#hyperthyroidism in cats

[thecattitudecentral]

Understanding Cat Diseases: A Comprehensive Guide to Keeping Your Feline Friend Healthy

As a cat parent, there’s nothing more heart-wrenching than seeing your furry friend unwell. Cats are masters at hiding discomfort, which makes understanding cat diseases critical for every pet owner. From minor ailments like hairballs to life-threatening conditions like feline leukemia, recognizing symptoms early and seeking proper care can make all the difference. In this comprehensive guide,…

[spinsterennui]

Has anyone done the I-131 treatment for their cat? How careful were you when you got your cat home? Just curious because the post procedure recommendations are really harsh.

[theorist-fox]

I went to get my nails done today and I never post photos of myself but you gotta see how utterly adorable my nails are

Literally I'm so in love

[motherish]

Not only are we officially allowed to have Pepper sleep with us again BUT ALSO the loml surprised me with my FAV COFFEE EVER before work? Today is a good day 😌☕️

[egberts]

on one hand it is so fucked up and sad that callie could see at least enough to confidently get around like a week and a half ago and then suddenly she's so blind that she can't even tell she's leaving her eye open in the sun but on the other hand she can't walk around without bonking into things and it's... pretty funny. i feel so bad for laughing and i'm helping her and guiding her around as best as I can but seeing her learning and exploring the world in a new way is so weirdly endearing. our little roomba

[greenconverses]

every fucking time i think i'm just about out of the woods with extra financial obligations, something else just decides to fuck me over

[orchidbreezefc]

doing end of life preparations for my kitty prism. gonna share some pics as i take em in the time we have left <3

nappin with my head at the foot of my bed to hang out

prism helping to model my woe.begone postcards one last time

tha boiz: final tour (i think theyve got great album cover vibes here if only the staging were better)

then i turned the light off for a bit and they got even cuter when i wasn't looking!!!! 0:< prism doesn't usually cuddle with anyone but me, so this was nice to see.

here's a last pic from before this latest major health downturn. look at those silly paws!

currently accepting requests for kisses, skritches, and any other messages and shows of affection to be passed on.

[jimmyisawkward]

Do not the cat.

[nawilla]

I'm sorry, N the Cat

N the Cat is dying.

She has had hyperthyroidism since before the pandemic (and thanks to the pandemic going on as long as it did, she wasn't able to get radiation therapy because the only animal hospital that did that in our state (a mere uber ride away) had just built a new facility and couldn't get the radiation inspector out to certify it. By the time it was done her kidneys had been damaged and she was no longer eligible.

Her chronic kidney disease has caught up with her and even with fluid support we just can't keep up with it anymore and she will probably pass this week. Right now she seems to be okay. She had been to the emergency vet about a week and a half ago to get IV fluids after struggling to keep her hydrated on subcutaneous fluids and seemed to do well, the numbers were going in the right direction, and she had even gained back weight that she had lost. She had stopped drinking, something she had done before, probably because she had a cold/allergies and couldn't smell the water, and I thought she was just not drinking her bowl water after I bought her a new fountain, but it turned out she wasn't drinking at all. She still hasn't resumed drinking. But she was eating and enjoying life and seemed to feel so much better after her $1100 fluid therapy session (wherein the hooked her up to a $9 bag of fluids for 4 hours). We also learned she had lost most of her hearing and couldn't hear me anymore.

She started hanging out on my bed more, and sleeping next to me, which she hadn't done in a while.

Now I realize she was saying goodbye.

She had been loving, affectionate and again, eating her food.

Here she is on Sunday, sitting on me while I'm reclining on the bed. On Monday she even accepted treats which she had been ignoring for weeks because she was only eating wet food while she wasn't drinking, but had recently started eating dry food again.

Tuesday morning I woke up to her vomiting, and while I only found one pool of foamy yuck on the floor, I heard her retch a few more times. She also refused food for the first time. Ever.

I was hoping it was a stomach bug, because frankly, her weight was good, she was hydrated, and well, she had just thrown up. But I knew that when M the Cat died from kidney disease, he only stopped eating the last few days.

I got home Tuesday night and couldn't find N anywhere. Not on my bed. Not in any of her usual hiding places. Not in any of her never used before hiding places. I went through the whole house three times calling for her and now that she's deaf she couldn't hear me. I cried and was up all night worrying and was up early Wednesday morning trying to find her again. As in up with the sun and it's June in the Northern Hemisphere.

I called off work because I couldn't find her and if she had hid somewhere to die, I needed to find her body.

At 9 am sharp she crawled out from under the bed I had been sleeping on. She was so far back under it and so deeply asleep she didn't hear me looking for her.

