What affordable dry food for my senior cat with hyperthyroidism?

She can eat just about anything she likes being hyperthyroid, as there are no specific diet recommendations for hyperthyroidism. As long as she continues her medication daily, then she can be on any senior diet food. that she likes. Some recommend high quality brands are Hill's Science Diet, Royal Canin, Eukanuba or Evo. Best of luck with your cat Stascha and her thryoid condition. Take care!

Most of the premium brands (Blue Buffalo, Canidae, Orijen, Royal Canin) should be fine. Stay away from store or discount brands as these typically contain low quality ingredients and more fillers. Choose a canned food that comes from the can looking like a hockey puck. It should have a named protein source of animal origin. If you must feed dry, choose a grain free diet. Stay away from foods that are minced, diced or have sauces/gravies. these are usually higher in carb content which your cat does not need.

Unfortunately the only food that will have a chance of working on its own it’s Hill’s. The other brands have not been formulated and studied with the same purpose. It is not the gold standard treatment for Hyperthyroidism but might work in some specific cases. Hyperthyroidism is caused by a tumour of the thyroid gland, and although benign can’t be left untreated. My personal recommendation would be to discuss other treatment options which might be more appropriate given Bob’s underlying allergies and given his relatively young age. Hope this helps !

I would not recommend leaving iodine salt out of a diet - while diets that are severely restricted in iodine can help lower T4 levels it is difficult to keep everything else balanced and it sounds like methimazole is working for Beau. While dark meat chicken has less phosphorus than ground beef, I would encourage you to use a board certified nutritionist when formulating a diet, especially for kidney disease. It can be difficult to get everything balanced appropriately. BalanceIT is a good resource: www.balanceit.com

If Rockie's thyroid level is controlled, then his weight should remain stable. There is a special diet for treating hyperthyroidism, but it is used instead of medication NOT in addition to treatment. I am attaching more information about it below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=3348 If Rockie is still eating more than normal and losing weight, then his thyroid level may not be controlled yet, so it would be worth rechecking that blood value. You can certainly discuss a diet change with your veterinarian. If Rockie is on an adult food, he may do better on a senior food. And if he is on a dry food, he may do better on a canned food. Both of those changes may help him maintain his muscle mass. But I suspect that making sure his thyroid level is controlled should be your first step. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Hello and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! By IBS I am assuming you may mean inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) as this is common in older cats. Some prescription diets like Royal Canin Gastrointestinal canned or dry or hydrolyzed diets. The Science diet limited ingredient diets (d/d) can also be helpful. If you are looking for an over the counter diet I have had some success with Natural balance limited ingredient canned food. Canned diets are always preferred in cats so if you can feed Simon an all canned diet that would be better.

if she is borderline and symptomatic they can send a thyroid test that can test more than just the in house version for a more definitive complete answer. Also they do make a food tailored to hyperthyroid cats that can help maintain the thyroid level. It is not safe to do if the number it not high though and it has to be the only food she gets. It is called science diet Y/D. I would talk to your vet about sending off a complete thyroid panel prior to any changes