I challenge everyone who watched this video to share it with at least one other person. This is advice every cat lover will benefit from, so let's get it out there!
I was really excited when I saw this one because I knew you would lay the options out clearly and simply enough so people can understand. I’m logging this for the next time someone tells me their cat was was diagnosed with hyperthyroid. Of the old-cat illnesses, I’d rather hyperthyroid than the others. I’ve had positive experiences with I-131.
Please, please, please, make a video about feline asthma and New treatments ! One of my cats have It and it's been hard to treat him. He is Just 3 years old and can't live without steroids. In my city here in Brazil we don't have pneumologist.
My cat was losing weight. My vet said her thyroid test came back borderline. He put her on medication and she started putting on weight and looks great. She also has pancreatitis and IBD, which he found on pre-surgical bloodwork for teeth cleaning. Good thing he checked! If she lives to September, she will be 18 years old! She is also a cancer survivor (hemangiosarcoma) since 2016. I love our vet! He's pulled her back from the grave many times!
You are so amazing to give her so much commitment and care. God bless you both. So much love so beautiful . Hard to find such kindness and wisdom in humans.
@@barbettelouise How is the feline doing? Mine was just diagnosed today, and we have pills to give her. It will be a fun challenge. Her only symptoms were weight loss and a dramatic water intake increase.
@@Zantreful Robert what was happening with my maincoon she was eating and drinking a lot and not gaining weight,she was loosing weight..she is doing Alot better after being on the liquid medicine I mix in her food...You will see a improvement with yours.just got to be patient I know it can be rough but at least you got the diagnosis...keep in touch how it goes..
My neighbour had a cat with hyperthyroidism. They didn't know at the time. They are neglectful people who never took him to the vet so he was wasting away. It got to the point where I saw him one day and went to pet him, and immediately started to cry because I could feel EVERYTHING. I immediately knocked on their door and pleaded with them to take him to see a vet. Unfortunately, he was already too far gone to recover, so he was euthanized. I hate people so much. I know you guys have to deal with the absolute worst that society has to offer, and it really sucks.
I'm so sorry 😞 how heartbreaking! I would have been livid too! I went above and beyond for mine. I'm watching this video bc a friend has a cat with hyperthyroidism.
I'm so scared he was diagnosed Tuesday I just was wasting away so quickly I just didn't realize it and we moved well I moved with the two cats in July 22nd so I thought a lot of things was related to you know the move and I took them to the vet to other times and they didn't do anything to help him. Or diagnosed anything but yeah this is scary I pet him and I can feel everything every bone every rib his whole spine is crazy he started off at 15 lb long boys so he's 13 and he's lost at least 4 lbs it seems in one year so I don't know he'll take the pills though... He's my heart I don't want to live... Love to hear the helpful stories but I hope my baby is not too far gone since he got a treatment for the stomach issue some fluids and a shot to help with nausea he's eating now and keeping things down so hopefully I don't know if he'll put on weight I guess he does need treatment medicine I'm looking to see what's the best food to give him as well. Hate to hear that the pop top can wet food could have been poisoning him.
My cat got hyperthyroidism at the age of 15 and was one of the first one to get the iodine treatment in my clinic. One treatment and it lived a normal and healthy life until the age of 22 with no other medications. Going for the iodine treatment was a great choice.
Hi. I am trying the bid med but he’s getting loose motions diaharrea. He’s also 15 I suspect. Very very thin. Can’t afford to loose weight. Should I try the ear gel? Or go for radioactive do you think? Poor kitties….thank you so much
CW: death of a pet my cat died yesterday (Thursday the 15th of July 2021). I am subscribed to your channel because i wanted to have helpful information on cats so i could understand mine better. now she's gone and i will stay subscribed to you because i know subscriptions are helpful, but it makes me so sad that i no longer have a pet to apply any of your advice to. Rest in Peace Jupiter. ❤️🐈🥺
So sorry to hear this hopefully you had many good years together. I get so attached to all my fur babies. Have had so many wonderful ones over 40 years. Hope as time passes you find some peace. He was lucky to have you in his life. Who knows maybe we get to see them all again. Would be wonderful I miss every one of mine all so special like yours.
This was my old boy. His thyroid levels were literally unmeasurable because they were so high. Couldn't keep anything down, and his ears were red-hot. Now on medical management, and he's normal and healthy, and is the world champion at taking thyroid pills.
You’re lucky he takes his pills, I have to hide my cat Cookies in her Kangaroo mince, just a small amount to get them down. When she’s off her mince, I struggle with what to do, but found a couple of drops of fish oil will get her to eat the mince.
@@debbiesmith4186 I can't cope with the vet bills. Is there some way to get a cat's bloodwork & urine tested, for under $50? My last trip to the vet cost $2k and & my cat died 2 days later. So now I have my last surviving kitty with symptoms of kidney disease, he needs to go to the vet, but I don't have another $2k
thanks for this! my cat was diagnosed 2(ish) years ago and it was a gamechanger. in all honesty, i'm surprised he's still here with us. that dude is a DINOSAUR. over 18 years old, has one working eye (surgery complication), missing quite a few teeth, FIV, so on and so forth. he had this huge and fast decline before his diagnosis and it was terrifying! he's on methimazole ear gel now, and while i don't think he'll go back up to his 5kg weight, he's still very warm and loving
@Julie Plummer it is a struggle. i'd say the gel is doing well, if not a little worse than the tablets - but it was genuinely impossible to get him to take them. he just wouldn't keep it down. he gets .1mL of the gel twice a day - morning and night - and it keeps him afloat. i wish you all the luck!
My girl just got diagnosed & I’ve had her on the ear gel now for just a few days… do either of you have any advice on how to keep her from trying to get it out of her ears?… scratching, cleaning… I’m afraid it’s going to get back on me or her sister (my other kitty) They’re 12 years old now & my loves 🥰 Thank you both for commenting
@@h2bizzle hey! so we didn't really have that problem with our old boy. he was generally pretty chill and a favourite at the vet office because he was very compliant with it all. i guess try and have the gel spread evenly and rubbed in til the residue isn't visible. also try having it near the base of the ear, if that makes sense? good luck
My old girl, 18, is on methimazole now for 2 years. I tried the gel and she fought me over it and I got scratched a lot. I switched her to pill form and that is working well. I have invented a special ‘hug’ to hold her while I pop the pill into the back of her mouth. And now she is in stage 3 kidney failure as am I; I’m old too. We are just 2 old ladies fading away into the sunset 😊
I took my mon's cat to a feline hyperthyroid treatment center. He only had to stay overnight, but I had to keep him indoors and store his waste until it was no longer radioactive. It was easy. I just kept his litterbox waste in a metal can with a tight lid out in my garden shed. That was five years ago, Napoleon lives with me now since mom is in a nursing home. Napoleon will outlive everyone.
Your videos have really helped me see how common all the problems my 13-year old kitty has. He spent a good year in and out of the vet with idiopathic urinary cystitis, and after trying everything from environmental changes, to feliway, to increased litterboxes I finally put him on anxiety medication and he hasn't had an episode since. A little while after resolving that issue, he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and they don't have the facilities for the iodine therapy where I live so he would have to be flown down which would cost even more and cause a lot of stress for him (something I try to avoid at all cost due to the history of urinary cystitis). I have been managing his hyperthyroidism with medication quite well for nearly two years now, and last year his kidney work came back as a little low but not quite diseased. People always make comments like "wow your cat has a lot of problems" or if they are cat haters "seems like an expensive cat, might be time to put it out of its misery" even though his general quality of life is pretty good while medicated, which has always made me feel like I must have done something wrong in not preventing all of this from happening, but videos like this show me how common it is, and the people who make comments like that either have never had an elderly cat or just wouldn't care enough to get them the treatment they needed if they did. I've had him since I was 9 years old and we've been best of friends since childhood so there's no way I'd just give up because he's 'expensive'.
I think that a lot of people's experiences with cats are that they expect them to live to their early teens. With time, medical care has improved and become more accessible. Our old cats may have more medical expenses, but it's just like someone living to 90 instead of to 70. More expense and trouble, but more time, and a fuller life as a result. I regret nothing and love my old battleship of a cat.
Did you ever find out why his kidney levels were low? I expected to read the opposite and was gonna say keep an eye on the kidneys! I know it's been a year but I hope kitty is doing well. I went above and beyond with mine and all those comments you got I got too. I flipped my coworkers off when they'd say that but they all admired how much I did for him and everyone said they had never seen anyone put that much effort in. Mine had a few chronic diseases. For me it was never a question. But I have to say I learned more from the facebook groups than vets I was seeing even tho I liked my vet a lot.
@@germanylicious No, he sadly passed away in August of 2021 after declining very rapidly and suddenly (became partially paralysed from the waist down and couldn't keep any food or fluids down), they weren't sure exactly what caused it, could be injury or neurological, or just late stage thyroid disease but he died in my arms. I keep his urn on top of my piano now because he loved it when I played. I have no regrets for how much time and money I put into keeping him alive, and there were so many people who didn't understand why I was so devastated by the loss but he truly was my best friend in so many ways.
One of the best decisions I ever made for my cat was to give her the I-131 treatment as soon as she started showing symptoms and was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. She had 4.5 more great years before passing away due to complications with renal failure.
My cat was just diagnosed with mild hyperthyroidism, just yesterday. Great timing for this video! I now understand it much better now and what I need to do. Thank you! You've been alot of help for me and Luna. (Jeff Ma)
I'd encourage anyone dealing with this to seriously consider the iodine treatment. It might seem like a large expense up front but let me tell you, 4 years of methimazole drops twice daily ads up financially and emotionally. Thanks for yet another great video! 😻
When I told my vet how hard it was to give my cat a pill (methiamazole) he recommended a pet pharmacy in Texas that makes it into a treat. My cat eats it right up. Can only order up to three months at a time. With shipping, comes out to $1 a day.
I suspected my cat had this but the vet doesn’t seem to think so. There’s an excellent New York Times article called The Mystery of the Wasting House Cats. It could be toxins in house dust that get onto your cat who licks them off over time. This didn’t exist in 1970, and the theory is that it came from flame retardants in couches fabrics etc called PBDEs. With my vet saying the thyroid is fine, but cat lost 3 pounds and has elevated liver enzymes, I’m feeding him good food and trying to eliminate house toxins…
My cat passed away in March from complications related to this condition.Heart failure and kidney disease. The vets didn't pick it up until it was too late. She was 15 years old and had lost so much weight, but she fought it so hard. The rapid panting breathing, a possible heart attack, loss of appetite and bouts of diarreah. We could not administer any SubQ fluids at home, she resisted so much causing her so much stress and panic, so we decided to give up on it rather than risk cardiac arrest After a very rough final night where she seemed in a lot of distress we made the impossibly gut wrenching and sad decision to have her put to sleep. She was my gorgeous Cornish Rex who graced me with 8 of her 15 years. Her name was Pixie and she took a piece of my soul with her. Life will never be the same or as happy without her 😢
My Orange Peel lived to be over 21 years old with hyperthyroidism and kidney disease. I medically managed them since I worked for a vet. Over 20 years ago the I-131 was less accessible.
my 12 yr old cat was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and kidney disease. - I feel overwhelmed to be honest - do you have any tips you can give as to what worked best for you? I was told low protein food for the kidney disease - what kind of food did you give to your Orange Peel? Little confused as to what "low protein " food is....and did you treat the hyper thyroidism with pills and is that a lifelong thing with the cat? Any advice would be greatly welcomed, thanks in advance!
