CRF & hyperthyroidism questions

Hello, first post on this ng. I was trying to see if anyone here had any
advice/wisdom on treatment options for a cat with chronic renal failure and
newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism. My cat is an 8 yr. old neutered male who
has been on medication for about 2 years for CRF. Just this past weekend,
after his yearly visit to the vet, his tests came positive for
hyperthyroidism. Our options are a) more meds twice a day for him or b)
radioiodine treatment.

My wife and I are trying to decide which is best. The R/i treatment sounds
best, as it is almost 100% effective in curing the disease, but we are
afraid of how he would cope with the necessary isolation. He is very much a
"dog" cat, as in he needs to be with his people at all times, so we don't
know how he'd react to not being able to be held and petted and loved by
someone.

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Ryan

My wife and I are trying to decide which is best. The R/i treatment sounds
best, as it is almost 100% effective in curing the disease, but we are
afraid of how he would cope with the necessary isolation. He is very much a
"dog" cat, as in he needs to be with his people at all times, so we don't
know how he'd react to not being able to be held and petted *and loved by
someone.

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

There are other things to think about for the r/i treatment:
1) it's rather expensive
2) they can't control how much of the thryoid will be "killed" with
this treatment. Sometimes, they overdo it and the cat can become
hypothryoid, still requiring medication

My parents late cat was diagnosed with hyperthryoidism at age 17 and
took medication under she passed at age 19. If pilling is a concern,
you can have the meds compounded into a cream, which is rubbed into
the ear (this is what my parents did).

I'm not trying to steer you in any direction, but just give you some
things to consider. Good luck with whatever you do!

Rene

relkins wrote:
Hello, first post on this ng. I was trying to see if anyone here had
any advice/wisdom on treatment options for a cat with chronic renal
failure and newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism. My cat is an 8 yr. old
neutered male who has been on medication for about 2 years for CRF.
Just this past weekend, after his yearly visit to the vet, his tests
came positive for hyperthyroidism. Our options are a) more meds twice
a day for him or b) radioiodine treatment.

My wife and I are trying to decide which is best. The R/i treatment
sounds best, as it is almost 100% effective in curing the disease,
but we are afraid of how he would cope with the necessary isolation.
He is very much a "dog" cat, as in he needs to be with his people at
all times, so we don't know how he'd react to not being able to be
held and petted and loved by someone.

I've had two female cats with hyperthyroidism. The first was diagnosed
around 11 and I pilled her twice a day until she finally passed at age 17.
The second was diagnosed around age 17 and I pilled her until age 20. I
didn't pursue the R/i treatment for the first because like your cat, she was
very dependent upon the family and absolutely freaked out at the vets and
around other people. The second I decided was just too old to warrant the
expense - and since I was already pilling the other cat at the same time,
what was one more? The pills are tiny and we just stuck the pill in a treat
and that was that.

fwiw, they were both Calicos.

Good luck...it's a scary diagnosis, but once under treatment, they do fine.

Laurie

"relkins" wrote in message
...
Hello, first post on this ng. I was trying to see if anyone here had any
advice/wisdom on treatment options for a cat with chronic renal failure
and
newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism. My cat is an 8 yr. old neutered male who
has been on medication for about 2 years for CRF. Just this past weekend,
after his yearly visit to the vet, his tests came positive for
hyperthyroidism. Our options are a) more meds twice a day for him or b)
radioiodine treatment.

My wife and I are trying to decide which is best. The R/i treatment sounds
best, as it is almost 100% effective in curing the disease,

For a cat with both hyperthyroidism and CRF the most important decision
isn't which treatment to use but whether to treat the hyperthyroidism at
all. His hyperthyroidism may be keeping him out of a uremic crisis.

Your vet should have explained to you that hyperthyroidism increases the
heart's output which in turn increases renal blood flow which in turn
elevates the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and augments kidney function.
IOW, your cat's hyperthyroidism is making his kidneys appear to be
functioning much better than they really are. If you treat his
hyperthyroidism until his T4 levels are in the normal range and he becomes
euthyroid again, his renal blood flow and GFR could drop dramatically
sending him into a uremic crisis.

