost of £1000+ quoted above seems very expensive. He came through surgery very well and we had another year with him in excellent health before he sadly developed other unrelated problems. The tablets had been a total nightmare to get down him and it would have been impossible for us to leave it to the neighbours (who would feed him) if we went away.
We decided against radioiodine mainly because he was so old and we didn't want him to be away in isolation for a long time, but also because our vet said he may have to be put to sleep if he became unwell while still in isolation (because the rules covering animal radioiodine treatment are so much stricter than with humans and apparently it may not be possible to treat other conditions because of this - happy to be corrected on this though). Also if he'd been younger it would have seemed more worthwhile to go through radioiodine but at 16 we thought is was a lot to put him through for possibly living only another year or so (he survived for 2 yrs post-op)

[FuzzyOwl]

timtam the £1000+ that I quoted was for radioiodine treatment, and the lengthy stay in isolation, and sadly it is very much the going rate (RVC in London) and not expensive. We certainly weren't warned about my cat being put down but certainly all contact with her was restricted for the fortnight she was there, so understand why they said that to you. My cat was also 16 and is now flourishing post treatment and it was definitely, in my opinion, money that was well spent.

[chemenger]

It is the case that if the cat becomes ill while radioactive they may need to put them down because they can't expose staff, or it was when our cat was treated. We had to sign a disclaimer to say we understood this. However, they did give a very thorough examination before they did the treatment to reduce the chance of anything unexpected happening as far as possible. This included a CAT scan, blood tests, blood pressure and probably other things, most of which had to be done under sedation "through the back" because of our cat's less than sunny disposition. Being isolated with minimum contact or intervention suited her down to the ground, so we were not worried about that, probably easier for her than the operation where she would have had post-op care from some poor nurse. The actual radiation treatment is just an injection, so no wound to deal with.

[MuggaTea]

Thanks chemenger and pepparrabbit those treats worked !

Lottie you might want to give them ago? You can mold the treat around the pill. I followed up by another piece so my cat was more focused on the next piece than really chewing the first piece.

good luck!

[Lottie4]

Mugga - how's your cat? Are you still managing to get some of the food down him.

Again, thanks for everyone's replies.

Mine seems to know what the tablet is in her food and eats everything but said tablet! Have tried hiding in Webbex which she won't touch. Vet told me not to crush them, but she will take them like this in yogurt. Not the ideal solution but I think it's a case of doing what we can to administer them and seeing if it's made any difference at the end of three weeks and after a few fails. I tried to pill her last night. She didn't struggle to get away, but after the fourth attempt of getting it in her mouth (despite clenched jaws) and her spitting it out I gave up. She's been hiding under the table this morning and is currently under the bed trying to avoid me.

[MuggaTea]

Lottie
The reason you shouldn't crush the tablets as they have a slow release coating. But i understand your reasoning i.e. if nothing else works. Perhaps if you crush them in yogurt, spread the yogurt out throughout the day ?

My cat seems fine, now he is back to normal food he eating very well, and the treats in webbex is working very well for us. but he loves his treats.

I am weighing him (weight according to bathroom scales (me holding cat - me not holding cat) and in the last 6 days he hasn't lost or gained weight - so I am taking that as a positive sign.

Does you cat have any food treats she loves? cheese? dreamies? ham?
fwiw my cat won't eat the pill if i just put it in his cat food, it has to be extra tasty treats....

there is a gel that works that you put on the ears, but that is £100 a month (too expensive for me).

[MuggaTea]

The only other suggestion i have is before trying the kitty-burrito again is to coat the pill in butter. Apparently this makes it easier to slip down...

(Never tried myself, just read about it)

fx for you, i know how frustrating it is knowing that the pills will make your cat better but the complete inability to explain it to said cat ....

[Wolpertinger]

My cat loves her tablets in Lidl cat sticks - although she always was food obsessed. She waits patiently for them twice a day and helpfully prefers the Lidl to the Webbox.

Lidl ones are a bit squishier so easier to mold round the tablet - sometimes a tablet is left behind but it's 99% successful.

Couldn't have the op as the tablets shrunk her nodule away!