hyperthyroidism

My 10 year old female Maine Coon has been treated with Methimazole for
hyperthyroidism for over a year now. She was diagnosed after I asked
for blood tests because of weight loss and a scruffy looking coat. Her
tests have been at normal levels all year. I recently asked for another
blood test because I could see that she had lost more weight. It came
back OK. She gets wet food once a day with her pill and has dry food
out all the time so she eats what she wants. I would like to hear from
others who have had a cat with hyperthyroidism. Did you have trouble
with weight loss? Is it a problem? Did your cat have pudding
consistency poop? What other problems did you have? Did it affect
longevity?

It is a common problem with older cats. My cats was on meds for many years
for it. I continued to have her tested regularly. She was able to maintain
her wt. It did not affect her life span. Loose stool is a symptom. She lived
until age 17 and died of a sarcoma.
Gail
"Grawun" wrote in message
oups.com...
My 10 year old female Maine Coon has been treated with Methimazole for
hyperthyroidism for over a year now. She was diagnosed after I asked
for blood tests because of weight loss and a scruffy looking coat. Her
tests have been at normal levels all year. I recently asked for another
blood test because I could see that she had lost more weight. It came
back OK. She gets wet food once a day with her pill and has dry food
out all the time so she eats what she wants. I would like to hear from
others who have had a cat with hyperthyroidism. Did you have trouble
with weight loss? Is it a problem? Did your cat have pudding
consistency poop? What other problems did you have? Did it affect
longevity?

My cat wasn't diagnosed with it until age 18 when he lost a lot of
weight - I think he was hyperthyroid for a year or so before, but the
vet never tested his thyroid level until I insisted. He lived to be 20
years and 3 months and we put him down then as he was loosing control
of his urine and his back legs. The soft stool is pretty typical.
These hyperthyorid cats drink tons of water - think that is part of it.
My cat had blood tests every few months and had the medicine adjusted.
Since yours is so young, have you thought of radiation? I would ask
the vet about that. Also, people on this list who have experience with
that may have some words of wisdom for you. If my cat would have been
younger, I would have looked into that.

I had trouble with mine being jaundiced a lot too. But my cat was
double the age of yours! Good luck!

Grawun wrote:
My 10 year old female Maine Coon has been treated with Methimazole for
hyperthyroidism for over a year now. She was diagnosed after I asked
for blood tests because of weight loss and a scruffy looking coat. Her
tests have been at normal levels all year. I recently asked for another
blood test because I could see that she had lost more weight. It came
back OK. She gets wet food once a day with her pill and has dry food
out all the time so she eats what she wants. I would like to hear from
others who have had a cat with hyperthyroidism. Did you have trouble
with weight loss? Is it a problem? Did your cat have pudding
consistency poop? What other problems did you have? Did it affect
longevity?

Gail and Buddy's Mom... Thank you very much for your replies. I am
relieved to know that your cats lived long lives with hyperthyroidism.
I won't be concerned about the "pudding poop" any more.

Buddy's Mom wrote:
My cat wasn't diagnosed with it until age 18 when he lost a lot of
weight - I think he was hyperthyroid for a year or so before, but the
vet never tested his thyroid level until I insisted. He lived to be 20
years and 3 months and we put him down then as he was loosing control
of his urine and his back legs. The soft stool is pretty typical.
These hyperthyorid cats drink tons of water - think that is part of it.
My cat had blood tests every few months and had the medicine adjusted.
Since yours is so young, have you thought of radiation? I would ask
the vet about that. Also, people on this list who have experience with
that may have some words of wisdom for you. If my cat would have been
younger, I would have looked into that.

I had trouble with mine being jaundiced a lot too. But my cat was
double the age of yours! Good luck!

Grawun wrote:
My 10 year old female Maine Coon has been treated with Methimazole for
hyperthyroidism for over a year now. She was diagnosed after I asked
for blood tests because of weight loss and a scruffy looking coat. Her
tests have been at normal levels all year. I recently asked for another
blood test because I could see that she had lost more weight. It came
back OK. She gets wet food once a day with her pill and has dry food
out all the time so she eats what she wants. I would like to hear from
others who have had a cat with hyperthyroidism. Did you have trouble
with weight loss? Is it a problem? Did your cat have pudding
consistency poop? What other problems did you have? Did it affect
longevity?

On 14 Sep 2006 11:19:43 -0700, "Grawun" wrote:

My 10 year old female Maine Coon has been treated with Methimazole for
hyperthyroidism for over a year now. She was diagnosed after I asked
for blood tests because of weight loss and a scruffy looking coat. Her
tests have been at normal levels all year. I recently asked for another
blood test because I could see that she had lost more weight. It came
back OK. She gets wet food once a day with her pill and has dry food
out all the time so she eats what she wants. I would like to hear from
others who have had a cat with hyperthyroidism. Did you have trouble
with weight loss? Is it a problem? Did your cat have pudding
consistency poop? What other problems did you have? Did it affect
longevity?


Did the blood test include a check of the thyroid levels? If so, what
were the levels? It's possible your kitty may have IBD. My 14 year
old has both. You could try adding a 1/4 tsp of Benefiber to the diet
to see if it helps with the diarrhea.

Good luck,
Rob

On 14 Sep 2006 12:51:38 -0700, "Grawun" wrote:

Gail and Buddy's Mom... Thank you very much for your replies. I am
relieved to know that your cats lived long lives with hyperthyroidism.
I won't be concerned about the "pudding poop" any more.

Buddy's Mom wrote:
My cat wasn't diagnosed with it until age 18 when he lost a lot of
weight - I think he was hyperthyroid for a year or so before, but the
vet never tested his thyroid level until I insisted. He lived to be 20
years and 3 months and we put him down then as he was loosing control
of his urine and his back legs. The soft stool is pretty typical.
These hyperthyorid cats drink tons of water - think that is part of it.
My cat had blood tests every few months and had the medicine adjusted.
Since yours is so young, have you thought of radiation? I would ask
the vet about that. Also, people on this list who have experience with
that may have some words of wisdom for you. If my cat would have been
younger, I would have looked into that.

I had trouble with mine being jaundiced a lot too. But my cat was
double the age of yours! Good luck!

Grawun wrote:
My 10 year old female Maine Coon has been treated with Methimazole for
hyperthyroidism for over a year now. She was diagnosed after I asked
for blood tests because of weight loss and a scruffy looking coat. Her
tests have been at normal levels all year. I recently asked for another
blood test because I could see that she had lost more weight. It came
back OK. She gets wet food once a day with her pill and has dry food
out all the time so she eats what she wants. I would like to hear from
others who have had a cat with hyperthyroidism. Did you have trouble
with weight loss? Is it a problem? Did your cat have pudding
consistency poop? What other problems did you have? Did it affect
longevity?

You also mentioned weight loss. The two of those together implies
that the food your kitty is eating is not being absorbed and is just
being passed through. What does the vet say about this?