Kitten

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solerina

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A few of you will be familiar with the story of our much loved but frequently afflicted cat . She's only just getting over the broken leg from last year and we took her back for a 6 month check up yesterday . The vet found a benign thyroid tumour which explains how she's lost so much weight recently but she's afraid that she might have a tumour on her liver because she's been really picky at her food although she eats well when she finally makes her mind up . Apparently the thyroid problem would be making her queasy and could put her off her food too so we have to wait till Friday for the test results to see how large the levels of the hormone are and to get a scan done on her liver . That was a nice birthday message . We only took her down to show the vet how well she was doing on her leg and tpo get her signed of but it's better that she found this out now I suppose .
 
One of my mums cats, Rio, had his thyroids removed last summer because they were overactive. We hoped that would signal the start of an improvement in Rios health, but months later he was diagnosed with diabetes too. He's on insulin injections twice a day now but still not quite right. He's off for some more tests next week. I swear my mum should have a part of the veterinary hospital named after her, she's probably paid for the damn thing :lol:

I hope your cats liver is ok. The thyroid is easily dealt with, either daily tablets or surgery to remove it, depending on how old she is. I prefer the surgery option, I wish I'd taken that with my old boy. He lived for another 18 months after diagnosis but wasn't a happy boy.
 
I just hope she's not on the downward spiral . She hadn't needed a vet in 15 yrs and all of a sudden she has 3 visits in one yr all quite serious with general anaesthetic . Poor pet . Cheers guys for the good wishes
 
Griffin , I'd like to ask you something if you don't mind . Kitten has just been diagnosed with the same thing as your mum's cat . She apparently needs a Thyroidectomy because her heart rate hasn't been affected by the thyroid condition . We havn't spoken to the vet who does surgery yet but we're getting the feeling that they think the tumour is malignant because they've said they definitely want to operate even before they've done a biopsy . Can I ask you what way your vet dealt with it and how they went from pills to surgery . Our vet is good but she's on holiday for a fortnight and kitten apparently needs a double dose of the tablets for 3 weeks now before they'll do surgery . It would just be good to hear someone elses experience of the same thing because I'm googling stuff at the minute that's scaring me
 
The initial high dose of tablets will be to try to bring her T4 levels down to a more normal range. The fact that it hasn't affected her heart is a good sign and will help her through the anaesthetic. Rios heart was all over the place, plus he has a murmer, so surgery was risky for him but his only option.

I encouraged mum to go for the surgery option instead of life long medication because Rio isn't ancient (we are unsure of his age because he'd been a stray, but he's probably about 12ish) and he wasn't enjoying being force fed tablets on a daily basis. Surgery removes the need for that, and also it can be difficult stabilising them on tablets. Knowing that he had potentially another 5+ years ahead of him, we wanted those years to be happy ones. My old boy was diagnosed with it aged 16, and I thought that it wasn't fair to put him through surgery at that age. With hindsight I know that I made the wrong decision. He was otherwise healthy and probably would've handled surgery well. Instead he was thoroughly miserable for the next 18 months on medication, finally becoming senile and I had him put to sleep on the day Bobbyjo won the National.

The surgery is not without risks and should only be carried out by a vet with plenty of experience in this kind of surgery. The thyroid is very close to the para thyroid gland and damage to that is fatal. I have known cats to die after surgery, but those most usually had other underlying problems too.
 
Really appreciate your concern guys . I'm really sorry to hear about your wee pet Sammy , Muttley . I don't think some people understand that they are a family member particularly if he was with you for 15 yrs . You don't realise how much you miss them until they're not there . I complain daily about how Kitten wakes me up at 5.15 exactly every day to be fed , and then she wants out and when I get her back in I'm wide awake and can't go back to bed but if I ever do get a lie in she cuddles up as close as she can and I really think I couldn't get to sleep without her sometimes . She purrs like a train but it's kinda reassuring .
Thank you Griffin for your insight . I was trying to understand why they would opt for surgery if tablets would treat it but after what you said about the risks of medication I can understand why she's pushing this . The other vet confirmed that damage to the para thyroid could be fatal .It's Soloman's choice . The other side of this is that my mum could have a knee replacement done for the cost of Kitten's care and it doesn't seem right somehow to expect my mum to suffer while I look after the cat . It's a minefield but as long as I can afford to get her treated I will . Thanks for your help Griffin
 
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