Advice on Felimazole.

[Paisleypanda]

   Still confused by Saints condition , we got him back from the vets yesterday . He is a poor looking soul and has been prescribed with a Taurine
   supplement which we hope will help improve. However, the more I watch him and look at his behaviour , I'm thinking its cognitive disfunction or
   dementia if you like. Does anyone know if there is medication available in the UK , thinking primarily of Anipryl which I've read good things about
   on US sites ??

[Paisleypanda]

Just to add get a sugar curve done as well as Diabetes and Hyper T have a lot of the same symptoms - I have one diabetic and 2 Hyper T one on Vitalada and one who had the op and then Vitalda stopped working and is now on Felimizole and all had similar symptoms - I am on my third diabetic so now have a game with the vet as thats the first things we test for now

All mine are stable and happy although its a game with my feral Hyper T on what she wants her tablet in currently M & S corn beef is on week 4

  Hi Liz...... The vet assures us that the blood tests will be able to pick up all other likely conditions although he did advise that the actual test
  to show the Taurine problem is expensive and we'd better have insurance ,which we do of course. If they are correct ,I'll be asking the forum
  for tips on how to look after an almost blind cat.

[Liz]

Just to add get a sugar curve done as well as Diabetes and Hyper T have a lot of the same symptoms - I have one diabetic and 2 Hyper T one on Vitalada and one who had the op and then Vitalda stopped working and is now on Felimizole and all had similar symptoms - I am on my third diabetic so now have a game with the vet as thats the first things we test for now

All mine are stable and happy although its a game with my feral Hyper T on what she wants her tablet in currently M & S corn beef is on week 4

[Paisleypanda]

   More info on my big boy Saint. He had a tumble down our stairs last night and looked poorly ,his breathing was awful. So we took him to a vet
   at 4am and hoped for the best. I've just seen him ,he looked much better but it's not all good news, the vet suspects Taurine deffencey and that
   his vision is very poor as a result ,his heart and nervous system may also be affected. He's being kept in today for blood tests to check for any
   underlying issues. Medication can be prescribed to hopefully rectify the lack of Taurine and we'll then be able to look after him into older age.

[Rosella moggy]

Hi and  to Purrs

I agree that blood tests (possibly followed by thyroid surgery when thyroid levels are normal as Saint is not that old) may be the way to go but wouldn't write your vet off quite so quickly if he has a good reputation. 

It's possible that the symptoms you indicated (mainly increased appetite) together with other stuff he may have noticed at check up (did he mention increased heart rate or pronounced thyroid glands when he examined Saint?) led him to believe HyperT was obvious to him.  5mg dose i.e. two lots of 2.5mgs tabs per day is pretty standard prescription from UK vets it seems but I agree with Kay that it shouldn't be that way and lower starting dose certainly indicated if you haven't had blood tested.  If bloods are going to be taken, suggest you get kidney function tested at same time too although, if T4 levels show hyperT was correct diagnosis, that condition can mask kidney probs.

You mention side effects with Felimazole.  There can be side effects with the other hyperT med, Vidalta too.

Any reason why it has been 7 years since last vet visit?  Sorry I only ask as ours are vet checked and vaccinated every year.  I know some people are not keen on annual vaccinations?

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Think if the treatment room was as bad as you say you nned to concentrate on finding another vet first and helping your cat, then sort original vet out.

[Paisleypanda]

Hi and welcome

I don't have any experience of cats with hyper T but I agree with Kay that it's crazy to put a cat on medication for it without blood tests.  I would insist on a full blood analysis so that you can see what is going on before deciding on any medication.

  Thanks for the welcome !

  Yip ,we will stop the meds and seek another opinion which will definitely include blood tests , not sure whether to approach the original vet and
   ( politely) ask him why blood checks did not happen ?

[Paisleypanda]

   Thanks for the quick reply and advice ! We are thinking it would be right to stop his medication and seek a second opinion , the vet in
   question has a good reputation locally and we used him about 7 years ago when Saint had a serious blockage in his water works. One
    thing which struck us this time around was the smell and general condition in the treatment room .........not good maybe the practice
   has gone downhill ?

    Anyway having read the side effects of Felimazole I'm ready to get his bloods checked and proceed from there.

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Hi and welcome

I don't have any experience of cats with hyper T but I agree with Kay that it's crazy to put a cat on medication for it without blood tests.  I would insist on a full blood analysis so that you can see what is going on before deciding on any medication.

[Kay and Penny]

to put a cat on HT medication without even checking his thyroid level is just not acceptable - and the symptoms you describe suggest he may well now  be Hypothyroid, which can have serious implications for his kidney function

personally I would stop the Felimazole right away and go to another vet for a blood test - and if he is Hyper, start with a lower dose of Felimazole - it's available in 1.25mg tablets now, and one of these twice a day would be a good place to start - 14 isn't that old for a cat these days, and given the right treatment he could have a fair few good years ahead of him

vets in the UK can be a bit behind the times when it comes to HT, by the way - when my cat was diagnosed I found the Yahoo group an invaluable source of info, as most of the members are in the US, where treatment is much more advanced https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/feline-hyperT/info

[Paisleypanda]

   Hi,
       Greetings from a newbie.  We have some issues with our male cat ,Saint, who is 14 . Basically , we noticed a marked change in his
   behaviour about a month ago . He was/is wandering , having problems using the litter tray i.e peeing outside it and was very hungry. We took
   him to the vet explained his symptoms , the vet , very quickly decided to put him on Felimazole , 5 mg daily. No bloods taken which suprised us
   quiet sometimes head down in his bed and does not move for hours ?

          What do you think ? Especially no blood checks by the vet ,what baseline do we have now for his T4 levels ?? I also think it may just be the
   onset of dementia and not hyperthyroidism ,it's all a bit confusing and worrying as what to do for the best.

    Thanks

    David