Topic: Interesting news for hyperthyroid cats (Read 7538 times)

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #22 on:** July 27, 2012, 20:52:00 PM »

Knew it was too good to be true!

Fingers crossed the Felimazole can stabilise him, please do keep us updated on how he's doing

Kay and Penny · « **Reply #21 on:** July 27, 2012, 13:23:05 PM »

just a quick update in case someone does a search on Y/D in the future - Trigger ate the first tin with relish, picked at half of the second tin and refused to touch it again - so he is now on Felimazole (2.5mgs divided into two doses) to bring his T4 down sufficiently to be considered for I131 at Bristol

Y/D would in any case have been pointless, as Bristol will not accept a cat for I131 unless they have been off Y/D for 4 weeks because it is so restrictive in iodine - apparently they have found in cats who have had virtually no iodine in their system for some while, the treatment sucks up all that is left and makes the cat hypothryroid instantly - and then any consequent illness cannot be treated properly because of the strict isolation rules

so as Trigger would have needed medication for those four weeks it was better to start him on it right away - as a dedicated Webbox lover he has swallowed his first two doses without any idea one piece was not pure Webbox

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #20 on:** July 20, 2012, 23:24:29 PM »

Good move it sounds but I am sticking with St James, they are going to board Ducha while I am at Olympics.

Did you see 24/7 a 4 part series about St James and Gareth my vet was on

I hope Trigger loves his new food for ages and that it works.

Kay and Penny · « **Reply #19 on:** July 20, 2012, 15:04:10 PM »

thanks Gill

have just come back from the vet with an introductory pack of 1.5kg dry and 4 tins - free

he wouldn't try the dry, but wolfed down a small bit of the wet, which looks and smells just like the old-fashioned liver sausage - and is now mithering me for more

which is promising, as the wet seems much better quality food, and can be fed on its own - and it can be bought online too

how long will he be content to eat only one food, though? long enough, I hope, to find out in 4 weeks if it's working, and if lowering his HT reveals any kidney problems

and the first Russian I had, back in 1998, refused to eat anything other than chicken Iams, so you never know

(by the way, Gill, I have switched my three to the Veterinary Hospital just outside Carmarthen - am very impressed by their facilities, and charges seem reasonable)

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #18 on:** July 19, 2012, 22:13:47 PM »

So very sorry to hear about Trigger and hope this food will help

Kay and Penny · « **Reply #17 on:** July 19, 2012, 20:46:08 PM »

as his thyroid doesn't feel enlarged, an op could well be ineffective, as there may be ectopic thyroid tissue
elsewhere

apparently this Y/D food has had excellent results, and some cats have been on it for over 5 years now - I suppose as cats don't tend to become hyper until 10+ there may well never be any long term results, as the cats being monitored are going to die of something anyway

I do have reservations as to whether a company like Hills would necessarily report adverse reactions - and I feel that this food, like medication, is a better bet for cats who are already well into their twilight years

but it seems worth a try before making any firm decisions, and it isn't likely to have any of the side effects medication might have - my vet is certainly up for seeing if it works

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #16 on:** July 19, 2012, 19:58:53 PM »

This food sounds like it's almost too good to be true if it works, I guess it's only really suitable for those with a single health issue though

Sorry to hear about Trigger

As he is relatively young I would definitely opt for the radioactive treatment or an op, in hindsight I wish I had gone for the op for Tiggy as 5 years was a very long time to be giving daily meds and as much as I loved her it was also very restrictive and stressful at times

Kay and Penny · « **Reply #15 on:** July 19, 2012, 18:37:04 PM »

Trigger has recently had a blood test which shows he is now HyperT, and my vet is conferring with Bristol Veterinary Hospital to see if he is suitable for a referral for the radioactive iodine treatment

which I can't afford, but as he is only 11, and seems to be healthy in other respects, a one off treatment seems the best option

but while I am waiting to hear I am going to try out this Hills Y/D - though only the wet variety - and who knows, if it works, the iodine treatment may not be necessary - though I have my doubts about keeping a cat on one food only for years, so at the moment am only considering it as a stopgap which is preferable to medication, which has to be stopped 7 days before initial tests for the Ii31 anyway

my vet says though that the Edinburgh veterinary hospital have reported a big drop in cats going for the iodine treatment since this food came on the market (hopefully not because they died before getting there

)

SuzynCora · « **Reply #14 on:** July 17, 2012, 12:59:43 PM »

Hi Helen.

