Is this OTT (vet visits)?

[ProfessorLeveretGrey]

We have an elderly cat (16) who is on thyroid medication. She has been stable on her current dose for a good 8 months or so, but the vet still insists that she has 'updating blood tests' every 3 weeks, and will not issue new medication until it has been done. She hates the vet and has to be sedated beforehand.

I just feel that as she is stable this is OTT, and possibly just a money spinner. Certainly it's costing us several hundred a month. FWIW the vet practice is part of one of those large conglomerates.

Does anyone know if these blood tests have to be done so regularly if she is stable?

Thank you in advance for thoughts.

Sedation every three weeks sounds very excessive to me, even more so in an elderly cat. Is there no other vet at the practice? I would change vets if possible. Thyroid disease is fairly common in older cats and of course it needs monitoring but this seems too often.

There are other vets but they mainly seem to run on locums. She has seen several of them and they all say 'every three weeks'. I don't like it at all. i don't like sedating her (she takes their arm off otherwise and I don't blame her).

It’s usually every three weeks until
levels are stable and then every 6-12 months after that, unless any weight loss
or increase in appetite. It’s absolutely not in your elderly cats best interests to be sedated for bloods every 3 weeks for a condition that is currently stable. The bloods are not a requirement to prescribe, the vet can use clinical judgment as long as she is being seen regularly at the practice. Ask to speak to the practice manager next time and if they can’t sort this for you, change to a more sensible vet practice.

Thanks. That's along the lines of what I thought tbh. We are on a waiting list for an independent practice that is well-regarded - that's been about a year now and we have to confirm periodically that we want to stay on the waiting list!

That sounds very excessive especially as it's causing her stress. We have a hyperthyroid boy and the vet is happy to see him every 6 months to check his levels are ok.
He dislodged a blood clot at his last blood test so better for him the less he has to go in!

That’s very OTT OP, and I would not be happy about that. Imagine being sedated every three weeks even when you understand why as a human being never mind a cat. I think they’re focusing on money and not welfare.

That's ridiculous and doesn't follow guidelines at all. I wouldn't be happy.

My local vet was sold to a big chain, and started all this nonsense. Loads of extras that my pets ‘had’ to have, all to be paid for. I moved to a new, independent local vet and am much happier with the service - as are all my pets who only get procedures they actually need now. All the chain vets seem to be like this now, defo join an independent one if you can.
Never mind the money either, I’m genuinely upset I have been putting my pets through extra treatments they just did not need, because the chains have their protocols to follow regardless of need.

That is awful, Op. My old boy is 17 and hates the vet - last time he went it took 2 days for him to recover. And I thought that cats in general should be sedated as little as possible, especially as they age?

My strategy re vet bills is to spend on high quality cat food and make sure I keep our cat properly treated for fleas and worms. I also see the vet twice a year for another issue. Other than that, if we get to that stage, I’m afraid we’ll PTS. My last cat was 19 and then was PTS after X-rays showed heart failure. For me, taking the cat to the vet endlessly and spending out lots on treatments is not an option, either for the cat or my wallet. I appreciate it’s a personal decision and I also expect some will disapprove , but there it is.

Mine who wasnt keen on the vets visit but was ok once there was was followed up every 6 to 8 weekly for blood test as levels went up and down.

Yours should be longer than 3 weekly checks if levels have been stable for so long.

But I definitely would not like or have such frequent sedation for anything.

Just because she hates the vets doesn't justify ( in my opion ) such regular sedation especially at that age.

Vets can handle stressed cats unless the cat may get vicious then they use big gloves or cover them with a blanket to calm them down.

Your vets either being over cautious or just making money from you / your insurance.

This seems very excessive. Was a good few years ago now but when our elderly cat had these issues they did the bloods once a month until things settled and then annually unless there were changes noted etc.
I understand things change but this doesn't seem in your cat's best interests.
You need to challenge your current vets or change vets

That seems very OTT, my mums cat had 2-3 blood tests early on when starting his thyroid meds but now it’s 6 monthly.

Has his dose changed a lot between visits? Once he's stable the checks should get less frequent.

Even vet sources are saying 3-6 months once stable
https://bvna.org.uk/blog/endocrine-disease-feline-hyperthyroidism-by-mark-maltman/