Dear Doctor. Could you make a video on how to deal with pet loss? I see lots of your viewers have had this traumatic experience, or will have some day. Could you tell us some uplifting stories from your practice that may show our furry babies are at peace on the other side? Sorry if this is a different topic from your usual videos but I am sure many viewers would be interested. As always, thank you for your videos.
Oh Isabelle I am late on this chat, but I can tell you, the very down to earth person that I was went through an extraordinary journey after my first cat passed away... He was such a character, that he visited all our closest friends in some way ! Many years later, we all remember how he managed to prove he was still around, and enjoying messing with us... I cannot say more, but just remember one simple truth: Love never dies. And feel what it means... I am lucky, that I do.
Wonderful idea. I grieved a little over a year when my boy “Dexter” went to kitty heaven. I eventually adopted a new kitty for coping & so my other cat wouldn’t be alone. This helped tremendously & now my new girl “Persia” has a happy home with lots of love & she’s brought lots of joy.
Thank you for this video. Our 17 year old cat had been yowling all night long, very restless / listless and keeping us awake all night long. We finally took him to the vet who stated he had lost 5 lbs, he had abnormalities in his thyroid and kidneys. He's now on a 2 pill/day regiment and special kidney food. Within 4 days he's much calmer and we're getting sleep, all of us. We take him back for blood re-check in 3 weeks, glad we seem to be on the right track.
This is definitely Thyroid. Our cat looked like he had lost a bit of weight & his fur did not look good dull & not smooth. No howling (a clear sign). Vet did blood work & Thyroid & bit of Kidney markers which often effect each other. White blood count was not good but Omega 3 corrected that. Tried the pink pill but my cat would spit it out even with a pill pocket. So is now starting on the topical cream that is applied to the inner part of the ear. His appetite was poor & he started not eating his wet food…..we tried many, many different kinds & refused every one. Tried vet recommended dry food but still refusing …finally one renal support dry food he decided to eat. Dr has given a cream appetite stimulant . Good to hear medication & diet is & can help this serious condition.
Very informative video, thank you! My 9-year-old cat Ripley has always been small (her normal weight is around 7 lbs) but I noticed she was losing an ounce or two for a few months in a row, so I brought her in and found out she has hyperthyroidism. I was kinda surprised, I thought she was pretty young for that! I live in a small town but luckily there’s a facility that does the radio-iodine therapy not too far away. Where I live it pays for itself in about 3 years, but she’s so young that I definitely think it’s worth it.
Thank you so much for this video. My senior cat suffered from this for a few years and it was difficult if not impossible to pill her. Trans dermal was my savior. It was so simple, the syringe clicked out the exact amount onto my gloved finger. Then one simple swish into her ear and it was done, no stress for her and none for me. She lived several years after diagnosed and passed away at 16 yrs old.
My parents' cat (a gentleman the distinguished age of 15) developed this contidion 6 months ago. We considered the radiation treatment, but since only one place in Sweden has the treatment and that's on the other end of the country from where they live, they opted for medication instead (the poor floofy old man hates long car rides and has a lot of abandonment issues from his days as a streetcat). The meds are working great - I'm so grateful they exist and that skilled veterinarians know how to detect and treat this disease 💖
Our then 11 year-old tortie was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism when we noticed she was collapsing on the floor, appearing hot and fatigued. We started with medication but we’re lucky to get her into our university small animal clinic within a couple of months to be treated with radioactive iodine. Fully cured thankfully. Now at 14, she was recently diagnosed with early stage kidney disease. She’s not too happy about her new food as she sees our 2 year old getting the ‘high protein” food so it’s a bit of a challenge. Thank you for all your videos. We always learn something.
@@ashrobinson4604 My wife had a tortie once. Probably the only cat in history that really was given away to farm instead of a "farm" when she moved from Tennessee (which has plenty of farms) to NJ. It was long ago. I am sure she is no longer alive.
I just got a voicemail from my vet (who is great, by the way)....my 16 year old girl was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.....I have to call the vet tomorrow to discuss options (which, she mentioned, included the Hills diet, medication, or the Iodine 131treatment)......this video was so helpful in allaying some of my fears and worries (I'm still stressing...who am I kidding)....but lots of clear, excellent information that will allow me to talk to my vet tomorrow with far more knowledge and confidence. Thanks for taking the time to make it.
Can you share which treatment you decided on? And, also what results you've had? I'm in process of deciding which route to take with my 15 yo girl. TIA!
@@tracipeters145 I tried to answer your question, but my comment appears to have been deleted for some reason....I guess I'm not allowed to tell you the treatment my girl is under....but she's doing well...and I wish you the best with your girl....and that you can get the best treatment for her.
Just adopted a cat with hyperthyroidism and I didn’t know it was such a big issue 😭 she looks like she’s starving. I’m feeding her well and giving her medication twice daily. I hope her condition improves.
My cat was found to be hyperthyroid. I am lucky and work with a phenomenal animal hospital with expert and loving staff (Dundee Animal Hospital). They took blood tests, put my baby on twice a day medication, tested again and went to once a day. I put his medication in Little Soups. He loves it! But it was so helpful to listen to this. He absolutely agrees with my adored vets. The blood work is expensive, but necessary but the medication is dirt cheap. It's like a great second opinion. Thank you! And I have been a patron for about a year
Dr. Yuri, we love your videos! You summarize everything so nicely, all pros and cons! We are considering Iodine 131 treatment right now. Our cat started to take a topical methimazole on her ear, and she had a very rare bad reaction to it -- it basically killed her white and red blood cells after 3 weeks of treatment, and on top of that she got a bad upper respiratory infection that she could not fight because of low blood count. She spent 2 days and 3 nights at the emergency hospital, nobody knew if she could survive all the tests and anesthesia, but she survived! They inserted a feeding tube in her esophagus (she could not eat on her own), so we were feeding her through that over the weekend, and then on Monday they did a blood transfusion, and right after she woke up after that she was a normal cat again! After we made sure she could eat on her own for a week, they removed the feeding tube and she is recovering very well. But that was all consequences of methimazole reaction (which is very rare, so I don't want to scare anybody, really rare, but we "got lucky"...) Now we are thinking about Iodine 131, it is our only option since she can't take methimazole. The cat is about 13 y.o. and overall in a good health.
Old cats are the best! Our 13-16 year old (we're not sure) tripod has been on daily medication and it seems to have knocked her age down a few years. She is less anxious, more active, her coat is improving, and she's gaining weight. It's an excellent gift for her in retirement.
You are a life-saver. It's been hard because with Covid we don't have a stable vet anymore. NYC vets just really shut their doors, even Humane Society was not taking patients other than spay/neuter for 18 months or more. Our cat has been healthy other than asthma (he has allergies). In Oct 2021 his blood tests were good. I took him for exam in December of 2022 and his thyroid and liver enzymes were elevated. I am glad to hear you can start medication to stabilize because I panicked and stopped giving him the 2.5 mcgs when I read the side effects of the medication and we tested him again - he is a huge orange cat weighing 17 lbs - so we were not seeing other signs of thyroid issues. Milo just turned 10 - or possibly 11 (we got him at age 3 from a shelter so birthdate is approximate). Both my husband and I are deeply attached to him and the cat I had before died at 10. I really want Milo to be with us as long as possible. I hope he doesn't also have liver disease. The vet did not bring up Iodine therapy but this is for sure the way to go. Unfortunately NYC animal hospital prices are insane - (they wanted 5 grand for an emergency surgery when we didn't have it available on a Friday night at 10 pm they sent us to ASPCA who were amazing and did it for 1200,00) so I bet they charge thousands. Maybe in Ohio where my mom lives were might be able to get a price between 800- 2,000.
We have a 11 Year old cat named Milo and also has Hyperthyroidism. We didn’t want to pay NYC prices so we are doing the iodine procedure in Pennsylvania in 1 week. How long did you have to keep your cat there? How is Milo doing now? What advice do you have for us and our cat ? How was ASPCA was able to do it for $1,200? Long wait times?
My cat had the iodine 131 treatment. It was a big success. They sent my cat home the same day as the radiation treatment. Their instructions were to save all the cat box “dirt” for some time and then it could be disposed of normally. I believe it was 30 or 60 days. The garbage companies have radiation detectors. They take radiation very seriously and will investigate what has set off the radiation detectors. The vet was quite serious about following their disposal instructions. If you are found to have disposed of the radioactive material inappropriately there is a very large fine. I was very glad to not have my “baby” be kept for a week at the treatment facility. It was an expensive treatment that was worth every penny.
I used to have hyperthyroidism. I had rage attacks, disorientation, weight loss, chest pains and I became nauseated when during intense episodes. Sometimes my would start racing, I would become very weak and I would collapse on the floor. I was diagnosed with Grave's disease. I had radiodine treatment. I was given a capsule of radioactive iodine. The capsule was in a small lead container. The technician opened the container and directed me to transfer the capsule into my mouth directly from the container and not to put it in my hand. I had to quarantine. I wasn't allowed to sleep next to anyone from 7 days. I was told to wash my clothing and bedding separately from my son's laundry. I was told that if I accidentally got pee spilled, I had to clean it up right away. I was told that my hyperthyroidism might become worse for a awhile, because of the treatment. I sent my son to his father's house for 7 days. I slept on the floor. I used bedding and clothing that I could throw away, once I was no longer radioactive. I was so tolerant to cold that I was able to comfortably sit outside in sweat pants and a T-shirt with no foot coverings, when there was snow on the ground. I had my thyroid levels monitored for 3 years, because my thyroid was dying slowly and the thyroid hormone supplement was increased slowly. I have hypothyroidism now, but it easily treated. As long as I take the thyroid hormone supplement, I don't have symptoms. I was told that if I didn't take the medication that I could lapse into a coma, because my thyroid gland couldn't produce that hormone anymore, but it is easy to remember to take my medication.
Thank you for sharing your story! Of course cats experience the world differently from us, but I feel that titr experience gives us valuable insight into what it's like to be a hyperT cat.
