Feline thyroid function

[purpletigron]

Does anyone reading have practical knowledge of feline thyroid function?

My cat has, over the past few months, rapidly gone from being healthily proportioned to rather thin. He has maintained a very healthy appetite, but his fur has become scraggy.

The vet has just told us that his thyroid and kidney function tests have come back 'within normal range'. Cat thyroid function is apparently somewhat different to that of humans. That said, human thyroid function tests are notoriously difficult to interpret correctly - I was gaining weight for 6 months with 'normal' thyroid function tests before my readings became 'hypothyroid'. This knowledge, coupled with the fact that my cat's uncle is dying of kidney failure as a complication of a failure to diagnose an over-active thyroid, is ringing alarm bells in me.

How reliable are feline thyroid function laboratory tests in reality (not text-book theory...) in picking up hyperthyroid disease, particularly in the early stages?

We are seeing the vet again tomorrow evening (Thu 31 July 17:20 GMT).

Comments

[greengolux.livejournal.com]

My cat had symptoms similar to yours: rapid weight loss, increased appetite. (She was also having digestive problems associated with liver damage that can sometimes come as the result of thyroid problems.) As with your cat, nothing especially out of the ordinary showed up with the vet's tests, but he advised that, because of her symptoms, it might be worth trying treating her with drugs for hyperthyroidism.

We started her on the standard dose for cats, and she seemed to perk up. Her appetite went back to normal, and she started looking healthier. But after a while she started getting very lethargic and unusually quiet. We suspected that, as she was a very small cat, the normal dose might be something of an overmedication, so we halved the dosage, and she went back to her usual self.

Her hyperthyroidism never showed up on any tests, but because of her symptoms, and the liver damage, the vet was convinced that hyperthyroidism was indeed the problem, and the medication did seem to help her a great deal.

Hope your cat gets better soon, whether it turns out to be a thyroid problem or otherwise.

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

This is the kind of story which I hear from human thyroid patients, except for the part where the medic trys thyroid treatment just to be sure...

TMI alert:

My cat is also being very sick rather often. He is a long-hair, and there are large fur-balls, but a two-inch fur-ball followed by by a six inch long column of undigested food is bad however it's caused... even though he returns to the food bowl with gusto within half an hour, and we are trying to feed him little and often to avoid a 'bolt/gag' cycle.

Her hyperthyroidism never showed up on any tests

Interesting. For how long was she successfully medicated?

I don't suppose that you have copies of her thyroid function test results - I always keep copies of my own! I want to see whether my cat's results are toward the hyper end of the normal range, just as mine were toward the hypo end of the normal range in the early stages of my condition.

Many thanks for the well-wishes!

[greengolux.livejournal.com]

My cat is also being very sick rather often. He is a long-hair, and there are large fur-balls, but a two-inch fur-ball followed by by a six inch long column of undigested food is bad however it's caused... even though he returns to the food bowl with gusto within half an hour, and we are trying to feed him little and often to avoid a 'bolt/gag' cycle.

This is exactly what my cat was doing. The vet seemed to think that it was partly due to the liver damage caused by the thyroid problem, and we had to switch her to a very low fat diet - boiled chicken - for the rest of her life.

For how long was she successfully medicated?

She started being treated at the age of around 15/16, and lived 'til the ripe old age of 20 years old.

I don't suppose that you have copies of her thyroid function test results

I'm afraid not, no.

[purplejavatroll.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid that I have no useful comments. All that I can say is that it seems to me that if they can miss on people tests, they can miss on cat tests. My sympathy.

pjt

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Much thanks!

[greenjavatroll.livejournal.com]

Our vet mentioned that thyroid disease in cats was sometimes difficult to spot, especially when the cat is less than thrilled about getting poked with a needle (Remy goes ballistic). That was one of the things he was initially tested for when his seizures started. When he started to lose weight and get manky fur they checked his thyroid again. (It turned out in the end to be diabetes).

Good thoughts for your puddy, and I hope they find whatever is wrong soon!

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

My cat seems to be OK with needles - he's one of the most docile and friendly cats I have ever met, actually.

Thank you!!!!