I stayed home with her today because frankly I was a mess, and she needed care. She picked at her breakfast, engaged in some cuddling, and got fluids 4 times today. But by midnight it was clear. She is still losing weight and getting dehydrated no matter how much I give her, and in the late afternoon she retched again and refused her dinner.

I have to go in tomorrow, but I'm trying to split my work so I can go in early, come home for lunch, and then go back for the experiment and come back right after, hopefully getting fluids into her when I'm home. She got into a snit after I gave her appetite stimulant (she hates that I have to rub it in her ear), and pointedly went under the bed, but the room got very hot around the same time, so I think it's cooler down there too.

N the Cat is about 10 or 11 years old. She was my first cat that I had as an adult and she chose me when she was a stray and made it very clear she wanted to live here with me. I have toys and brushes and food I bought her that will never be used or opened because I just never got around to it with my crazy work schedule. We never set up the mini billiards table, but by then she had lost interest in rolling balls. We never got to try the steam brush I bought her last week because I've had to give her fluids multiple times a day and she was only going to sit still for so long.

I just got in her Chewy order with more Delectables (for giving her thyroid pills) and Sheba cat food because I didn't realize we already had a whole unopened box, and the open one was running low.

I may donate it to an animal shelter or food bank when she is gone.

It just feels so unfair. M the Cat was 18 years old when he died. D was 12. I promised N she could be the only cat again if she outlived the other two that I took in when their owner died, but she was already sick by the time they did. And she is dying younger than either of them. She deserves more years. She deserves so much more than I could give her.

I know it's not my fault she had thyroid issues and that's what is at the root of this, but it still feels like I should have done more for her.

N and I have been through a lot. We've been through break ins, new cats, human friends dying, cats dying, health issues, home repair issues and stalker. She survived the streets, losing whatever her first home was, sharing her space with other cats, removal of a tumor and a global pandemic during which Cat Mom had to work.

I'm not going to get another cat for a long time. When she is gone I'm going to hopefully not fall into a depression but actually clean up and reorganize my house in ways that would have upset her to do while she was alive and trying to live here. Things that I should have done but would take away from what little time we have together.

I'm so sorry, N. You deserved another ten years of listening to me whine (or not since you went deaf), of long naps on the radiator, and good food and cuddles and not having to be stabbed with a needle multiple times a day. You deserved to learn more words, and to have a happy retirement with days in the sun because you would be too old to get far if you ran away. You deserved another decade of treats, and enough time for me to comb out your mats because you weren't doing it, and just me being home more to be with you if you didn't want to be alone.

I hope you decide to come out from under the bed to snuggle a few more times before you go. I hope we get a few more days together. I hope you aren't in pain and won't suffer.

I hope you come back as someone else's cat someday, even though I don't actually believe in an afterlife. I just hope there is one, and that yours in wonderful. I hope someday when I die that you and M and D are waiting for me on the Rainbow Bridge and we can all be together again if that is what you want. Hopefully you won't mind sharing my attention and your space in whatever comes next for you.

I'm sorry I wasn't a better cat mom to you. I'm sorry for everything I couldn't give you. I'm sorry I can't make it better.

I love you so much N. I hope you know how much I love you, even if you can't hear me cry.

[scourgiez]

Does anyone know of any cheap options for low phosphorus wet cat food? I have a kitty who is 12 and has been treated for hyperthyroidism but now may possibly have some early KD. I have another cat at 7 years that may benefit from a low-phos diet, though he hates wet food.

I've been doing some TikTok searching and most of the brands I see either aren't easily available or they cost a crazy amount. I am in college and simply can't afford fancy brands along with all of the medication & vet visits. If anyone has experience with this and could help, thank you :)

[pumpkin-belly]

old man in the sun 🥲

[oliveebraanch]

I was already in a bad mood today but then some cat owners today told us that their last cat died bc of hyperthyroidism and they tried “everything” but nothing worked. What they didn’t try? The actual fucking treatment for feline hyperthyroidism.

[danielnelsen]

there’s so much i wanna do this week/month/etc but i’m just too sick, i have no energy, i can’t sleep, i’m constantly nauseous and headachey and on the verge of a migraine, i’m stressed and irritable and impatient and panicky…….how tf did i survive nearly 5 years of high school untreated if i can’t even manage this when i don’t have any major obligations rn

[sfhfc]

I’m pleased to say Donald seems to have accustomed himself to his new home with us and has settled in well. Following the check up with the vets last week he is Hyperthyroid as well as unfortunately having problems with his liver and kidneys. He’s on some daily meds and renal diet so we just hope we can keep him as comfortable and happy as we can.

[napworthysunbeam]

It’s so good to have him home, but we aren’t meant to sleep in bed together because he’s still radioactive apparently….

[milf-harrington]

my cats having the best sleep of her life im so glad her medication is helping her so much