Hyperthyroid - looking for answers

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Just had a client ring - there cat went into Vidalta for 3 days and is now in hospital

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Hi -

Just noticed that you posted about Vidalta on CATCHAT in July 2010 ...
Good luck xx

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Have sent you a PM

[ianthi]

That's interesting what your vet said about Vidalta, Michelle. What are his objections?

I know there have been a lot of complaints about it mainly about the dose being unsuitable for lower T4 numbers. But then again maybe vets shouldn't be prescribing it in these instances.

Feel it might be OK for some of  those cats with higher T4s.

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

So sorry for your loss 

My own vet (who is also my boss) is not a fan of Vidalta ....however, plenty of cats do well on it for years.
I'm not sure if 2 days of the drug would have caused her death though, this is something maybe you should research.

Could it be that the Thyroid condition had been there for a while without you noticing it ?
Hyperthyroid is a very complex thing and effects all kinds of organs.

I would have a meeting with your vet and ask for them to explain what they think she died from.....but sadly without a PM it might be impossible for them to really know.

I am so sorry you have had this happen to you ....

RIP Sassy xx

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I was told that the 2-3 hours delay in giving Kocka fluids was because they had to defrost them! At Vets Now or my vet in London she would have gone on immediately and Kocka had been given duritics by Vets Now during the night to try and reduce the fluid in her lungs so by morning it was really important, as she also had kidney probs.

ianthi is right about the tumour being most likely benign and Kockas was but they cant tell that until removal.

I agree with not trying to make them suspicious but very hard to do.

[ianthi]

Hi there,

I'm really very sorry to hear about your cat. It's very difficult dealing with sudden unexplained cases like this and I can certainly understand why you're questioning things.

I agree with your concern about the two hour lapse before any fluids were instigated. Also I would question how the vets actually knew the thyroid tumour ( most are benign ) was actually cancerous. Without a biopsy this would be impossible. So I wonder why they are saying this. Do you remember what the actual T4 reading was? It sounds to me as if the vets may have missed something here first time. They may not have tested extensively on the day she was first admitted and ceased at the HyperT diagnosis. Normally my vets have to send these to the lab but not sure if this applies to all practices.  The fluid in her limbs could be due to a number of things eg a heart condition is one that springs to mind. How was she behaving in the weeks or months up until the HyperT diagnosis? Normally cats have a ravenous appetite accompanied by weight loss though there are some exceptions.

Like someone else suggested I would ask for a copy of the clinical notes-you are entitled to them. Be careful not to arouse their suspicions though, just in case.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

you are not alone in needing another cat quickly as I did too.

We are all different and take different times to do this but the feel of fur again for me was so great 

I hope that you can work through this  and that another cat will help 

[Always remembered]

Thank you to everyone who has replied.  Your kindness has helped me and I am so glad I joined the forum.  Sassy was only 9 and a half so very young to develop HyperT.  She was only on the Vidalta for 2 days.  She was sedated on the Monday and given an antibiotic injection and a steroid to try and boost her appetite.  I think that what the vet is saying is that she was one of the unlucky 2-5% who develop the thyroid adenocarcinoma and there was probably more going on.  I have been going over and over things and blaming myself too.  I am going to write and ask my vet as I feel that I need to know what happened to help me move on.  As a family, we have decided to adopt a cat.  I know it is quite soon for me and that our new little Penny can't replace Sassy, however, Sassy adopted us when she was a year old and we have a lot of love to offer a new little addition. 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

I am so sorry to hear about Sassy and its one of the hardest things 

To be honest I think you should write to your vets and also ask for copies of her notes, I did this for my Kocka and found the vets very wanting. She had a tumour on thyroid about 4 years before and it was removed, she never put back the weight and getting her to eat was a constant problem.

I was very unhappy with the vets care here and she went to the Bridge only 6 months after moving and never got the care that she had in London.

I would also ask for a copy of her blood test results, which they should have given you anyway.

I suspect that they did not fully diagnose everything that was wrong with Sassy, which may have been hard to do but I believe its unusual for a cat to go downhill so quickly after just being diagnosed with HyperT.

My own feelings were that I wanted to know what care Kocka was given and be reassured that it was good and was not expecting for her care to be so lacking and for the vet to resist giving me the info that I had a right to receive and consequently the drawn out process made me feel much worse.

Grieving is a complicated process and I know that I proberly will grieve for her for ever and blame myself for not being able to get her better care.........I couldnt drive at time so had to rely on others 

I hope that you will  the best way for you through this, guess its a balance between knowing and not wanting to know and my thoughts are with you 

[Rosella moggy]

I am so so sorry for your loss    I'm not a huge fan of Vidalta (found out recently that neither is my vet).  I'm pretty sure there are a number of people on here who's cats respond very well to it but I have had a cat respond badly to it.  Having said that, he had been on it for about 4 or 5 days before showing signs of lethargy and lack of appetite so I would be very surprised if Sassy went downhill that quickly as a result of taking it.