The initial treatment for hyperthyroid cats- especially cats with obvious
CRF- should be a *reversible* form of therapy (Tapazole, Carbimazole) so you
can determine the true state of his kidneys. This way if his kidney function
declines to an unacceptable level while his on the medication, treatment can
be discontinued or decreased until you strike a balance between an
"acceptable" level of hyperthyroidism and an "acceptable" level of azotemia.
OTOH, if his kidney function remains stable while he's on the medication,
then- and only then- you can consider I-131 tx.

When you start his medication, begin with a very low dose (e.g., 1.25
mg/b.i.d.) and gradually work up to a therapeutic level. Decreasing his
serum T4 levels g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y will in turn result in more gradual
changes in renal hemodynamics which will in turn allow his kidneys to
autoregulate better and avoid crashes and uremic crisis's.

Best of luck,

Phil

On 1 May, 21:29, "relkins" wrote:
Hello, first post on this ng. I was trying to see if anyone here had any
advice/wisdom on treatment options for a cat with chronic renal failure and
newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism. My cat is an 8 yr. old neutered male who
has been on medication for about 2 years for CRF. Just this past weekend,
after his yearly visit to the vet, his tests came positive for
hyperthyroidism. Our options are a) more meds twice a day for him or b)
radioiodine treatment.

My wife and I are trying to decide which is best. The R/i treatment sounds
best, as it is almost 100% effective in curing the disease, but we are
afraid of how he would cope with the necessary isolation. He is very much a
"dog" cat, as in he needs to be with his people at all times, so we don't
know how he'd react to not being able to be held and petted and loved by
someone.

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Ryan

i have had 2 cats with hyperthyroidism, for both i have had the
radioactive iodine treament offered and for both i have opted for
medication twice daily instead. personally i coudl not put either cat
through the stress of isolation for so long (6 weeks is it? that's a
long time for a cat) especially as they were both rescue cats and had
had a stressful life already. Particularly the first cat jasper, who
had been left to live by himself in his mum's house after she died and
was fed once a day when her son or daughter came to feed him until
they got their acts together and contacted cats protection (cretins).

when he came to me he would cry if i went upstairs sometimes as he
though I had left him alone for good, so imagine how unahppy he woudl
be if he were isolated for so many weeks? hardly good for recovery is
it? he soon got used to being pilled and i worked out a routine of
hiding it in varuious nice foods for him, peeled and cooked prawns
were particularly good as you can just push them inside a whole prawn
and he had no idea! he just thought he was gettign a treat twice a
day.

jessie was already used to getting pills twice a day anyway when I got
her and she has no teeth so no issues with biting me when i pill her,
she seems ok with it, kind of resinged to it now, i always give her a
treat or nice food afterwards though to help her forget. i think she
woudl not enjoy the isolation either as she very enjoys company albeit
on her own terms.

personally i don't like the radioactive iodine thing because of the
isolation perioud required and i think that the stress involved may
affect the cat more than we realise and also their recovery and
possibly make them iller, especially as a lot of these cats are older
ones who are attached to their mums and dads. stick with the pilling,
it isn;t that bad you get used to it after a while and so does the cat

Bookie

relkins wrote:
Hello, first post on this ng. I was trying to see if anyone here had any
advice/wisdom on treatment options for a cat with chronic renal failure and
newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism. My cat is an 8 yr. old neutered male who
has been on medication for about 2 years for CRF. Just this past weekend,
after his yearly visit to the vet, his tests came positive for
hyperthyroidism. Our options are a) more meds twice a day for him or b)
radioiodine treatment.

My wife and I are trying to decide which is best. The R/i treatment sounds
best, as it is almost 100% effective in curing the disease, but we are
afraid of how he would cope with the necessary isolation. He is very much a
"dog" cat, as in he needs to be with his people at all times, so we don't
know how he'd react to not being able to be held and petted and loved by
someone.

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Ryan

It's going to be a tough road! Your cat was quite young when diagnosed with
CRF & he's obviously been tolerating medication pretty well till now. I've
had 2 cats with thyroid problems, 1 who also later had CRF & a 3rd with CRF.
If your cat is OK with pilling, this is a relatively easy route & it's
possible to keep the cat going a long long time depending on your
determination & how well he's being monitored & controlled to balance out his
potassium, phosphorus & calcium levels, fluid balances etc. Whatever choices
you make, do your best, & at the same time watch him for the signs his life
is no longer a pleasure for him.