@@HelpfulVancouverVet I have a lot of compassion for any cat that is sick. It must be so much scarier for them than it was for me and they have no way of knowing that the doctor is helping them 💚🤗
Thank you . Years ago I had a cat with hyperthyroidism. The cat did very well on one small pill a day in his wet food and lived well in to 18 yrs. The prescription cost $6 for the bottle of pills but yes the follow up blood work was costly until he got stabilized then it was just once a year with the rest of the blood. There was no issues with the kidneys although we kept an eye out.
This is very interesting. My wife got her thyroid gland removed because it was really haywire. (actually not exactly very rare condition in my country) The interesting part is, the treatment for cats is actually very similar to treatment for people. I suppose surgery is simpler in humans, we are bigger... and due to doctors even in humans it's a little risky because there is some other organ very very close by.
My 11 year old cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism shortly before he died. It explained so much and I wish my family was educated on its symptoms sooner. Sadly we had to put him down in May due to an unrelated urinary blockage that our vet was ill equipped to handle (didn’t have the equipment to identify what was blocking him supposedly) and they made it impossible to transfer him. They deemed that he was too stressed from the vet visits and they strongly recommended we just put him to rest. We were fully prepared to give him the treatment for the hyperthyroidism, I wish he was here with us today
I just had to say goodbye to my cat Sheba, age 16 for what I thought was her Feline Herpes Virus flaring up uncontrollably but was probably also hyperthyroidism. Now I have just adopted my Mom’s cat who is 17 and just diagnosed with this. I really wish someone had told me about Pepcid AC being safe for them, he has been throwing up his food for years at his former place. Poor thing was so hungry but the nausea preventing him from getting any nutrients. Fingers crossed ❤
Wow. It's nice to see that many people's cats lived quite a while after being diagnosed. My cat is 19 and has been diagnosed about a year ago. He is doing well and I hope to have many more years with him. He does vomit here more often but thats all. He is on thyroid medication twice a day.
I just want to add something here, and it's never been proven but it happened to my cat. My cat who was 20 years old was on thyroid medication for about 1 year before he passed away. Then I found out during a blood test later that he also had kidney disease as well. Moving forward 3/4's of a year and his appetite started to become an issue, he was not eating like he used to. The doctor prescribed a topical medicine to induce his appetite, and it worked, however my cat then suffered a stroke about 4 days after taking it. I was able to stabilize the cat but the doctor then prescribed a oral medicine that is shot into the cats mouth with a syringe. That also seemed to work, but then the cat looked as if it was going to dies a few hours later. It took my cat 3 days to come out of it. Then about a week later he suffered a 2nd stroke. I was again able to stabilize the cat, but decided not to give him anymore unless he had not eaten in a while and only 1/4 of the dose. I am mentioning this so that everyone is aware that these two medicines when introduced into my cat could of caused the stroke's. The doctor said that there was no data supporting this, but come on. My cat was healthy up to that point, yes he was diagnosed with kidney disease, but this is something he had been living with for a while. Just beware if you find yourself in this situation. My cat then got dementia from the 2 strokes and would not stop walking from that time until I had him euthanized. Those last 4 days I got 10 hours sleep due to trying to interrupt his walking so that he would not die of heart failure, ya I know, but this cat was everything to me and I could not just go to bed knowing that he was alone walking aimlessly. Last thing, I had a home doctor come to the house to perform the euthanasia. I wish I would of asked if the 1st needle that is injected into the cat would hurt him. It made my cat very uncomfortable and he almost jumped away from me holding him. It took 4-5 seconds of agony for him to finally slump into sleep. Then the final needle was given and there was no reaction. I blame myself for not asking the one important question, it killed me a little to watch him suffer needlessly.
It was a reaction to the injection. It didn't hurt him. You did what needed to be done. Thanks to you his suffering was over. He lived a long life and he is your Gгardian Angel now.
My old cat had hyperthyroidism. He was a champ at taking pills. Later in life he got kidney disease and this resulted in kidney failure at 25 years old. I'm sure without that he'd have lived til 30+ as he was in such good physical condition. I now have a ragdoll cat who is now 7 and showing the classic signs, so in the process of getting bloodwork done.
Teresa, what did you feed him that his lifespan is 25? I want my baby to live as long as he can with me. He is 13 now and was just dx with Hyperthyroidism
As always a brilliant and informative video thank you. Our 10 year old Ragamuffin has just been diagnosed and we start her treatment today, creature is beautiful 😻
Just had my Casti diagnosed, she is going on 14 years old. The only symptom she showed was loosing weight, and as that was combined with her going off her kibble in she went to the vet. Doc is really optimistic. Will be starting off with the meds to see how she does on them.
My old girl (18) has hyperthyroidism. She was put on the oral medication, however, she had a crazy adverse reaction to it. It caused some stomach ulcers and crazy itchy skin on the face. Poor girls face looked pretty puffy for a week until the scabs healed. She's been on Hills Y/D diet for over a year. It's not perfect, but her T4 has greatly improved and she's a much happier senior. 😁
My 15 year old kitty was just diagnosed 2 days ago with hyperthyroidism. It has been 2 days full of stress and major anxiety trying to get her to take pills (tried deli meat, cheese, yogurt, pill pockets, soft treats) all unsuccessful. She is an extremely picky eater. Trying to shove a pill down her throat ended up in a trip to the emergency vet due to her horrible reaction and me thinking the pill was stuck in her throat. Your video has provided me with great information and massive relief and piece of mind to what her diagnosis means and best treatment options. Im going to watch your transdermal application video next. THANK YOU ❤❤❤❤
Thank you for making such an informative video. This one came at just the right time for us, although we’ve been subscribed to your channel for years. My partner and I are very grateful for all your advice and so thoughtfully created content. 🖤
I know you made this video a year ago, but am hoping this question will find you. My cat, Maui, was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in Feb. 2022. That was the same month we moved from a house to a condo. Maui was terrific, but all the changes were tough on him. On top of that, his birth brother, Mokie, died of lymphoma the year before. We were both devastated by his loss, and Maui and I became very, very close. Maui is a big boy. At his highest, he weighed 21.4 lbs. He lost 3.7 pounds during COVID. Then he was put on Methimazole. He’s great at taking his pills due to Greenies Pill Pockets. After being put on 1/4 of 5mg. Methimazole twice a day, he’s lost another pound. The new vet did his T-4 and said his level was a little high for a cat on meds. The Free T4 came back showing his levels to be fine. He is still quite strong. So much so, the vet has told me I need to medicate him with Gabapentin the day before AND the day of vet visits. Before this, he would be calm for about 15 mins. while being examined, then I’m told, he’d try to scratch off someone’s face. 😳 Since he’s had to live through so many changes, I feel extra protective of him. I can’t imagine putting him through being at the Vet’s for a week for the iodine treatment. He was always great going to the vet until his brother passed, and he’s still sweet to me, but because he’s so big, he scares the vet techs, etc. Do you think I should ask for the Iodine treatment or just keep giving him pills? Is there a certain symptom that will tell me he needs the radioactive iodine therapy? Thank you.
Thank you for covering this! We have a cat who was just diagnosed last week with this and we have been thinking through whether to get the iodine treatment or not. Thank you for your input. I think we'll do it.
Taking my girl in in a couple weeks for follow-up. She's been on Methimazole for about 8 months. Last check-up, she had actually lost weight, but her T4 levels were in the therapeutic range. Vet suspects some renal component going on. I hope not. We'll see. Thanks for this vid, doc!
Creature is absolutely beautiful. Such a girl! My Mrs. Rubenstein has just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. We started the meds, but we’re going with the iodine injection next month.
Thanks for the information! My 9 year old cat was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and it's been majorly stressful to see him so uncomfortable. He's started treatment today so hopefully he feels better soon
@@LGuinevere Heya! It's been a journey but my cat has been cured for a few months now. He was on medication for a while but after a few months his symptoms stopped responding to meds and just got worse. It was expensive but I opted for radioactive iodine treatment. It was either that or he would have died, since the meds weren't working anymore. After his recovery he has been well and happy, and I'm really glad his life could be saved. He turned 11 this March
My little old lady cat (who passed last year at 16 y/o) had hyperthyroidism. She liked to pocket pills, and I would find pink pills that I thought she’d swallowed spit out all over the house 🤣 We had to switch to the transdermal methimazole. Interesting about the genetic component; my cat looked a bit like Creature.
My cat would eat around the pill pocket and I'd find the melting pill with a little of the pocket around it. I tried hiding it in her food, and all the food would be gone except this slimy little pill. Three cheers for transdermal rx. They are amazing creatures.
My cat looks like Creature, too. She's part Maine Coon, as best as I can tell, and given the situation she came from, I highly suspect her daddy or momma is also her uncle or auntie. And that's hilarious about your pill-pocketing kitty! Naughty kitty. :)
That's pretty funny! "Return to sender." In Philadelphia we're lucky to have a pharmacy that can make crumbly little quick-dissolve pills. We mix them into a small amount of wet food every day. Our cat, for whom wet food was previously a rare treat, is very happy with this arrangement and has been in much better health since we started treatment.
Thank you for posting this, I actually found your channel because I wanted some tips on how to give a cat a pill since my 15 year old cat developed hyperthyroidism earlier this year. We started with the transdermals but he isn't responding so as of last week we are now trying the pill route. Our biggest problem right now is the night-time howling/pacing so also trying to sort that out, good times haha. I have 3 senior cats (15, 17, and 21) so it is like we are running a care home at the moment but we are managing :) I am looking forward to watching more of your videos for more tips!
Thank you so much for educating us feline parents on this disorder. Our 10 year old Boomer was just diagnosed. The vet wants to do blood work in six weeks and will decide then whether to continue with medication or Id131 therapy. I am going to watch the kidney disorder video next. Again Thank you for reassuring us this can be managed; very reassuring. Cats are lucky to have you!
Thank you for this clear and concise video! I adopted a 15-year-old cat 6 months ago. She's receiving the Y/D diet and her T4 are stable, but she's doesn't like it very much. The canned version, which she likes a bit better, is expensive and goes out of stock regularly. Because of all this, I've scheduled an appointment with the vet to discuss the Iodine 131 treatment.
My baby girl has hyperthyroidism. She was very fat and on a diet that wasn't working very well. Suddenly it's seemed to be working TOO well. Poor baby went from 12lbs to 5lbs. She's now at a happy healthy 6lbs. She was diagnosed maybe 3 or 4 years ago and is super happy cause she can eat a lot and is no longer on a diet lol. She's about to be 17 and is showing a few kidney issues and switched to a kidney diet. My baby also developed a cornea tear and yesterday her globe ruptured. I wonder if it was connected at all.
@@firearmsstudent My cat has a very small stature so 12 lbs was pretty fat for her. Her healthy weight is 6lbs so she was literally twice as big as she should have been lol
Hi! I’m so happy I found your channel, Dr. Uri. Great info and fantastic easy to follow and understand the details!! Thank you thank you thank you 🙏😽😺 Enjoy your day!! ☀️😎
Excellent video - you’ve given me hope for my cat! Your ability to explain the information and your presentation is excellent. Thank you for making it available.
