Hyperthyroidism In Cats

My two cats, two aged 15, have just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, and the vet recommends they take methimazole for treatment. Does anyone else have cats with this disease? I'm looking for side effects and how to get them to take the pills. Also, nobody knows the life expectancy on this medication? Thank you for any help.

I know that many cats on the treatment of hyperthyroidism. The best person to ask about side effects to your veterinarian, who must have experienced it all with you. Read this for lots of information about the syndrome:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperthyroi ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methimazole

Methimazole is actually a human drug. Although it is possible to use for cats, Felimazole is the most modern treatment hyperthyroidism, it is specifically for cats. You can ask your vet about this.

Life expectancy is difficult - I think the treatment is more on improving the quality of life really. Since cats are generally quite old when they develop, it is difficult to say how long they live without treatment, or if they did not develop the syndrome. Life with hyperthyroidism is not fun for all cats, they are always hungry and in a foul mood, then the greater benefit of treatment is to control these problems.

When you ask your veterinarian for more info, beware of this phrase, veterinarians are irritable about people challenging their expertise with the things they read on the internet! Something like tact "Tell me about the surgical option" or "I heard about this Felimazole ....' would be a good thing!

Now, to give cats pills:
+ See if your cat will eat when he is hidden in foods. You can crush it, but make sure she ate all the food
+ Try to hide in a treatment to save as cheese or ham
+ Or is the method to give oral tablet - tilt the head all the way with a hand turn from the top of his head - the cats are usually struggle if their head is, you could just needed someone to hold the front legs down. Open the lower jaw forward, and quickly push the pill to the throat (it will not go down the wrong hole). You should be able to push the plate right down so they do not even need to swallow, but you must be bold enough to do this, so you may need to hold her mouth closed and stroke her throat until she swallows otherwise. When she licks her lips, which means it has swallowed.

Feel free to send me an email for any other q or if I have not been clear on anything!

Calyx

I had an old cat who was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at age 16-17. The main symptom is that it has become very thin. She spent 19 years with medication. She also had a very progressive renal failure and blood pressure, if taken with other drugs as well. She did well until the last month or two of his life.

In general, cats seem to do well with hyperthyroid medication and occasional tests to ensure that the T4 dose of medication is correct. It is a relatively easy condition to treat.

My vet sold Kitty treats that have been pockets pill. You stick the pill in the pocket and give it to the cat. These good results. Cheese or cream cheese also works if your cat loves it - it worked for me for a while, then she got bored of it. It is when we went into the pockets pill.

One of my previous chats hyperthyroidism. It is very common and is usually one of the first things a vet looking at a senior cat if something is wrong.

Basically, the thyroid helps control metabolism. If they have a hyper thyroid, the cat eats constantly, have a. normal