I kept my cat Ginger going for at least 4 years with CRF but I very much
regret keeping him alive that last year - year & half. He needed fluids,
appetite stimulants & nutritional supplements at different times. It took me
awhile to ask myself the hard question - who are you doing this for? He
loved me & my husband unconditionally, but hated the pills, hated any
medication & looking back at all my pictures, it's very plain he must have
been suffering.

Gingy was my orange boy & there's pictures of him on webshots as a 3 month
kitten just taken from a research center, until just before his death in 2002.

Ginger as a 3 mo kitten 1986
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/27277...50028271kgPnOa
Ginger about 1 yr 1987
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/22303...50028271ZmFHbU
Ginger in 2001 http://pets.webshots.com/photo/23617...50028271AgIizh
Ginger in Mar 2002 about 1 mo before he was put to sleep
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/22171...50028271GNLkhV

I waited too long & it's still painful to think about.
M.

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200705/1

"mariib via CatKB.com" u22469@uwe wrote in message
news:719548dbb5098@uwe...
relkins wrote:
Hello, first post on this ng. I was trying to see if anyone here had any
advice/wisdom on treatment options for a cat with chronic renal failure
and
newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism. My cat is an 8 yr. old neutered male who
has been on medication for about 2 years for CRF. Just this past weekend,
after his yearly visit to the vet, his tests came positive for
hyperthyroidism. Our options are a) more meds twice a day for him or b)
radioiodine treatment.

My wife and I are trying to decide which is best. The R/i treatment sounds
best, as it is almost 100% effective in curing the disease, but we are
afraid of how he would cope with the necessary isolation. He is very much
a
"dog" cat, as in he needs to be with his people at all times, so we don't
know how he'd react to not being able to be held and petted and loved by
someone.

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Ryan

It's going to be a tough road! Your cat was quite young when diagnosed
with
CRF & he's obviously been tolerating medication pretty well till now. I've
had 2 cats with thyroid problems, 1 who also later had CRF & a 3rd with
CRF.
If your cat is OK with pilling, this is a relatively easy route & it's
possible to keep the cat going a long long time depending on your
determination & how well he's being monitored & controlled to balance out
his
potassium, phosphorus & calcium levels, fluid balances etc. Whatever
choices
you make, do your best, & at the same time watch him for the signs his
life
is no longer a pleasure for him.

I kept my cat Ginger going for at least 4 years with CRF but I very much
regret keeping him alive that last year - year & half. He needed fluids,
appetite stimulants & nutritional supplements at different times. It took
me
awhile to ask myself the hard question - who are you doing this for? He
loved me & my husband unconditionally, but hated the pills, hated any
medication & looking back at all my pictures, it's very plain he must have
been suffering.

Gingy was my orange boy & there's pictures of him on webshots as a 3 month
kitten just taken from a research center, until just before his death in
2002.

Ginger as a 3 mo kitten 1986
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/27277...50028271kgPnOa
Ginger about 1 yr 1987
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/22303...50028271ZmFHbU
Ginger in 2001 http://pets.webshots.com/photo/23617...50028271AgIizh
Ginger in Mar 2002 about 1 mo before he was put to sleep
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/22171...50028271GNLkhV

I waited too long & it's still painful to think about.
M.

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200705/1

Thank you all so very much for your words of wisdom and advice! I have a
feeling that we'll choose the pills, as the isolation required for the other
treatment would be to much for all of us. It's been tough for my wife,
though, as she has technically had him since before his eyes were opened. He
was the runt of the litter, and the people who had his mommy thought she'd
like him. He pretty much imprinted on her the first time she held him, as no
one was able to hold him for a second or two before he escaped. When he was
old enough to leave, she came and got him and everyone was just shocked when
he walked up to her on the couch, meowed, then jumped up in her lap and
promptly fell asleep. So, seeing him get sick like this is bringing home the
fact that one day he'll have to leave her, and that is just killing her.

You'd never know by looking at him that he is sick, as he still races around
and plays with the other cat. I'm hoping this is a sign that he'll be with
us for a long time.

Ryan

"relkins" wrote in message
...

Thank you all so very much for your words of wisdom and advice! I have a
feeling that we'll choose the pills,

Wise choice. Just remember to speak to your vet about beginning with a very
low dose- insist on it if you have to.

Best of luck,

Phil