As a new cat owner, I really appreciate your channel! Thank you so much for making these educational videos, I feel so much more confident as a new “cat mom” 😁
My 18 year old ginger tabby (Tigre) was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Based on his age, we decided to do the transdermal medication route. Dr. Uri- I love all of your helpful advice and feel better after watching this video especially. I'm definitely sharing this video with all of my friends with cats.
That was brilliant, thank you!! My 16yr old boy Knuckles has hyperthyroidism and kidney disease. He’s on an oral medication -Thyronorm to regulate his thyroid gland, which is working well, and eating Hill’s k/d for the kidney disease. He’s a sensitive boy so I can’t send him away for radiation therapy, I think it would stress him out too much!
@@Anna-il9xyhi Anna my cat who is 12 has been on Thyronorm for eight months with no loose bowel motions. It's in liquid form so easy to give in a syringe.
Thank you for making this video. My cat recently got diagnosed. Actually just a few more days for her follow up blood work to find out if the methimazole is working or not. Unfortunately there is no where near me that does the radioactive treatment, but if her prognosis is good I will consider making the trip for Sweetie Sr. even though the 15 minute trip to the vet she vomits and pees She is a former feral. Most of what you said is pretty much what my own vet told me, but obviously not having a recording of it, I just had to take it in as she told me, and hearing you say the same things again was almost like getting a second opinion to confirm the first.
Wow. Good to know. Thank you for putting these videos out there. Some vets are legit Saints. But others are not and take advantage of laypeople's lack of knowledge. My vet did none of these things. One test and now on meds that make her not eat. No other recommendations.
Thank you for this video. My senior cat (unknown exact age) has just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism on routine screening bloods…he had lost some weight but he’s been on a lower calorie senior diet and he’s displayed no other signs so we wouldn’t have known without preemptive screening. Radio iodine treatment has been recommended by our vet. I’m so glad it has been picked before he’s become sick.
My cat had hyperthyroid. Since she was only 10 at the time, we decided to go with the iodine treatment. It worked very well, and the treatment centre was fantastic. After she came back, we weren't to hold her for more than a half hour each day for a week (she was still radioactive). As a lap snuggler cat, this was a very hard time for her, and she cried endlessly. Breaks your heart.
Meant to post this for the IBD video... Thank you for the video! It really helped me to understand what my vet was talking about. My 14 yo has been diagnosed with the small cell lymphoma (thickened small intestine walls and an abdominal lymph node). The sono also showed enlarged pancreas, while bloodwork indicated hyperthyroidism, elevated pancreas readings and high glucose. I believe those are in order of cause and effect: Thyroid, Pancreas, high sugar... My hope is that the lymph node is due to inflammation. The bloodwork was normal about 6 mos ago, so this is something new. Hoping it will all be regulated with thyroid meds, diet and temporary steroids. She has a heart murmur, so I am a bit concerned about the steroids and very concerned about chemo, should that be needed. Hope your babies are well.
I thought my cat might be hyperthyroid, but now I’m thinking she’s just tiny. She’s maybe five pounds, lean and long, and acts completely normal. She’s confident and social, plays constantly, and doesn’t show any of these signs. She will be getting spayed soon, I hope she’ll be ok with her small size
My cat, Pickles, was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism with thyroid levels on the high end of normal, after losing a lot of weight. I don't recall them doing secondary blood tests. It's tough because she is also a very picky eater. It has been a challenge to keep weight on her, even with medication, because she will hold out specifically for the foods she wants most -- usually freeze dried chicken. And I'm torn between limiting her because she won't be getting a balanced diet on that alone, and just letting her have it because she needs calories from somewhere. I keep trying new foods to try to find something she loves, and she'll go through phases where she's really into something I get for her, but if it is not the absolute #1 food she wants *in that moment* she will reject it until you give her what she wants most. I haven't found a good way to deal with it. I've been curious about radioactive iodine treatment for her, but she's also a very anxious cat who gets upset when left alone (not separation anxiety levels, but she gets lonely easily), and I worry about how traumatic it would be for her to be isolated.
My cat was very sick back in January , took him too my Vet she put him on meds he was doing ok then 2 days off meds back to bring up everything he was eating . He was always on Vet food. Did more test everything came back good, but as he finished the second round of new meds he was ok for about a week, then he couldn’t keep any of the food down . We tried three different kinds of food, yet nothing would stay down . He would eat it no problem, but then I had to clean it up lol. He’s a picker eater, and not I big eater. So I looked up some foods, and tried one that I had my other cat on , and he did ok for about two weeks then he was bringing it all back up as well . Btw she passed away in oct 😢. So I put him on a grain free food called Merrick, he’s been on that now for about 6 months, and he has never looked better . I started with the one called birds of pry I believe it’s called. Then just started about a month ago with their Salmon one, he’s eating them two kinds, and has so much more energy then he every had. I get it from a pet store called Ren’s . As well I order from online as well, because they have good sales online that’s not offered in stores. Btw that was the dry bags, I also give him many different cans of their . Hope this helps ❤️
I have a fussy eater too. He only wants to eat dried kibble. But i prefer he has tinned food. So what i have found is i take a litlle bit of the dried food and mix it in realy well with the wet food,even though he tries to pick out the bits he likes he also has no choice but to eat whatever wet food is stuck to it.. Maybe try mixing a little bit of the freeze dried chicken in with differents foods. Another trick with another elderly cat was to heat up the wet food in the microwave for 5 - 10 seconds. As the warmth releases the smell of the food, a trick my ver suggested. I do hope you find something that works for your girl
My eldest who died in March was treated with radioactive iodine when she was 16 and a halve. She lived for another year and a halve (she did have kidney problems as well.). My now eldest was treated in october 2020. She is in perfect health now. It was so worth it!
My little dude has been in treatment for hyperthyroidism for about 3 years now, and it's been a struggle but I'm so glad for more time with him. He did have to have surgery, but it was for a fast-growing tumor on the thoracic inlet that was giving him trouble swallowing. Some vets where I live are doing total thyroidectomy and putting cats on synthetic t4 as a routine treatment on diagnosis instead of oral meds. The iodine treatment sounds far more successful and humane than total removal, and now I know that the vet college in the nearest big city does it. Probably not worth it to me at this point (dude is 15 and oral meds are doing ok for maintenance), but good to know for the future.
My cat was just diagnosed with this. She’s between 6 and 7 years old. Her T4 level was 4.4 in May and as of last week it’s 4.7 , doctor did the other test and said it confirmed it. (I don’t have the number of the other test) she also has a liver shunt, she reacts poorly to every medicine she’s ever been on, can’t handle any anesthesia. I’ll be talking with the doctor about treatment plans, he mentioned the ear transdermal methimazole. I’m terrified of what it’s going to do to her. Most I 131 clinics require all sorts of scans to allow the procedure but we can’t get those scans without anesthesia. On top of that the vet bill costs are rapidly depleting my bank account, it’s not that she’s not worth it but I can only spend what I have. I love her more than anything else on this planet and the amount of stress from all is this has made it clear I will never have another pet after this. It’s too hard, especially when you live alone and don’t really have a support system to help with decisions and treatment.
Thanks for this video! My cat just got diagnosed with mild hyperthyroidism but she's only 5. I'll have to ask my vet about the iodine treatment since daily medication for 10+ years seems like a lot!
Hi, my cat is young and recently diagnosed as well, do you mind sharing any updates with your cat? How is it doing? What treatment did you go with? Thanks
I challenge everyone who watched this video to share it with at least one other person. This is advice every cat lover will benefit from, so let's get it out there!
I was really excited when I saw this one because I knew you would lay the options out clearly and simply enough so people can understand. I’m logging this for the next time someone tells me their cat was was diagnosed with hyperthyroid. Of the old-cat illnesses, I’d rather hyperthyroid than the others. I’ve had positive experiences with I-131.
Ponzi scheme, i am joking lol i love yout videos
Thank you. Very informative.
Hi, doc
Please, please, please, make a video about feline asthma and New treatments ! One of my cats have It and it's been hard to treat him. He is Just 3 years old and can't live without steroids. In my city here in Brazil we don't have pneumologist.
My cat was losing weight. My vet said her thyroid test came back borderline. He put her on medication and she started putting on weight and looks great. She also has pancreatitis and IBD, which he found on pre-surgical bloodwork for teeth cleaning. Good thing he checked! If she lives to September, she will be 18 years old! She is also a cancer survivor (hemangiosarcoma) since 2016. I love our vet! He's pulled her back from the grave many times!
She has a strong will to live ❤️🙏🎇
You are so amazing to give her so much commitment and care. God bless you both. So much love so beautiful . Hard to find such kindness and wisdom in humans.
I just found out with mine also,she is on meds now I am hoping she gains weight...
@@barbettelouise How is the feline doing? Mine was just diagnosed today, and we have pills to give her. It will be a fun challenge. Her only symptoms were weight loss and a dramatic water intake increase.
@@Zantreful Robert what was happening with my maincoon she was eating and drinking a lot and not gaining weight,she was loosing weight..she is doing Alot better after being on the liquid medicine I mix in her food...You will see a improvement with yours.just got to be patient I know it can be rough but at least you got the diagnosis...keep in touch how it goes..
My neighbour had a cat with hyperthyroidism. They didn't know at the time. They are neglectful people who never took him to the vet so he was wasting away. It got to the point where I saw him one day and went to pet him, and immediately started to cry because I could feel EVERYTHING. I immediately knocked on their door and pleaded with them to take him to see a vet.
Unfortunately, he was already too far gone to recover, so he was euthanized.
I hate people so much. I know you guys have to deal with the absolute worst that society has to offer, and it really sucks.
I'm so sorry 😞 how heartbreaking! I would have been livid too! I went above and beyond for mine. I'm watching this video bc a friend has a cat with hyperthyroidism.
They should be euthanized.
I'm so scared he was diagnosed Tuesday I just was wasting away so quickly I just didn't realize it and we moved well I moved with the two cats in July 22nd so I thought a lot of things was related to you know the move and I took them to the vet to other times and they didn't do anything to help him. Or diagnosed anything but yeah this is scary I pet him and I can feel everything every bone every rib his whole spine is crazy he started off at 15 lb long boys so he's 13 and he's lost at least 4 lbs it seems in one year so I don't know he'll take the pills though... He's my heart I don't want to live... Love to hear the helpful stories but I hope my baby is not too far gone since he got a treatment for the stomach issue some fluids and a shot to help with nausea he's eating now and keeping things down so hopefully I don't know if he'll put on weight I guess he does need treatment medicine I'm looking to see what's the best food to give him as well. Hate to hear that the pop top can wet food could have been poisoning him.
