Did it again. Took in a neighborhood cat whose owner moved due to a life altering accident (he lost his leg). Anyway. Took him to the vet for a full blood panel and ultrasound of his abdomen because he was seriously skinny. I figured either heartworms or cancer or hyperthyroidism. Blood panel back. It’s hyperthyroid. Ultrasound was pristine. Kidneys and liver and stomach are good. Ordered the transdermal medication from chewy.
He is so skinny. With a voracious appetite. Eddie is an inside cat now. He is suffering outside. Anyone have experience bringing a cat back from this ? I need another cat like I need a hole in the head, but he is a senior and needs a soft landing.
Now I will pay the picture tax
He looks like a Maine coon
My barn cat developed hyperthyroidism a few years back. We managed him on methimazole for a few years but eventually did radioablation, which is about as close to magic as possible in medicine, I think. Now he’s just a normal cat.
We were able to use Peterson, who is the guy who developed the therapy and has done a boatload of the research. It was a great experience. Highly recommend!
That’s the med they prescribed. This cat is probably about 15. Thank you for sharing. How much was the s/x? I can pay for meds. Am expensive surgery I cannot.
Ditto everything @Simkie said. If you can afford the radioactive iodine treatment that’s the way to go. It’s inconvenient and expensive up front, but over the long haul it’s well worth it. It cures the hyperthyroidism so you don’t have to worry about medicating twice a day forever. Also, methimazole will mask the symptoms but it doesn’t cure the disease, so over time the tumor continues to grow and the cat will require a higher dose. And depending on how long the cat lives after treatment, the radio ablation can actually be cheaper than methimazole because you don’t have to keep buying medicine and paying for vet visits and blood tests to be sure it’s working. I’ve had two hyperthyroid cats that were treated with radioactive iodine.
Weird thing is Eddie has zero enlargement or tumor on his thyroid.
Radioablation isn’t surgery–it’s an injection of radio active iodine, which is absorbed by the tumor that’s over producing thyroid hormone, killing it. It’s pretty cool. Magic!
It is pretty costly…a few thousand dollars. But it’s curative, where medication is not. Medication keeps the thyroid hormone in an acceptable range, but the tumor continues to grow.
Totally understand not being able to drop a lotta dollars, especially on a brand new resident. But keep it in mind! It’s really pretty amazing.
Unless you’ve done scintigraphy, you just don’t know. Tumors can be small, or they can be so large they pull the thyroid out of the range of palpation. Just because the vet can’t feel anything 100% doesn’t mean there’s nothing there.
Thank you that makes sense. I wonder if they’re holding off suggesting that given age? This clinic I call the Mayo Clinic for dogs and cats. They usually move straight for the most effective $$$ treatment. I’ve been going there for 15 years This time they did not.
Most thyroid cats are older. Hyperthyroidism can hide kidney disease, though, so treating with meds & normalizing the thyroid hormones to see how the kidneys really look is not terribly unusual before suggesting radioablation.
It would suck to spend the bucks, only to find out–surprise–the kidneys really are toast 
A month or a few with methimazole can be clarifying.
And truth be told I cannot afford thousands of dollars. At least not now. I’m replacing my pasture fence from Hurricane Milton. I just want to give him a soft landing.
Thank you. She did a urinalysis and ultrasounded his kidneys. Said they were surprisingly good. In the end if it was warranted I would probably let him go peacefully.
Thanks Simlkie. I really appreciate all your posts.
Totally understand! He’ll feel a lot better on the methimazole. Be careful handling it–it can shut down your thyroid, too. If he does well, maybe you can consider radioablation when you’re out of recovery mode. Thank you for taking him! 
So guessing wear gloves ?
Oh yeah, definitely wear gloves! Be cautious handling his ears after, too. (Or wherever it’s going…the transdermal stuff I’ve used always goes on the ears?)
My vet wouldn’t rx the transdermal because of the risk. Pills are less of a concern, if you can pill him…? My guy never complained, but he’s unusually willing about stuff like that.
Yes they prescribed the transdermal. For the ear. He is super bitey about pilling and eating hidden stuff. I am really good about pilling dogs… cats that have needle teeth not so much.
Maybe if it was a liquid with a syringe. Not a pill with this cat.
See how it goes! Just be careful with your own exposure 
Thank you so much
Meds are fairly cheap. I got mine for less than $13 at Walmart. I got a 45 day prescription as well for 10 mg tablets which I cut in half. Duncan did very well on his felimazole until diabetes threw a monkey wrench into the works.
