Topic: More Bruce woes (Read 8079 times)

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #21 on:** November 08, 2018, 13:52:28 PM »

I kind of get what the vet is saying, but surely worth a try before risking surgery. My neighbours cat couldn’t tolerate oral Felimazole, but was fine on the transdermal gel, even though it is the same ingredient, because it is processed by the body differently.

jezebel · « **Reply #20 on:** November 07, 2018, 20:34:49 PM »

Thanks Frances, I'll read that when I'm next on the laptop (can't read it on my phone!).

Frances · « **Reply #19 on:** November 07, 2018, 17:41:28 PM »

Quote from: jezebel on November 07, 2018, 15:55:07 PM

I asked for Felimazole but vet said it creates the same chemical in the body so it would have the same reaction.

According to Noah’s Compendium, Vidalta contains Carbimazole and Felimazole contains Thiamazole. Carbimazole is a pro-drug converted to the active metabolite thiamazole. So by the time they are in Bruce’s system they are, as your vet says, essentially the same thing.

However they do have different excipients – the other elements that make up the tablets – so it is possible that he is reacting to something in Vidalta that is not in Felimazole (I have this problem with various versions of Omeprazole). The dosage levels of the active ingredient are also different. I would have thought giving Felimazole a try might be worth it.

I’ve also found this:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259293710_Methimazole_carbimazole_and_alternative_medical_therapies_for_feline_hyperthyroidism
It’s American and written in 2011 but does discuss possible alternatives “because of adverse reactions to the standard antithyroid drugs”.

A

for you and a

for Bruce.

jezebel · « **Reply #18 on:** November 07, 2018, 15:55:07 PM »

I asked for Felimazole but vet said it creates the same chemical in the body so it would have the same reaction.

Surgery is complicated because he's already had one thyroid gland removed, and removing the second one carries the risk of harming the parathyroid (I went through all this with Bass last year).

Thanks for all your headbumps, hugs and snoozles.

Judecat (Paula) · « **Reply #17 on:** November 07, 2018, 15:15:55 PM »

Sorry I got that one really wrong, thanks Kay and Frances, of course it was RI.

Lyn (Slugsta) · « **Reply #16 on:** November 07, 2018, 14:39:52 PM »

I'm sorry that things are so difficult for you and Bruce just now

Sue P (Paddysmum) · « **Reply #15 on:** November 07, 2018, 14:13:47 PM »

So sorry this is getting so complex to address. Gentle snoozles to Bruce, and a hug for you.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #14 on:** November 07, 2018, 13:30:53 PM »

Aww, poor Bruce – I’m surprised they are saying he can’t have any thyroid meds at all though, I thought the different forms were because of cats reactions? What about the liquid form, thyronorm, it's a different active ingredient? Sorry that it is looking like you won’t be able to go away next month.

Frances · « **Reply #13 on:** November 07, 2018, 13:11:48 PM »

Quote from: Judecat (Paula) on November 07, 2018, 12:41:52 PM

The surgery worked really well for Gill's Misa.

Misa didn't have surgery, he had radioactive iodine therapy at Langford vets in January 2017 and his thyroid levels continue to remain normal

.

Kay and Penny · « **Reply #12 on:** November 07, 2018, 13:11:15 PM »

Misa had the radio active iodine treatment, Paula - surgery is the removal of the thyroid gland

I would worry that your vet is still not suggesting Felimazole, Jez, as that is the treatment of choice these days, and especially so if Vidalta causes problems

might be time for a second opinion

Judecat (Paula) · « **Reply #11 on:** November 07, 2018, 12:41:52 PM »

The surgery worked really well for Gill's Misa.

Nothing either of you did bad in a previous life, just very unlucky.

Sending loads of headbuts from The Mob for Bruce, and gentle hugs from me.

jezebel · « **Reply #10 on:** November 07, 2018, 12:38:08 PM »

I don't know what Bruce did in a previous life but it must have been something bad.

The Vidalta has made the poor boy anaemic now. I have to take him for an in-house blood test to check his anaemia tonight and another full blood test next week to check everything.

He can't have any thyroid meds at all so we're looking at surgery again, with all its risks.

Also, we have a week away planned for early December, flights booked, everything - it was going to be a very special trip - but now that's looking unlikely.

