My senior cat's T4 is high. Does she need hyperthyroidism meds now?

Hi there. Hyperthyroidism can cause symptoms like increased vocalization and irritability, weight loss, increased appetite, vomiting or diarrhea, and/or increased drinking and urination. It also contributes to high blood pressure, and is hard on the heart and kidneys long-term. If Midnite's thyroid levels are high, treatment would generally be recommended to address this.

Do not stop the blood pressure medication without first talking to the vet who is treating Tinker. It sounds like it may be helpful to run some lab work on her to see how well controlled her hyperthyroidism is, and see if that medication needs adjusted. If an adjustment in her dose of hyperthyroidism med is needed, then it MAY be ok to stop the blood pressure mediation once she's on a different dose, BUT DO NOT DO THIS without first talking to the vet who is managing her case. The other concern and possibility here is that there may be a separate issue going on such as cancer. The older they get the more likely we are to see multiple problems arise. Good luck with her! Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Consider having him seen by a different veterinarian. Request a comprehensive thyroid panel which should include a T4, T3, free T4 by equilibrium dialysis and TSH. All these, taken together, should be able to diagnose or rule out hyperthyroidism. Left untreated, he could develop other problems, so do not delay.

Hi there. Symptoms of hyperthyroidism generally include things like weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive vocalization, and increased appetite or thirst. I would tend to agree with your veterinarian that if your kitty is not losing weight or having any other symptoms of a problem, there is no reason to change his medication dosage - although an increase may be needed in the future if he starts to have symptoms again.

I would recommend the bloodwork if possible. Many of the symptoms your describe could be due to hyperthyroidism which can often be managed with diet or medication. Renal disease diabetes are also concerns. Speak with your vet to determine what they suspect is most likely and find out if it is possible to test for one thing at a time instead of running a full panel at once. The vet will suggest the best options but often if you explain financial constraints we can work with owners. If unable to do the diagnostic testing then euthanasia is a reasonable option to prevent her from suffering. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach

I'm sorry you lost your other cat and that Bird is now showing symptoms of another disease. The most common diseases in older cats are renal failure, hyperthyrodism and diabetes. It is really not a wise decision to give Bird any of the other cats medications. Just because you think she looks like she has symptoms of hyperthyroidism doesn't mean she actually has it. As a vet, I have been fooled many times. You could certainly kill her by doing this or make things worse. Even if she is hyperthyroid she may not need the same dose that the other cat was on. If she is that stressed getting to the vet I would ask your vet if they would be willing to make a house call to draw blood as that is the way to diagnose this issue. The other option is to find a mobile vet in your area that could come to your house. I hope this helps. If you have any additional questions please feel free to ask!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on these lab results, I would suspect renal disease. BUN, Amylase, magnesium and CPK all can become altered with renal impairment. The weight loss may be due to muscle wastage due to chronic renal disease or something else may be going on. I would consider having Tigger's urine specific gravity checked and also send out an SDMA test to see if the kidney's are the main problem. At 14.5 years of age, renal disease would be high on my list of causes of these symptoms. Other problems such as cancer and inflammatory diseases may be the cause of the symptoms as well. I would recommend having your vet pursue additional testing to get more of a definitive answer on whether or not the kidneys are impaired and if not, coming up with further recommendations on diagnostics and treatment. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.