Pleased to know you have made some progress, even if it's only to make a decision on what to do.
Cora seems OK, she's seen next door's cat off again this morning, and she found her way up onto the roof the other day, so she must be OK.
She's plodding along on Prednisolone, Fortekor and the occasional antibiotic jab, I've given up on Destolit, Hepatosyl and Denamarin, and she's wised up to me hiding stuff in treats and food now, so I have to wrestle her twice a day to get the tablets in. She gets ill quite quickly if she doesn't get her meds, though.
Thinking back to my previous cat, he had bad teeth, and I was told the bacteria from the teeth can travel into the body and set
up chest infections etc and have an affect on some internal organs.
Schmoo will be difficult with food if she has toothache as well.

HelenD · « **Reply #13 on:** July 17, 2012, 12:07:45 PM »

Hi Suzy

How are you and Cora getting on? Hope you are both ok

Schmoo is doing ok for now, we have decided to stick with what we are doing for the time being and go from there. We thought about the ultrasound but to be honest we arent entirely sure it would be worth it. Shes already on the Destolit for dodgy bile ducts, and steroids for inflammation and infections so the only thing they might see apart from that would be tumours. And we talked it over, and if that was the case, we wouldnt want to put her through major internal surgery or chemo, so all it would achieve is that we would 'know' :/

So, shes back on daily Vidalta, and shes also taking the Denemarin (the big blue ones - cut in half which isnt ideal, but better than nothing!) for her liver, as well as the steroids.

We arent putting her on the y/d but only because we have to hide her pills in food, so that makes the y/d pointless as thats all they should eat, which is a shame as she did actually seem to like it!

Our aim is to get her weight back up, hopefully bring the liver levels down from the sky, and then think about the dental. I think thats actually a possible cause of all these weird liver results at the moment and if we can get her in for that to be sorted, I think that might be the most helpful thing we can try.

Or course we could be totally wrong, but at the moment shes been completely normal and a happy little cat, who is eating well - and I read somewhere recently 'treat the cat and not the blood results' and I think theres an element of truth there. Everytime we get results back we change what we are doing and then things go all over the place again, so maybe sticking with something for a while, especially when shes still happy, is the best we can do to stop all the ping-ponging.

I guess only time will tell :/

SuzynCora · « **Reply #12 on:** July 11, 2012, 06:28:44 AM »

Oh, Helen, I do feel for you! This is exactly what happened with Cora.
They will probably have to sedate her for the ultrasound, but if they are, can they sort her teeth out at the same time?
Cora's ultrasound showed her bile ducts were inflamed, and I think it was her pancreas as well.
Have the specialists actually seen Schmoo, or are they just doing it by phone?
At the time, my vet said it was better for the specialists to do the sedating etc as their drugs and equipment were far
superior to anything they had, and the specialist's scanner would show things up in more detail.
We went to the Chestergates, in Chester, it cost a fortune, but they were brilliant, and they only did what they
absolutely had to.
If you want the details, send me a PM.

HelenD · « **Reply #11 on:** July 10, 2012, 22:51:05 PM »

LOL yup, we've definitely tried worse

Got bloods back and it's not fab, T4 gone way up again and her ALT is through the roof - only thing that was ok was kidneys, but that's probably due to the T4 going up

She's back on daily vidalta for the time being but we have some thinking to do. They would like us to get her on the y/d full time, but I don't think we can do that as we have to give her pills in chicken etc, and even if she likes it now I know she will go off it at some point.

Other than that I think they are stumped, as are the specialists they have been talking to...only other thing they mentioned was an ultrasound so we are weighing that up at the moment, as sedating when she's like this isn't ideal.