Maybe it's me who did something bad in a previous life. Vet said last night that she's only known two cats to have a bad reaction to Vidalta - and they're both ours.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #9 on:** October 24, 2018, 12:28:31 PM »

I’m surprised your vet would rather increase Vidalta than try Felimazole, although it does mean two doses a day. I thought it was a different active ingredient. Hopefully having his own room will help, and maybe when his levels come down, you might notice a difference in his behaviour. As he likes his own room, you could try the food, I think it is a Hills diet. There is also now a liquid thyroid treatment, but that might be quite expensive, the transdermal gel my neighbour used (hers couldn't tolerate tablets) was.

jezebel · « **Reply #8 on:** October 24, 2018, 10:03:13 AM »

I did ask the vet about Felimezole but she said it works in the same way as Vidalta, it's just not slow release so they need it twice a day. I'm going to ask again when I take him back for his next test. If the Vidalta isn't working, then she can't really refuse.

He's still living in the spare room so I'm just going with it. He now gets room service for breakfast and dinner and a visiting nurse (me) to administer his various meds (now including eye drops). But I haven't shut the door so he's not confined. He seemed a lot more relaxed this morning.

Sue: he's been on Zylkene for ages! We thought it was helping but really not sure.

Liz · « **Reply #7 on:** October 23, 2018, 16:40:26 PM »

They can become intolerant to Vitalda, our Max did and ended up on Felimezole and almost overnight we got our boy back and a lot of the odd habits disappeared maybe worth asking for the Felimezole and come off Vitalda completely x

dawnf · « **Reply #6 on:** October 23, 2018, 15:44:42 PM »

I think sue's idea is a good one if you have the room other than that I honestly have nothing to offer, it must be very hard for you

Kay and Penny · « **Reply #5 on:** October 23, 2018, 14:50:43 PM »

You could try switching him from Vidalta to Felimazole, which is the HT drug of choice everywhere but the UK, it seems

It also has the advantage of being easier to tweak the dose

Sue P (Paddysmum) · « **Reply #4 on:** October 23, 2018, 14:45:09 PM »

This might sound counterintuitive, but if Bruce is showing signs of being spooked by being outdoors, and larger spaces in the home, would it be possible for you to clear out one room of the house (preferably a spare bedroom) and make it Bruce's room - with just his things in it - a litter tray, designated bed, food and water, toys, a blanket smelling of him and a climbing frame or scratching post.

Shrinking his space can seem cruel, but for an agitated and nervous cat, it can make things seem "safer" and easier to deal with.

It brings his world down to a size he can cope with. It may be that when he had his accident he received head injuries too - when you don't know his background it makes it so much harder to second guess, but I would try giving him a smaller, safer space to deal with. Put a plug in in the room too such as pet remedy or feliway, and begin feeding him some zylkene with his food, or some Royal Canin Calming food.

All of these things together may influence his behaviour for the better.

Poor little soul. Thank you for having the patience and the love to care about him, and to want him to succeed and adjust well. Not everyone would do that.

jezebel · « **Reply #3 on:** October 23, 2018, 14:13:40 PM »

We've put trays all over the place - there's now one in the spare room.

If this is related to his hyperT then the Vidalta isn't working very well.

Desley (booktigger) · « **Reply #2 on:** October 23, 2018, 13:50:33 PM »

Aww, poor thing - it could all be related to his hyper-t, his entire system is working quicker than it should and it does affect their behaviour. A friend has hyper-t and she knows her levels are high because she starts feeling more anxious. Did they just test his thyroid? Could you put a tray in the spare room?

jezebel · « **Reply #1 on:** October 23, 2018, 13:40:07 PM »

The saga of this little tripod just goes on.

For those who haven't read my "Say hello to Bruce" thread, we adopted this nine-year old boy about two months ago, and then found out he had hyperT and an inappropriate peeing problem. He also has messy eyes (vet thinks he might have had cat flu), a missing leg and a string of strange behaviours.

Anyway. his latest blood test showed his levels had risen (only he could manage this!) so he's now on a higher dose of Vidalta to see if it helps (he's put on a little weight so I'm hopeful). He's being tested again on 5 November. But the weirdness continues.

He's started eating his litter (woodchip) - so far, only the clean stuff, he crunches it.

Despite initially loving the garden, he now won't go near it. If we take him outside and sit with him, he just races indoors (missing a leg doesn't slow him down!).

He's overgrooming and producing massive hairballs. He's also scratching a lot. Took him to the vet yesterday and he's now on a short course of steroids for this.

His latest thing is staying upstairs in the spare room. Won't come down for meals, unless one of us brings him down, then he bolts some food and races upstairs again. Despite being only a few feet from the bathroom, he won't use the litter trays in there (we discovered this morning ).

I really have no clue what we're going to do with him. Nothing improves, it just changes. I've said it jokingly before but I do think there's something wrong with him - maybe early dementia.

Author Topic: More Bruce woes (Read 8079 times)