Cat with hyperthyroid? Or any ideas on foods cats love...

[Dar]

The vet diagnosed my 18 year old cat with hyperthyroid today. She palpated a small nodule and said she's 95% sure, especially given her age and history.

She's actually in pretty good shape for an 18 year old cat - the vets all raved about how gorgeous her coat was and how well she was caring for it - but she is down to 6.4 pounds, which is a drop of .8 pounds since August and about 3 pounds from her weight 5 years ago.

There are treatments for hyperthyroid but they tend to be expensive and/or risky, especially since the vet suspects that Cozy also has some kidney issues which are actually kept in check by some of the side effects of hyperthyroidism... so treating that may well leave her worse off. I don't expect her to be around in 5 years, but I do want her to be around in August, when my daughter (who adores her) comes back from her year in Russia.

So, I need to keep her from losing any more weight. I moved her to wet food a couple of months ago, which seems to at least slow her weight loss. It's crappy wet food but she doesn't puke it up and she does eat it, which is what matters, I guess. She hasn't been willing to eat the "good stuff". She also has dry food always available. The vet suggested fish or chicken, so I gave her some salmon tonight... and I've also been melting a teaspoon of butter into a tablespoon of half and half, which she loves (and she seems to tolerate that much dairy).

Any other ideas? BTDT stories?

[BunnySlippers]

Why are the meds pricey?
I have a hypothyroid pony and her meds are just under $50 for a tub that lasts approx 3months. Im thinking a cat could make a tub last at least a year!
Maybe see if a large animal vet could supply you with Hyperthyroid meds? I dont think equines can get hyperthyroidism, but surely some other large farm animal can.

[Dar]

I don't know why... I had a dog on meds for hypothyroidism too and they weren't expensive either... but maybe hyper is?

It wasn't just the cost, though - it's also the kidney stuff. One of the effects of hyperthyroidism is a rapid heart rate (which Cozy also has, as well as a slight heart murmur) which keeps more blood flowing into the kidneys, which keeps them healthier... so according to the vet, fixing the thyroid might throw her into acute kidney failure. She has some symptoms of kidney failure already and that's what the vet said would probably kill her, not the hyperthyroid...

I got some 9 Lives wet food and she seemed to love it - dug right in and ate 1/3 of a can - and then puked it all up.:Puke I think I'll keep trying different brands, though, and see if I can find one she really likes that doesn' make her sick....

[BunnySlippers]

In that case I wouldnt try to 'fix' it either.
18yrs is a pretty good age, lucky cat.
What about raw food? Or goats milk instead of cow?
Good luck with your kitty, my first passed away from a murmur at 9rs, and the cat I have now is only 8yrs, I sure hope I have her for another 10

[provocativa]

I had a hyperthyroid cat 8 years ago- I don't remember the names of the meds, but do remember there were some treatment options I couldn't afford.
Right now we have a 21 year old male cat, and he started a rapid decline in weight, so we switched to this high calorie formula for kittens and cats from EVO: http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1501 And he has gained some weight back. It's a grain-free, ancestral diet type cat food, made in the USA and they seem like a righteous company. They also have venison and duck wet foods, but it's not the high calorie one. The small cans are expensive, but the big ones aren't that bad- 1.59 for maybe 13.3oz? But we had them on expensive grain-free dry food before so our budget didn't take that big of a hit. I give him raw milk kefir and mix a pastured egg yolk in his food sometimes, too. He also loves pork rinds.

[JayGee]

I'm wondering, does the hyperthyroid make them vomit? Because my 15 yo cat has lost a ton of weight over the last year and is having trouble keeping food down. I'm planning to take her to the vet this week to see what's going on.

Would your cat eat tuna? When mine isn't interested in much else, a can of chicken-of-the sea goes down easy .

[Dar]

Yes, it can. From what the vet told me, if an old cat still has a good appetite but it losing weight hyperthyoid is likely.

I'll try tuna... she lost interest in the salmon pretty quickly, but maybe I just need to keep changing it up. And I will definitely look for the EVO... I don't know why I didn't think of trying kitten food, because it must be higher in calories!

[PlayaMama]

my cat was just diagnosed with this as well and she's 13.

she hasn't lot too much weight but she drinks a ton of water, vomits, high heart rate/murmur all of it.

she likes tuna water and she's so so on the wet foods, even the expensive grain free ones, i'm going to try her on the meds since her kidney function looks okay right now.

what about the possibility of surgery to remove the thyroid and then doing sub-q fluids for the kidneys?

from what i've heard the kidney failure is not really a treatable condition but the thyroid is, did the vet suggest sub-q fluids for the kidneys anyway?