Feline hyperthyroid awareness

Many cat owners don't know what to look out for in elderly cats, and I was about the same. In the past, it seems like the biggie with aging cats was kidney disease so I was very aware of that. Also a few years ago my oldest cat was tested for the most common problems in older cats, they did blood work and tested for blood sugar, liver and kidney stuff and a basic blood panel. It was all OK. This time kitty's cat glucose was off and it surprised me they were going to do another type of glucose test plus a thyroid test. Because hyperthyroid can affect glucose.

Labs came back and he does not have diabetes, he has the hyperthyroid. And now I learn it is VERY common. I have to say I had no idea. I was way behind with my cat illness knowledge.

It does seem like feline hyperthyroid is really increasing, not only do they test for it more. Why it even happens seems to be a mystery, but a lot of people blame food despite there seem to be no real pattern with what we fed the cats.

Hyperthyroid is an imbalance of metabolism where the thyroid gland is more active than it should be, leading up to burning too much "fuel".

My cat didn't actually show a lot of symptoms. He has been a little stressed lately but he is very social so instead of acting out, he is seeking comfort. But mood issues can be a sign of hyperthyroid, some get hyperactive other get the more aggro type of hyperactive, like something is bugging them. In my cat it was hard to see because he is good at self soothing and also seeks comfort, so he appeared calm, but now knowing the deal I can see he has this stressed aura about him. Sleep can be affected but my cat sleeps well.

Cats with this usually eat and drink more than usual and pee a lot. Or like my cat, has irregular appetite. Vomiting is also very common, mine vomited just stomach fluid, and it can be mixed up with plain gastritis which is also common in older cats.

This illness leads to wasting, often one of the signs owners react to. But as it is very common that older cats lose muscle and fat, this can be misinterpreted as normal aging. My cat I realize shows the typical wasting pattern for the illness, general muscle is pretty good and muscle wasting starts around the spine leading to a cat with a spiny back but in the early stage of illness not to a lot of other muscle wasting. As things progress, there is general weight loss and both muscle and fat is lost. This almost went unnoticed by me at first, since it was so gradual and also he hadn't lost all that much weight before this was found out. Looking back, he has been slowly getting skinnier for maybe two years. Some lose very quickly though I hear and that has to be quite scary, my cat is "just" 0.3 kilo underweight. But cats can waste way beyond this.

My cat showed a slight decrease in coat quality, he still washes normally but coat sort of doesn't stay down, tends to stand up on his back and also had some minor matting. It seems it can be worse than this. But it is also hard as just a single symptom to know what is going on, since also older cats lose spines on their tongue which makes a poor brush and old cats can groom without getting "brushed" properly.

Another thing is increased heart rate. If you are taking cat to the vet, it is very good you know his/her pulse rate at home, if you have a cuddly cat you can actually count heartbeats. All cats seem to have increased heart rate at the vet so this knowledge is nice to have.

Cats that do not get treated will burn out, there is increased stress on all inner organs and also like mentioned, cat will lose lot of weight and muscle.

There is curative treatment and treatment of symptoms. For a bit younger cat someone might opt for curative, which is what they do for people, they give radioactive iodine that travels to the thyroid and slowly destroys it. Of course this is quite expensive and in most places not an option. There is surgery too but it is not done where I live, it is not seen as a good treatment option.

For cats that are possible to medicate, there is thyroid hormone suppressants and I will give this med to my cat daily. I hope he will soon gain a little weight and feel a little less anxious. I have read a lot of bad about this med, but my vet says it is good and I finally found a good vet so I'm going to trust them. They are also very good at always saying with any med, if adverse effects stop med call them immediately. Cats that do not under any circumstances will take pills can have special expensive cat food that is drained of iodine which also reduces thyroid hormone. Pill or food treatment can't be combined and both are only making the cat feel better and live longer.

If my cat can feel better and gain a little weight I'm fully pleased with that. He has to come back for blood work to see that his level of med is right. With the labs and meds and vet visits I will still only pay around 500 Eur. I'm thankful I slowly put away small sums regularly now. My savings will go to kitty of course. His insurance might pay some of this.

To sum up:

Elderly cat, at least 8 years old
Stress, aggression, playful hyperness or self soothing behavior
Increased hunger and thirst, increased peeing
Sometimes vomiting
Wasting in the spine area on onset, more thinning later on, underweight cat
High heart rate

With this me and kitty think we did good raising some awareness about a very common cat illness. Kitty says he will take a nap now so I will finish this post.

Any input or correcting me is welcome.

An update; Two weeks of treatment with Felimazole and I can see some changes. Cat shows less self soothing behaviors. Cat's coat is soft and doesn't stand on edge so much. And the best of all, weight stays on! I dare even say he gained a little. He doesn't have anymore muscle back, but maybe that is coming.

I think his appetite is coming down which is a normal effect but it might be too soon. Will have to buy tasty treats so he can gain a little more. He was typically hyperthyroid hungry, ravenous, for a while after he had antibiotics treating his gum infection which stopped him from having the typical huge appetite.

He shows no signs of itchiness or allergies, knock on wood.

In a week he will have a blood test to see if his levels are right. This might sound like a hassle, but treatment is adding a lot of time to his life and also adds quality. It's so worth it.

So if you have a bit elderly cat that is wasting, it MIGHT be this, and NOT normal aging.

I have treated my cat for quite a while now with Felimazole, he got a rounder figure pretty fast but it seemed to be mostly a different distribution of fat because he weighed in at just slightly more.

After that he had his FORL teeth removed and it also helped. Those two things together has created a very healthy cat! He gained some more, not much but you can really feel the difference. Lifting him he actually weighs something now!

His coat has become so thick and his whole appearance is of utter health! He looks like an 8 year old cat, not 15. And he looked 19 there for a while!

I'm so pleased we found out what was wrong with him. Once again, please don't assume a cat is in poorer shape just because of older age. My kitty is YOUNG again! And his med is next to a miracle.

I hope I have several more years with this cat, he is so charming and everyone loves him, even people normally not attracted to cats.

Just if my other cat reads this I love him the same and I'm glad he has no health issues.