You say that her appetite the previous Friday was not good either.  The fact that your vet says she had a tumour on her thyroid indicates there was perhaps a lot more going on that "just" hyperthyroidism although initial indications to the vet may have pointed that way.

If you can face it, I would ask to speak to the vet.  Write down your concerns first so that you don't forget anything.   

Everything I read suggests that hyperthryoid cats, with treatment, can go on to live a long life.  I am really struggling to come to terms with losing her.

Have you read this leaflet?

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/hyperthyroidism/info.html

This is an extract.....

"A malignant (cancerous) tumour known as a thyroid adenocarcinoma can also be an underlying cause of some cases of hyperthyroidism. Fortunately this is rare, and is only the cause in around one to two per cent of all hyperthyroid cats. When a thyroid adenocarcinoma is present treatment is much more difficult."

I hope this does not come across as flippant as my heart really goes out to you but sometimes despite everyone's best efforts, it's just not possible to save them.  RIP Sassy sweetheart 

[Yvonne]

Hi, I don't think you have said how old Sassy was.

There are many side effects to medication but the body usually gets used to the medication within a week and thereafter any improvements are often made, it does not appear that your Sassy was on the medication for very long.

It would do no harm for you to write a letter and request answers to your questions, your Vet will not mind.  I wrote to my Vet following the death of my cat Cleo:

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php?topic=285.0

Whatever you do, do not beat yourself up about it, not easy I know.

Take care   

[Stuart]

Hi, I don't have any advice to give you, but I just know how you must be feeling as We recently
Lost our Olivia after a visit to the vet's also, we too have unanswered question's, We refused
them to do a Post Mortem to ascertain the reason for her having to be PTS

So for us it will be a case of Never knowing if She had underlying, undiagnosed problems, or
if the vet's made a mistake or she just had an adverse reaction to the sedative 

We will never know

My Heart goes out to you 

RIP Sassy, play hard on the Bridge

[Angiew]

hi welcome to the forum at such a sad time. I am sorry for your loss. we've all been through it many times on here. 
without doing a pm it is difficult to know the exact cause of her illness.
sadly, cats tend to cope with being poorly and quite often us humans only pick up on the signs when there is something seriously wrong.
It sounds as though Sassy had more than just the hyperthyroidism going on.

By all means, speak to you vet if it will help you, but it sounds as though you are going through a normal grieving process. It is natural to want to find out the whys and wherefores followed by the blame which you will no doubt eventually turn onto yourself at some point. Its something you will have to work through in your own way.
It may help to post on here , start a thread in the rainbow bridge section and write about the healthy younger Sassy with a couple of photos.

Once again, my heart is with you.

[Always remembered]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and looking for information to help me understand what happened to my beloved cat who had to be put to sleep last Wednesday.  Sassy was a bit off her food on the Friday but on Saturday she picked up when tempted with tuna and ate the whole tin.  On the Sunday she wasn't eating much so we decided to take her to the vet's first thing on Monday.  She was in the vet's all day having blood tests.  The vet diagnosed a mouth infection and hyperthyroid.  We went to pick her up and were given Vidalta 10 mg to start and she was to go back in 10 days.  We managed, with a bit of difficulty, to get her to take the vidalta.  On the Tuesday evening she seemed much more lethargic and not eating at all.  We phoned the vet's first thing again and got an appointment for 4pm.  My husband took her to the vet's for 4pm and was told that she was dehydrated and had deteriorated and the vet said cat's when ill tend to neglect themselves and that once they had some fluids in to her she would pick up and start eating, so, we were given some hope.  At 6.30 pm the phone rang.  The vet told me that when they had gone to shave her leg to put in the drip they had noticed she was swollen and that all four legs were swollen.  She was much worse than they had thought and it was likely that she would go in to heart failure and wouldn't survive the night.  We had to make the awful decision to put her to sleep as we didn't want her to suffer anymore.  There are lots of niggling questions at the back of my mind.  I've read lots on vidalta and am worried about the side effects - lethargy and lost appetite.  I can't help wondering why my vet had my cat for two and a half hours before attempting to put the drip in - was she suffering during that time.  Why didn't they notice that she was much worse than they thought?  The vet said we were just unlucky and that she had developed a tumour on her thyroid.  Everything I read suggests that hyperthryoid cats, with treatment, can go on to live a long life.  I am really struggling to come to terms with losing her.  I'm thinking of writing to the vet for an explanation of what happened.  Should I do this or am I just looking for someone to blame?