My cat got hyperthyroidism at the age of 15 and was one of the first one to get the iodine treatment in my clinic. One treatment and it lived a normal and healthy life until the age of 22 with no other medications. Going for the iodine treatment was a great choice.
Hi. I am trying the bid med but he’s getting loose motions diaharrea. He’s also 15 I suspect. Very very thin. Can’t afford to loose weight. Should I try the ear gel? Or go for radioactive do you think? Poor kitties….thank you so much
Same here, same age at diagnosis and lived to nearly 21. Will do it again immediately if another one gets the same diagnosis.
my kitty boy is 15 and the vet suspected he may have it because hes lost weight recently, its great to hear your cat lived 7 more years after :D
He didn't get any kidney issues?
@@ritacorona9287 no, it died from very old age.
"Terrifying trash goblin"- I love it XD
A great band name!
CW: death of a pet
my cat died yesterday (Thursday the 15th of July 2021). I am subscribed to your channel because i wanted to have helpful information on cats so i could understand mine better.
now she's gone and i will stay subscribed to you because i know subscriptions are helpful, but it makes me so sad that i no longer have a pet to apply any of your advice to.
Rest in Peace Jupiter. ❤️🐈🥺
Awh RIP jupiter xx mind yourself 🙏🏻
So sorry for your loss. It's a tough one, losing a pet. I fully understand. 🌹
RIP Jupiter 😔🙏🏼
Nothing is forever, maybe some day
So sorry to hear this hopefully you had many good years together. I get so attached to all my fur babies. Have had so many wonderful ones over 40 years. Hope as time passes you find some peace. He was lucky to have you in his life. Who knows maybe we get to see them all again. Would be wonderful I miss every one of mine all so special like yours.
This was my old boy. His thyroid levels were literally unmeasurable because they were so high. Couldn't keep anything down, and his ears were red-hot. Now on medical management, and he's normal and healthy, and is the world champion at taking thyroid pills.
So lovely to hear …🐈🤗💕🐾
You’re lucky he takes his pills, I have to hide my cat Cookies in her Kangaroo mince, just a small amount to get them down. When she’s off her mince, I struggle with what to do, but found a couple of drops of fish oil will get her to eat the mince.
Our cat started the pills got her levels down from 170 to 50 and just now had the radiation therapy.
@@bellabear653 how much did the radiation cost - none of the videos I’ve watched have gone into detail about that.
@@debbiesmith4186 I can't cope with the vet bills. Is there some way to get a cat's bloodwork & urine tested, for under $50?
My last trip to the vet cost $2k and & my cat died 2 days later.
So now I have my last surviving kitty with symptoms of kidney disease, he needs to go to the vet, but I don't have another $2k
thanks for this! my cat was diagnosed 2(ish) years ago and it was a gamechanger. in all honesty, i'm surprised he's still here with us. that dude is a DINOSAUR. over 18 years old, has one working eye (surgery complication), missing quite a few teeth, FIV, so on and so forth. he had this huge and fast decline before his diagnosis and it was terrifying!
he's on methimazole ear gel now, and while i don't think he'll go back up to his 5kg weight, he's still very warm and loving
@Julie Plummer it is a struggle. i'd say the gel is doing well, if not a little worse than the tablets - but it was genuinely impossible to get him to take them. he just wouldn't keep it down. he gets .1mL of the gel twice a day - morning and night - and it keeps him afloat. i wish you all the luck!
My girl just got diagnosed & I’ve had her on the ear gel now for just a few days… do either of you have any advice on how to keep her from trying to get it out of her ears?… scratching, cleaning…
I’m afraid it’s going to get back on me or her sister (my other kitty)
They’re 12 years old now & my loves 🥰
Thank you both for commenting
@@h2bizzle hey! so we didn't really have that problem with our old boy. he was generally pretty chill and a favourite at the vet office because he was very compliant with it all. i guess try and have the gel spread evenly and rubbed in til the residue isn't visible. also try having it near the base of the ear, if that makes sense? good luck
My old girl, 18, is on methimazole now for 2 years. I tried the gel and she fought me over it and I got scratched a lot. I switched her to pill form and that is working well. I have invented a special ‘hug’ to hold her while I pop the pill into the back of her mouth. And now she is in stage 3 kidney failure as am I; I’m old too. We are just 2 old ladies fading away into the sunset 😊
I took my mon's cat to a feline hyperthyroid treatment center. He only had to stay overnight, but I had to keep him indoors and store his waste until it was no longer radioactive. It was easy. I just kept his litterbox waste in a metal can with a tight lid out in my garden shed. That was five years ago, Napoleon lives with me now since mom is in a nursing home. Napoleon will outlive everyone.
Your videos have really helped me see how common all the problems my 13-year old kitty has. He spent a good year in and out of the vet with idiopathic urinary cystitis, and after trying everything from environmental changes, to feliway, to increased litterboxes I finally put him on anxiety medication and he hasn't had an episode since. A little while after resolving that issue, he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and they don't have the facilities for the iodine therapy where I live so he would have to be flown down which would cost even more and cause a lot of stress for him (something I try to avoid at all cost due to the history of urinary cystitis). I have been managing his hyperthyroidism with medication quite well for nearly two years now, and last year his kidney work came back as a little low but not quite diseased. People always make comments like "wow your cat has a lot of problems" or if they are cat haters "seems like an expensive cat, might be time to put it out of its misery" even though his general quality of life is pretty good while medicated, which has always made me feel like I must have done something wrong in not preventing all of this from happening, but videos like this show me how common it is, and the people who make comments like that either have never had an elderly cat or just wouldn't care enough to get them the treatment they needed if they did. I've had him since I was 9 years old and we've been best of friends since childhood so there's no way I'd just give up because he's 'expensive'.
I think that a lot of people's experiences with cats are that they expect them to live to their early teens. With time, medical care has improved and become more accessible. Our old cats may have more medical expenses, but it's just like someone living to 90 instead of to 70. More expense and trouble, but more time, and a fuller life as a result. I regret nothing and love my old battleship of a cat.
Oh my god, I know what you mean. I have a soul connection with mine too! It’s great how you love her. Love is all there is.🥰🤗😘💗❣️💕💜❤️🐈🐾🐾🐱
How did you manage his kidney issue? any tips?
Did you ever find out why his kidney levels were low? I expected to read the opposite and was gonna say keep an eye on the kidneys! I know it's been a year but I hope kitty is doing well. I went above and beyond with mine and all those comments you got I got too. I flipped my coworkers off when they'd say that but they all admired how much I did for him and everyone said they had never seen anyone put that much effort in. Mine had a few chronic diseases. For me it was never a question. But I have to say I learned more from the facebook groups than vets I was seeing even tho I liked my vet a lot.
@@germanylicious No, he sadly passed away in August of 2021 after declining very rapidly and suddenly (became partially paralysed from the waist down and couldn't keep any food or fluids down), they weren't sure exactly what caused it, could be injury or neurological, or just late stage thyroid disease but he died in my arms. I keep his urn on top of my piano now because he loved it when I played. I have no regrets for how much time and money I put into keeping him alive, and there were so many people who didn't understand why I was so devastated by the loss but he truly was my best friend in so many ways.
I am now imagining tiny little arm cuffs made for animal arms, to check blood pressure. I'm pretty sure that's wrong.
Nope, that's exactly right! 😸
@@HelpfulVancouverVet Wow, that's great. :) Thanks for the reply.
A cats blood pressured is checked at the base of the tail actually!
straps
@@ameliem.8469 it can be, but more commonly it’s done on one of the limbs.
One of the best decisions I ever made for my cat was to give her the I-131 treatment as soon as she started showing symptoms and was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. She had 4.5 more great years before passing away due to complications with renal failure.
Thank you for sharing! It's great to get these success stories out there.
my doctor doesnt even care that I may have renal failure. seriously.
Same here, they were from the same litter and developed it about two years apart.
So worthwhile!
Did you have to supplement with thyroid hormone?
@@Anna-il9xy no, the radioiodine just kills the tumor.
My cat was just diagnosed with mild hyperthyroidism, just yesterday. Great timing for this video! I now understand it much better now and what I need to do. Thank you! You've been alot of help for me and Luna.
(Jeff Ma)
Glad it was helpful!
Join the facebook group for hyperthyroidism
As a first time cat parent, Vancouver vet makes me calmer about dealing with any of these issues should they come up but hopefully won't. 🙏
I'd encourage anyone dealing with this to seriously consider the iodine treatment. It might seem like a large expense up front but let me tell you, 4 years of methimazole drops twice daily ads up financially and emotionally.
Thanks for yet another great video! 😻
Thank you for sharing your experience!
That's actually a good point.
When I told my vet how hard it was to give my cat a pill (methiamazole) he recommended a pet pharmacy in Texas that makes it into a treat. My cat eats it right up. Can only order up to three months at a time. With shipping, comes out to $1 a day.
BCP Veterinary Pharmacy in Houston.
Agree 1000%. I’ve done both and if/when I get another hyperthyroid dx, I will immediately have my vet filling out the referral to the I-131 clinic.
You talk about cats with such love😍 cats are very lucky to have you!🙏🏻
I suspected my cat had this but the vet doesn’t seem to think so. There’s an excellent New York Times article called The Mystery of the Wasting House Cats. It could be toxins in house dust that get onto your cat who licks them off over time. This didn’t exist in 1970, and the theory is that it came from flame retardants in couches fabrics etc called PBDEs. With my vet saying the thyroid is fine, but cat lost 3 pounds and has elevated liver enzymes, I’m feeding him good food and trying to eliminate house toxins…
My cat passed away in March from complications related to this condition.Heart failure and kidney disease. The vets didn't pick it up until it was too late. She was 15 years old and had lost so much weight, but she fought it so hard. The rapid panting breathing, a possible heart attack, loss of appetite and bouts of diarreah. We could not administer any SubQ fluids at home, she resisted so much causing her so much stress and panic, so we decided to give up on it rather than risk cardiac arrest After a very rough final night where she seemed in a lot of distress we made the impossibly gut wrenching and sad decision to have her put to sleep. She was my gorgeous Cornish Rex who graced me with 8 of her 15 years. Her name was Pixie and she took a piece of my soul with her. Life will never be the same or as happy without her 😢
My Orange Peel lived to be over 21 years old with hyperthyroidism and kidney disease. I medically managed them since I worked for a vet. Over 20 years ago the I-131 was less accessible.
my 12 yr old cat was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and kidney disease. - I feel overwhelmed to be honest - do you have any tips you can give as to what worked best for you? I was told low protein food for the kidney disease - what kind of food did you give to your Orange Peel? Little confused as to what "low protein " food is....and did you treat the hyper thyroidism with pills and is that a lifelong thing with the cat? Any advice would be greatly welcomed, thanks in advance!