You think I'd be used to these ups and downs by now

SuzynCora · « **Reply #10 on:** July 09, 2012, 14:39:37 PM »

I know what you mean about offensive food!
Cora lost a load of weight like that as well, it was partly the liver problem and partly the thyroid.
She's about 2.3 kilos now, and fluctuates a bit around that, but is still running about and eating.
Is Schmoo drinking a lot? that's usually kidneys, but can be liver problems as well.
Fingers crossed for you, let me know what happens

HelenD · « **Reply #9 on:** July 07, 2012, 19:17:45 PM »

Hi Suzy, we got some of it yesterday, just 2 tins to try and 'taste test'. The first tin got wolfed down which surprised me, it's pâté consistency but a bit drier, if that makes sense. Certainly not the most offensive food we have tried though LOL!

She had a bit more this morning, but interest wained this afternoon so we went back to the hilife that she's been eating. I'll carry on trying the Hills though, just bit by bit and see how we go. The initial interest has given me hope though!

She's still losing weight however, down to 2.27kg yesterday :/ Vets took another load of bloods to check liver T4 and kidneys so should get results Monday and go from there. Sooo frustrating as she's eating well, and behaving completely normally....

Hope you and Cora are getting on ok x

SuzynCora · « **Reply #8 on:** July 07, 2012, 12:57:14 PM »

I mentioned this food to my vet, she is checking with the specialist that it would be OK for Cora to have it,
although reading the Hills write-up I can't see why she shouldn't be able to.
Has Schmoo tried it yet?

HelenD · « **Reply #7 on:** June 27, 2012, 17:08:32 PM »

LOL I know - I said the same to the vets when she told me about it, but shes going to see if we can get some samples just to see if she will have a nibble and then go from there!

We've had an up and down month with Schmoo - we dropped her Vidalta to one every 48 hours which then led to her stopping eating again - grrr - and she lost 400g :/

We started her on the Pred though (cut in half and hidden in a smidgen of cheese is working fine so far) and her appetite went right back up into over drive after a week LOL! Shes still skinny, but we are leaving her on it for a while longer and then back to the vets for a checkup so hopefully she'll put that weight back on by then!

I think they are hoping this will start sorting the liver and the teeth out a bit too, so we have everything crossed for that at the moment!

Hope you and Cora are getting on ok

x

SuzynCora · « **Reply #6 on:** June 27, 2012, 08:36:54 AM »

Interesting. I'll mention it to my vet next time we are in there, although I don't think Cora will eat it either.
How is Schmoo?

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #5 on:** June 22, 2012, 23:06:07 PM »

Silly me, forgot to look at the wet ingrediants and suspect my cats would not like it but thats prejudging.

Gillian Harvey · « **Reply #4 on:** June 22, 2012, 23:03:20 PM »

My friend's cat was given this by the vet to try - cat wouldnt eat it, so not terribly effective! it was back to medication for him.

HelenD · « **Reply #3 on:** June 22, 2012, 20:31:15 PM »

Hmm yea the dry ingredients dont look great, the wet version looks a bit better I think?

Gill (sneakiefeline) · « **Reply #2 on:** June 22, 2012, 20:21:19 PM »

On the face of it it sounds good but just had a look at the ingredients and seems to be grain based with no meat?

Please tell me I am wrong

HelenD · « **Reply #1 on:** June 22, 2012, 18:06:36 PM »

Hi All

Just back from the vets and we found out an interesting bit of info which I thought I would share!

Our vets have just been told about a new Hills food that's specifically designed for HyperT cats, basically it's very low in iodine, which is what cats use to make the thyroid hormone. The idea is if they only eat this food, they wont have enough iodine so they cant make enough hormone to go hyper i think?

Apparently in theory if this works for your cat, you can control them on this food and might be able to reduce or take them off thyroid medication!

We aren't trying it just yet as they want to check with Hills first, as Schmoo has other complications, but if they say we can try it I will update again with how we get on.

Just thought I'd pass it on in case any one wants to find out more, it was the first I'd heard of it:

http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-feline-yd-dry.html

H
X

Author Topic: Interesting news for hyperthyroid cats (Read 7538 times)