I found out my cat had hyperthyroidism and heart failure. She is under treatment now. This video is very helpful.
Dear Doctor. Could you make a video on how to deal with pet loss? I see lots of your viewers have had this traumatic experience, or will have some day. Could you tell us some uplifting stories from your practice that may show our furry babies are at peace on the other side? Sorry if this is a different topic from your usual videos but I am sure many viewers would be interested. As always, thank you for your videos.
Such a great idea. The vet may need to coproduce the video with a animal communicator. Spirit reader! Fun.
Oh Isabelle I am late on this chat, but I can tell you, the very down to earth person that I was went through an extraordinary journey after my first cat passed away... He was such a character, that he visited all our closest friends in some way ! Many years later, we all remember how he managed to prove he was still around, and enjoying messing with us... I cannot say more, but just remember one simple truth:
Love never dies.
And feel what it means... I am lucky, that I do.
Wonderful idea. I grieved a little over a year when my boy “Dexter” went to kitty heaven. I eventually adopted a new kitty for coping & so my other cat wouldn’t be alone. This helped tremendously & now my new girl “Persia” has a happy home with lots of love & she’s brought lots of joy.
Thank you for this video. Our 17 year old cat had been yowling all night long, very restless / listless and keeping us awake all night long. We finally took him to the vet who stated he had lost 5 lbs, he had abnormalities in his thyroid and kidneys. He's now on a 2 pill/day regiment and special kidney food. Within 4 days he's much calmer and we're getting sleep, all of us. We take him back for blood re-check in 3 weeks, glad we seem to be on the right track.
This is definitely Thyroid. Our cat looked like he had lost a bit of weight & his fur did not look good dull & not smooth. No howling (a clear sign). Vet did blood work & Thyroid & bit of Kidney markers which often effect each other. White blood count was not good but
Omega 3 corrected that. Tried the pink pill but my cat would spit it out even with a pill pocket. So is now starting on the topical cream that is applied to the inner part of the ear. His appetite was poor & he started not eating his wet food…..we tried many, many different kinds & refused every one. Tried vet recommended dry food but still refusing …finally one renal support dry food he decided to eat. Dr has given a cream appetite stimulant . Good to hear medication & diet is & can help this serious condition.
Very informative video, thank you! My 9-year-old cat Ripley has always been small (her normal weight is around 7 lbs) but I noticed she was losing an ounce or two for a few months in a row, so I brought her in and found out she has hyperthyroidism. I was kinda surprised, I thought she was pretty young for that! I live in a small town but luckily there’s a facility that does the radio-iodine therapy not too far away. Where I live it pays for itself in about 3 years, but she’s so young that I definitely think it’s worth it.
I don’t even have a cat but am still watching this. Creature is an adorable creature. Hope she and Clawdia had a good talk.
Uhmmm, would not appear so as the doc stated. Plus look at poor kitty still mad and growling irritated. Was not a good friend …awwww
Thank you so much for this video. My senior cat suffered from this for a few years and it was difficult if not impossible to pill her. Trans dermal was my savior. It was so simple, the syringe clicked out the exact amount onto my gloved finger. Then one simple swish into her ear and it was done, no stress for her and none for me. She lived several years after diagnosed and passed away at 16 yrs old.
Betty, did kitty have any side effects, diaharrea? Thanks so much
My parents' cat (a gentleman the distinguished age of 15) developed this contidion 6 months ago. We considered the radiation treatment, but since only one place in Sweden has the treatment and that's on the other end of the country from where they live, they opted for medication instead (the poor floofy old man hates long car rides and has a lot of abandonment issues from his days as a streetcat). The meds are working great - I'm so grateful they exist and that skilled veterinarians know how to detect and treat this disease 💖
Our then 11 year-old tortie was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism when we noticed she was collapsing on the floor, appearing hot and fatigued. We started with medication but we’re lucky to get her into our university small animal clinic within a couple of months to be treated with radioactive iodine. Fully cured thankfully. Now at 14, she was recently diagnosed with early stage kidney disease. She’s not too happy about her new food as she sees our 2 year old getting the ‘high protein” food so it’s a bit of a challenge. Thank you for all your videos. We always learn something.
You are a great cat parent! I bet she is a magnificent long-haired tortie!
@@ashrobinson4604 Some are short haired
@@JLilliquist They’re beautiful too! All cats are.
@@ashrobinson4604 My wife had a tortie once. Probably the only cat in history that really was given away to farm instead of a "farm" when she moved from Tennessee (which has plenty of farms) to NJ. It was long ago. I am sure she is no longer alive.
I just got a voicemail from my vet (who is great, by the way)....my 16 year old girl was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.....I have to call the vet tomorrow to discuss options (which, she mentioned, included the Hills diet, medication, or the Iodine 131treatment)......this video was so helpful in allaying some of my fears and worries (I'm still stressing...who am I kidding)....but lots of clear, excellent information that will allow me to talk to my vet tomorrow with far more knowledge and confidence. Thanks for taking the time to make it.
Can you share which treatment you decided on? And, also what results you've had? I'm in process of deciding which route to take with my 15 yo girl. TIA!
@@tracipeters145 I tried to answer your question, but my comment appears to have been deleted for some reason....I guess I'm not allowed to tell you the treatment my girl is under....but she's doing well...and I wish you the best with your girl....and that you can get the best treatment for her.
Just adopted a cat with hyperthyroidism and I didn’t know it was such a big issue 😭 she looks like she’s starving. I’m feeding her well and giving her medication twice daily. I hope her condition improves.
My cat was found to be hyperthyroid. I am lucky and work with a phenomenal animal hospital with expert and loving staff (Dundee Animal Hospital). They took blood tests, put my baby on twice a day medication, tested again and went to once a day. I put his medication in Little Soups. He loves it!
But it was so helpful to listen to this. He absolutely agrees with my adored vets. The blood work is expensive, but necessary but the medication is dirt cheap.
It's like a great second opinion. Thank you! And I have been a patron for about a year
Dr. Yuri, we love your videos! You summarize everything so nicely, all pros and cons! We are considering Iodine 131 treatment right now. Our cat started to take a topical methimazole on her ear, and she had a very rare bad reaction to it -- it basically killed her white and red blood cells after 3 weeks of treatment, and on top of that she got a bad upper respiratory infection that she could not fight because of low blood count. She spent 2 days and 3 nights at the emergency hospital, nobody knew if she could survive all the tests and anesthesia, but she survived! They inserted a feeding tube in her esophagus (she could not eat on her own), so we were feeding her through that over the weekend, and then on Monday they did a blood transfusion, and right after she woke up after that she was a normal cat again! After we made sure she could eat on her own for a week, they removed the feeding tube and she is recovering very well. But that was all consequences of methimazole reaction (which is very rare, so I don't want to scare anybody, really rare, but we "got lucky"...) Now we are thinking about Iodine 131, it is our only option since she can't take methimazole. The cat is about 13 y.o. and overall in a good health.
My 15yo cat was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and kidney disease 2 days ago. Thank you so much for this optimistic video, you give us hope! 💞
Just adopted a 14yr baby and we just found out about his hyperthyroidism and nice to learn about it. He starts his transdermal med tomorrow!
My 19 year old cat has hyperthyroidism and is well managed with medication! She is a tough old lady!
Most cats are.
Old cats are the best! Our 13-16 year old (we're not sure) tripod has been on daily medication and it seems to have knocked her age down a few years. She is less anxious, more active, her coat is improving, and she's gaining weight. It's an excellent gift for her in retirement.
@@TooLazyToFail Agreed!
🥰💕🐾🐱💜❣️don’t you love them? I mean really who are they? Who are these cats anyways? 🙂😘
@@Anna-il9xy Most cats are resilient. I am still amazed at their ability to heal themselves and others.
You are a life-saver. It's been hard because with Covid we don't have a stable vet anymore. NYC vets just really shut their doors, even Humane Society was not taking patients other than spay/neuter for 18 months or more. Our cat has been healthy other than asthma (he has allergies). In Oct 2021 his blood tests were good. I took him for exam in December of 2022 and his thyroid and liver enzymes were elevated. I am glad to hear you can start medication to stabilize because I panicked and stopped giving him the 2.5 mcgs when I read the side effects of the medication and we tested him again - he is a huge orange cat weighing 17 lbs - so we were not seeing other signs of thyroid issues. Milo just turned 10 - or possibly 11 (we got him at age 3 from a shelter so birthdate is approximate). Both my husband and I are deeply attached to him and the cat I had before died at 10. I really want Milo to be with us as long as possible. I hope he doesn't also have liver disease. The vet did not bring up Iodine therapy but this is for sure the way to go. Unfortunately NYC animal hospital prices are insane - (they wanted 5 grand for an emergency surgery when we didn't have it available on a Friday night at 10 pm they sent us to ASPCA who were amazing and did it for 1200,00) so I bet they charge thousands. Maybe in Ohio where my mom lives were might be able to get a price between 800- 2,000.
We have a 11 Year old cat named Milo and also has Hyperthyroidism. We didn’t want to pay NYC prices so we are doing the iodine procedure in Pennsylvania in 1 week. How long did you have to keep your cat there?
How is Milo doing now?
What advice do you have for us and our cat ?
How was ASPCA was able to do it for $1,200? Long wait times?
My cat had the iodine 131 treatment. It was a big success. They sent my cat home the same day as the radiation treatment. Their instructions were to save all the cat box “dirt” for some time and then it could be disposed of normally. I believe it was 30 or 60 days. The garbage companies have radiation detectors. They take radiation very seriously and will investigate what has set off the radiation detectors. The vet was quite serious about following their disposal instructions. If you are found to have disposed of the radioactive material inappropriately there is a very large fine.
I was very glad to not have my “baby” be kept for a week at the treatment facility. It was an expensive treatment that was worth every penny.
I used to have hyperthyroidism. I had rage attacks, disorientation, weight loss, chest pains and I became nauseated when during intense episodes. Sometimes my would start racing, I would become very weak and I would collapse on the floor.
I was diagnosed with Grave's disease. I had radiodine treatment. I was given a capsule of radioactive iodine. The capsule was in a small lead container. The technician opened the container and directed me to transfer the capsule into my mouth directly from the container and not to put it in my hand. I had to quarantine. I wasn't allowed to sleep next to anyone from 7 days. I was told to wash my clothing and bedding separately from my son's laundry. I was told that if I accidentally got pee spilled, I had to clean it up right away. I was told that my hyperthyroidism might become worse for a awhile, because of the treatment.
I sent my son to his father's house for 7 days. I slept on the floor. I used bedding and clothing that I could throw away, once I was no longer radioactive. I was so tolerant to cold that I was able to comfortably sit outside in sweat pants and a T-shirt with no foot coverings, when there was snow on the ground.
I had my thyroid levels monitored for 3 years, because my thyroid was dying slowly and the thyroid hormone supplement was increased slowly.
I have hypothyroidism now, but it easily treated. As long as I take the thyroid hormone supplement, I don't have symptoms. I was told that if I didn't take the medication that I could lapse into a coma, because my thyroid gland couldn't produce that hormone anymore, but it is easy to remember to take my medication.
Thank you for sharing your story! Of course cats experience the world differently from us, but I feel that titr experience gives us valuable insight into what it's like to be a hyperT cat.
@@HelpfulVancouverVet I have a lot of compassion for any cat that is sick. It must be so much scarier for them than it was for me and they have no way of knowing that the doctor is helping them 💚🤗
Thank you . Years ago I had a cat with hyperthyroidism. The cat did very well on one small pill a day in his wet food and lived well in to 18 yrs. The prescription cost $6 for the bottle of pills but yes the follow up blood work was costly until he got stabilized then it was just once a year with the rest of the blood. There was no issues with the kidneys although we kept an eye out.
This is very interesting. My wife got her thyroid gland removed because it was really haywire. (actually not exactly very rare condition in my country) The interesting part is, the treatment for cats is actually very similar to treatment for people. I suppose surgery is simpler in humans, we are bigger... and due to doctors even in humans it's a little risky because there is some other organ very very close by.
My 11 year old cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism shortly before he died. It explained so much and I wish my family was educated on its symptoms sooner. Sadly we had to put him down in May due to an unrelated urinary blockage that our vet was ill equipped to handle (didn’t have the equipment to identify what was blocking him supposedly) and they made it impossible to transfer him. They deemed that he was too stressed from the vet visits and they strongly recommended we just put him to rest. We were fully prepared to give him the treatment for the hyperthyroidism, I wish he was here with us today
Sounds like a terrible vet. Most 'blocked'cats can be managed easily with oral medication. Tragic really...
I just had to say goodbye to my cat Sheba, age 16 for what I thought was her Feline Herpes Virus flaring up uncontrollably but was probably also hyperthyroidism. Now I have just adopted my Mom’s cat who is 17 and just diagnosed with this. I really wish someone had told me about Pepcid AC being safe for them, he has been throwing up his food for years at his former place. Poor thing was so hungry but the nausea preventing him from getting any nutrients. Fingers crossed ❤
your videos made me adopt a cat ❤
Nice!
How fantastic! Now a few yrs later I’ll read the sequel as follows… “your videos have now caused me to adopt another 3 cats, thank you Vet!”
Wow. It's nice to see that many people's cats lived quite a while after being diagnosed. My cat is 19 and has been diagnosed about a year ago. He is doing well and I hope to have many more years with him. He does vomit here more often but thats all. He is on thyroid medication twice a day.
I just want to add something here, and it's never been proven but it happened to my cat. My cat who was 20 years old was on thyroid medication for about 1 year before he passed away. Then I found out during a blood test later that he also had kidney disease as well. Moving forward 3/4's of a year and his appetite started to become an issue, he was not eating like he used to. The doctor prescribed a topical medicine to induce his appetite, and it worked, however my cat then suffered a stroke about 4 days after taking it. I was able to stabilize the cat but the doctor then prescribed a oral medicine that is shot into the cats mouth with a syringe. That also seemed to work, but then the cat looked as if it was going to dies a few hours later. It took my cat 3 days to come out of it. Then about a week later he suffered a 2nd stroke. I was again able to stabilize the cat, but decided not to give him anymore unless he had not eaten in a while and only 1/4 of the dose. I am mentioning this so that everyone is aware that these two medicines when introduced into my cat could of caused the stroke's. The doctor said that there was no data supporting this, but come on. My cat was healthy up to that point, yes he was diagnosed with kidney disease, but this is something he had been living with for a while. Just beware if you find yourself in this situation. My cat then got dementia from the 2 strokes and would not stop walking from that time until I had him euthanized. Those last 4 days I got 10 hours sleep due to trying to interrupt his walking so that he would not die of heart failure, ya I know, but this cat was everything to me and I could not just go to bed knowing that he was alone walking aimlessly.
Last thing, I had a home doctor come to the house to perform the euthanasia. I wish I would of asked if the 1st needle that is injected into the cat would hurt him. It made my cat very uncomfortable and he almost jumped away from me holding him. It took 4-5 seconds of agony for him to finally slump into sleep. Then the final needle was given and there was no reaction. I blame myself for not asking the one important question, it killed me a little to watch him suffer needlessly.
It was a reaction to the injection. It didn't hurt him. You did what needed to be done. Thanks to you his suffering was over. He lived a long life and he is your Gгardian Angel now.
My old cat had hyperthyroidism. He was a champ at taking pills. Later in life he got kidney disease and this resulted in kidney failure at 25 years old. I'm sure without that he'd have lived til 30+ as he was in such good physical condition. I now have a ragdoll cat who is now 7 and showing the classic signs, so in the process of getting bloodwork done.
Teresa, what did you feed him that his lifespan is 25? I want my baby to live as long as he can with me. He is 13 now and was just dx with Hyperthyroidism
As always a brilliant and informative video thank you. Our 10 year old Ragamuffin has just been diagnosed and we start her treatment today, creature is beautiful 😻
Just had my Casti diagnosed, she is going on 14 years old. The only symptom she showed was loosing weight, and as that was combined with her going off her kibble in she went to the vet. Doc is really optimistic. Will be starting off with the meds to see how she does on them.
Good to know! I'll need to make sure my cat has a T4 completed at his next check up.
Thank you for educating me/us on all your kitty information. I appreciate it. You always explain everything so well.
My old girl (18) has hyperthyroidism. She was put on the oral medication, however, she had a crazy adverse reaction to it. It caused some stomach ulcers and crazy itchy skin on the face. Poor girls face looked pretty puffy for a week until the scabs healed. She's been on Hills Y/D diet for over a year. It's not perfect, but her T4 has greatly improved and she's a much happier senior. 😁
Older video but my cat Benjamin was just diagnosed with hyperthyroidism a few days ago. He's doing well on the medicine so far!!!
Thank you so much for making these videos - my cat has borderline thyroid levels and your insight has given me so much peace of mind!
Check those free T4s 🙂
The problem is that all the treatments are expensive and why many people do nothing.
Thanks so much for breaking this down. never had half of this info even from my cat's specialist.
My 15 year old kitty was just diagnosed 2 days ago with hyperthyroidism. It has been 2 days full of stress and major anxiety trying to get her to take pills (tried deli meat, cheese, yogurt, pill pockets, soft treats) all unsuccessful. She is an extremely picky eater. Trying to shove a pill down her throat ended up in a trip to the emergency vet due to her horrible reaction and me thinking the pill was stuck in her throat. Your video has provided me with great information and massive relief and piece of mind to what her diagnosis means and best treatment options. Im going to watch your transdermal application video next. THANK YOU ❤❤❤❤
How is your kitty girl?
Thank you for making such an informative video. This one came at just the right time for us, although we’ve been subscribed to your channel for years. My partner and I are very grateful for all your advice and so thoughtfully created content. 🖤
The CREATURE is gorgeous 😅❤ Thanks for the video, helpful as usual.
I know you made this video a year ago, but am hoping this question will find you.
My cat, Maui, was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in Feb. 2022. That was the same month we moved from a house to a condo. Maui was terrific, but all the changes were tough on him. On top of that, his birth brother, Mokie, died of lymphoma the year before. We were both devastated by his loss, and Maui and I became very, very close.
Maui is a big boy. At his highest, he weighed 21.4 lbs. He lost 3.7 pounds during COVID. Then he was put on Methimazole. He’s great at taking his pills due to Greenies Pill Pockets. After being put on 1/4 of 5mg. Methimazole twice a day, he’s lost another pound. The new vet did his T-4 and said his level was a little high for a cat on meds. The Free T4 came back showing his levels to be fine.
He is still quite strong. So much so, the vet has told me I need to medicate him with Gabapentin the day before AND the day of vet visits. Before this, he would be calm for about 15 mins. while being examined, then I’m told, he’d try to scratch off someone’s face. 😳
Since he’s had to live through so many changes, I feel extra protective of him. I can’t imagine putting him through being at the Vet’s for a week for the iodine treatment.
He was always great going to the vet until his brother passed, and he’s still sweet to me, but because he’s so big, he scares the vet techs, etc.
Do you think I should ask for the Iodine treatment or just keep giving him pills? Is there a certain symptom that will tell me he needs the radioactive iodine therapy? Thank you.
Thank you for covering this! We have a cat who was just diagnosed last week with this and we have been thinking through whether to get the iodine treatment or not. Thank you for your input. I think we'll do it.
Taking my girl in in a couple weeks for follow-up. She's been on Methimazole for about 8 months. Last check-up, she had actually lost weight, but her T4 levels were in the therapeutic range. Vet suspects some renal component going on. I hope not. We'll see. Thanks for this vid, doc!
Good luck honeys ! Be it right with the universe that all are protected and shall live with full measure and health.
How's kitty
@@times461 She's hanging in there! Renal function looked good. That said, she's old and frail.
Creature is absolutely beautiful. Such a girl! My Mrs. Rubenstein has just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. We started the meds, but we’re going with the iodine injection next month.
I love watching your videos 🥰 They’re my go-to for getting info and knowledge about my cat 👏
Thanks for the information! My 9 year old cat was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and it's been majorly stressful to see him so uncomfortable. He's started treatment today so hopefully he feels better soon
How is his health?
@@LGuinevere Heya! It's been a journey but my cat has been cured for a few months now. He was on medication for a while but after a few months his symptoms stopped responding to meds and just got worse. It was expensive but I opted for radioactive iodine treatment. It was either that or he would have died, since the meds weren't working anymore. After his recovery he has been well and happy, and I'm really glad his life could be saved. He turned 11 this March
@@emoth Thank you for the answer! So happy for your cat and for you😻
I love that your videos are both informative and useful as well as funny 😂 terrifying trash goblin had me laughing
Glad you enjoyed!
My little old lady cat (who passed last year at 16 y/o) had hyperthyroidism. She liked to pocket pills, and I would find pink pills that I thought she’d swallowed spit out all over the house 🤣 We had to switch to the transdermal methimazole. Interesting about the genetic component; my cat looked a bit like Creature.
My cat would eat around the pill pocket and I'd find the melting pill with a little of the pocket around it. I tried hiding it in her food, and all the food would be gone except this slimy little pill. Three cheers for transdermal rx. They are amazing creatures.
My cat looks like Creature, too. She's part Maine Coon, as best as I can tell, and given the situation she came from, I highly suspect her daddy or momma is also her uncle or auntie. And that's hilarious about your pill-pocketing kitty! Naughty kitty. :)
That's pretty funny! "Return to sender."
In Philadelphia we're lucky to have a pharmacy that can make crumbly little quick-dissolve pills. We mix them into a small amount of wet food every day. Our cat, for whom wet food was previously a rare treat, is very happy with this arrangement and has been in much better health since we started treatment.
So cute, in India the nickname or surname attached to any cat is “mashi” meaning moms sister/aunt. That’s what they’re like!
Thank you for posting this, I actually found your channel because I wanted some tips on how to give a cat a pill since my 15 year old cat developed hyperthyroidism earlier this year. We started with the transdermals but he isn't responding so as of last week we are now trying the pill route. Our biggest problem right now is the night-time howling/pacing so also trying to sort that out, good times haha. I have 3 senior cats (15, 17, and 21) so it is like we are running a care home at the moment but we are managing :) I am looking forward to watching more of your videos for more tips!
Thank you so much for educating us feline parents on this disorder. Our 10 year old Boomer was just diagnosed. The vet wants to do blood work in six weeks and will decide then whether to continue with medication or Id131 therapy. I am going to watch the kidney disorder video next. Again Thank you for reassuring us this can be managed; very reassuring. Cats are lucky to have you!
Thank you for this clear and concise video! I adopted a 15-year-old cat 6 months ago. She's receiving the Y/D diet and her T4 are stable, but she's doesn't like it very much. The canned version, which she likes a bit better, is expensive and goes out of stock regularly.
Because of all this, I've scheduled an appointment with the vet to discuss the Iodine 131 treatment.
My baby girl has hyperthyroidism. She was very fat and on a diet that wasn't working very well. Suddenly it's seemed to be working TOO well. Poor baby went from 12lbs to 5lbs. She's now at a happy healthy 6lbs. She was diagnosed maybe 3 or 4 years ago and is super happy cause she can eat a lot and is no longer on a diet lol. She's about to be 17 and is showing a few kidney issues and switched to a kidney diet. My baby also developed a cornea tear and yesterday her globe ruptured. I wonder if it was connected at all.
That's not fat, a relative of mine had a cat that was pushing 25-30 lbs.
@@firearmsstudent My cat has a very small stature so 12 lbs was pretty fat for her. Her healthy weight is 6lbs so she was literally twice as big as she should have been lol
Hi! I’m so happy I found your channel, Dr. Uri. Great info and fantastic easy to follow and understand the details!! Thank you thank you thank you 🙏😽😺 Enjoy your day!! ☀️😎
Excellent video - you’ve given me hope for my cat! Your ability to explain the information and your presentation is excellent. Thank you for making it available.
As a new cat owner, I really appreciate your channel! Thank you so much for making these educational videos, I feel so much more confident as a new “cat mom” 😁
This is sooooo informative, thank you for explaining all of that
My 18 year old ginger tabby (Tigre) was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. Based on his age, we decided to do the transdermal medication route. Dr. Uri- I love all of your helpful advice and feel better after watching this video especially. I'm definitely sharing this video with all of my friends with cats.
That was brilliant, thank you!! My 16yr old boy Knuckles has hyperthyroidism and kidney disease. He’s on an oral medication -Thyronorm to regulate his thyroid gland, which is working well, and eating Hill’s k/d for the kidney disease. He’s a sensitive boy so I can’t send him away for radiation therapy, I think it would stress him out too much!
Hello, just wondering if Knuckles has side rxn like loose motions on the med? Thank you
@@Anna-il9xyhi Anna my cat who is 12 has been on Thyronorm for eight months with no loose bowel motions. It's in liquid form so easy to give in a syringe.
Thank you for making this video. My cat recently got diagnosed. Actually just a few more days for her follow up blood work to find out if the methimazole is working or not. Unfortunately there is no where near me that does the radioactive treatment, but if her prognosis is good I will consider making the trip for Sweetie Sr. even though the 15 minute trip to the vet she vomits and pees She is a former feral. Most of what you said is pretty much what my own vet told me, but obviously not having a recording of it, I just had to take it in as she told me, and hearing you say the same things again was almost like getting a second opinion to confirm the first.
Thanks for all this informations, I'm glad to learn more about m'y cat with you ❤️
Wow. Good to know. Thank you for putting these videos out there. Some vets are legit Saints. But others are not and take advantage of laypeople's lack of knowledge. My vet did none of these things. One test and now on meds that make her not eat. No other recommendations.
Thank you for this video. My senior cat (unknown exact age) has just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism on routine screening bloods…he had lost some weight but he’s been on a lower calorie senior diet and he’s displayed no other signs so we wouldn’t have known without preemptive screening. Radio iodine treatment has been recommended by our vet. I’m so glad it has been picked before he’s become sick.
Great info! Shared with friends. Thank you
My cat had hyperthyroid. Since she was only 10 at the time, we decided to go with the iodine treatment. It worked very well, and the treatment centre was fantastic. After she came back, we weren't to hold her for more than a half hour each day for a week (she was still radioactive). As a lap snuggler cat, this was a very hard time for her, and she cried endlessly. Breaks your heart.
Excellent explanation Doc, thank you!
It'd be great if you could make a video about hypothyroidism in addition.
Meant to post this for the IBD video... Thank you for the video! It really helped me to understand what my vet was talking about. My 14 yo has been diagnosed with the small cell lymphoma (thickened small intestine walls and an abdominal lymph node). The sono also showed enlarged pancreas, while bloodwork indicated hyperthyroidism, elevated pancreas readings and high glucose. I believe those are in order of cause and effect: Thyroid, Pancreas, high sugar... My hope is that the lymph node is due to inflammation. The bloodwork was normal about 6 mos ago, so this is something new. Hoping it will all be regulated with thyroid meds, diet and temporary steroids. She has a heart murmur, so I am a bit concerned about the steroids and very concerned about chemo, should that be needed. Hope your babies are well.
Great video! Thank you for the info! My old gray boy was diagnosed this week. Thankfully he loves pill pockets 😅❤
I thought my cat might be hyperthyroid, but now I’m thinking she’s just tiny. She’s maybe five pounds, lean and long, and acts completely normal. She’s confident and social, plays constantly, and doesn’t show any of these signs. She will be getting spayed soon, I hope she’ll be ok with her small size
My cat, Pickles, was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism with thyroid levels on the high end of normal, after losing a lot of weight. I don't recall them doing secondary blood tests.
It's tough because she is also a very picky eater. It has been a challenge to keep weight on her, even with medication, because she will hold out specifically for the foods she wants most -- usually freeze dried chicken. And I'm torn between limiting her because she won't be getting a balanced diet on that alone, and just letting her have it because she needs calories from somewhere.
I keep trying new foods to try to find something she loves, and she'll go through phases where she's really into something I get for her, but if it is not the absolute #1 food she wants *in that moment* she will reject it until you give her what she wants most. I haven't found a good way to deal with it.
I've been curious about radioactive iodine treatment for her, but she's also a very anxious cat who gets upset when left alone (not separation anxiety levels, but she gets lonely easily), and I worry about how traumatic it would be for her to be isolated.
My cat was very sick back in January , took him too my Vet she put him on meds he was doing ok then 2 days off meds back to bring up everything he was eating . He was always on Vet food. Did more test everything came back good, but as he finished the second round of new meds he was ok for about a week, then he couldn’t keep any of the food down . We tried three different kinds of food, yet nothing would stay down . He would eat it no problem, but then I had to clean it up lol. He’s a picker eater, and not I big eater. So I looked up some foods, and tried one that I had my other cat on , and he did ok for about two weeks then he was bringing it all back up as well . Btw she passed away in oct 😢.
So I put him on a grain free food called Merrick, he’s been on that now for about 6 months, and he has never looked better . I started with the one called birds of pry I believe it’s called. Then just started about a month ago with their Salmon one, he’s eating them two kinds, and has so much more energy then he every had. I get it from a pet store called Ren’s . As well I order from online as well, because they have good sales online that’s not offered in stores. Btw that was the dry bags, I also give him many different cans of their . Hope this helps ❤️
I have a fussy eater too. He only wants to eat dried kibble. But i prefer he has tinned food. So what i have found is i take a litlle bit of the dried food and mix it in realy well with the wet food,even though he tries to pick out the bits he likes he also has no choice but to eat whatever wet food is stuck to it.. Maybe try mixing a little bit of the freeze dried chicken in with differents foods. Another trick with another elderly cat was to heat up the wet food in the microwave for 5 - 10 seconds. As the warmth releases the smell of the food, a trick my ver suggested. I do hope you find something that works for your girl
Cravings ooooh….they can be bad! Maybe the vet knows?
My eldest who died in March was treated with radioactive iodine when she was 16 and a halve. She lived for another year and a halve (she did have kidney problems as well.).
My now eldest was treated in october 2020. She is in perfect health now. It was so worth it!
Wow what a great helpful easy video to understand!! Thank you for posting!
What a beautiful cat 😍
Thank you! 😊
This is extremely helpful, many thanks for doing this!
My little dude has been in treatment for hyperthyroidism for about 3 years now, and it's been a struggle but I'm so glad for more time with him. He did have to have surgery, but it was for a fast-growing tumor on the thoracic inlet that was giving him trouble swallowing.
Some vets where I live are doing total thyroidectomy and putting cats on synthetic t4 as a routine treatment on diagnosis instead of oral meds. The iodine treatment sounds far more successful and humane than total removal, and now I know that the vet college in the nearest big city does it. Probably not worth it to me at this point (dude is 15 and oral meds are doing ok for maintenance), but good to know for the future.
Creature is so beautiful
That cat looks lsike you glued the top of one cat onto the bottom of another.
I've never seen a color split before.
That cat is so beautiful
dnt have cats but never stop watching cats videos
Thank you Sir! Great information! Please Stay Safe!! Have a great year!
"maybe its just a terrifying trash goblin" got me laughing :D
This cat is very gentle
My cat was just diagnosed with this. She’s between 6 and 7 years old. Her T4 level was 4.4 in May and as of last week it’s 4.7 , doctor did the other test and said it confirmed it. (I don’t have the number of the other test) she also has a liver shunt, she reacts poorly to every medicine she’s ever been on, can’t handle any anesthesia. I’ll be talking with the doctor about treatment plans, he mentioned the ear transdermal methimazole. I’m terrified of what it’s going to do to her. Most I 131 clinics require all sorts of scans to allow the procedure but we can’t get those scans without anesthesia. On top of that the vet bill costs are rapidly depleting my bank account, it’s not that she’s not worth it but I can only spend what I have. I love her more than anything else on this planet and the amount of stress from all is this has made it clear I will never have another pet after this. It’s too hard, especially when you live alone and don’t really have a support system to help with decisions and treatment.
Thanks for this video! My cat just got diagnosed with mild hyperthyroidism but she's only 5. I'll have to ask my vet about the iodine treatment since daily medication for 10+ years seems like a lot!
Hi, my cat is young and recently diagnosed as well, do you mind sharing any updates with your cat? How is it doing? What treatment did you go with? Thanks