Hi Everyone. I'm quite new but I would like some help from someone who's experienced something like my cat is going through.

My cat Kitty has just been diagnosed with an Over Active thyroid. I've recently found out that it can occur in elderly cats and she is 14 years old. She's never had a serious illness in the time I've had her (I've had her since she was 1 year old) which I think it down to good luck rather than anything I've done. But now she's losing weight pretty rapidly and she is on medication for the thyroid problem but the matter of feeding is something I'd like some advice on if possible.

She has got a problem with her bowel along the lines of the feline version of IBS and most wet foods give her loose stools. She's slightly off her food which I'm told can be a side effect of her medication and my vet is currently tweaking it so that her T4 count is within normal ranges. Until she's stable I would like some suggestions as to what to feed her to help her build her up and that won't give her the runs. I've managed to get some vitamin paste into her which I'm pleased about which means at least she's getting some nutrition. But any other suggestions would be most welcome

Many thanks in advance.

one of my cats who is 15/16 years old had an over active thyroid - she was also given medication - which was very hard to give to her, she jjust new when you were trying to give her one - the little monkey. she would not eat, run away or go in a huff.

well anyway the medication she was given didn't work - so she had the operation.
she has put a lot of weight back on - maybe a little to much.
apart from being in a few fights and having a few cuts on her head and the fact she is deaf now - she is back to her normal self

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I'm glad your cat is back to normal and that gives me hope for Kitty. I didn't want her written off just because she's 14, she's still the matriarch of her territory lol which I find totally hilarious as she's such a softie with me!

She's the first and only cat I've ever owned and she's given me so much comfort and happiness, it's hard to see her being so scrawny and skinny.

hopefuly with the medication and/or operation she will be back to normal.



i really hates my cat Lucky looking like a bag of bones!

but like i said before, she is a lot better now - even for an old girl

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A few months ago my 15 year old had thyroid problems, she had lost a lot of weight and was very bad at taking tablets.
So i decided to have the operation. I was worried because of her age but the vet told me this was quite common.
She has got over the op very well and now has put her weight back on and best of all no more TABLETS!!
So maybe for your Kitty the op might be better for her. Especially if you are having trouble giving her the tablets.
Hope this helps.

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Many thanks for taking the time to reply, it's given me hope for my cat. I managed to get some food into her today which I'm pleased about. I think I'll call my vets this week and talk about the op. Unfortunately it will all have to come out of my own pocket as she's not insured. Can you give me an idea of what your cats operations cost please so that I've got an idea of what to expect.

Many thanks once again. xx

The operation cost me £182. including tablets to stop infection after the op.
Then about 2 weeks later she had to go for a blood test to see if the op was successful and that cost me another £45.
I thought this was better for my cat as she hates taking Tablets and also the cost of the tablets and check up every 6 months i thought this would be better all round.
Hope this helps.
My cats are not insured either as i have 3 of them.
So what i have done is open up a bank account. Every time i get a £2 coin it goes in a money box for them and when it reaches £100 i put it in their bank.

It's now there in case of emergencies.

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I wondered if anyone had ever heard of flea treatment being involved in thyroid issues?

I'm a scientist and a colleague just so happened to mention the other day that when he was younger he worked on a project looking at the effects of the precursor to the active ingredient in flea treatments in humans. The study was commissioned by the manufacturers to ensure workforce safety. One of the outcomes was thyroid disruption, unfortunately he didn't stay long enough to find out what they did about it.

As my girls are all indoor I have decided only to treat them maybe twice a year, at least in spring when fleas are rife.

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Proud mum to Tiffany, Bellinda and Jessica

I do use frontline on Kitty but not often. I friend of mine who works in the animal care industry told me that it often works for much longer than the 1 month per pipette that's recommended so I only do her twice a year as well.

I've managed to get her tablets into her today and she's eating a bit more. That might be something to do with me relenting and letting her have wet food instead of dried. I figured that at least she's getting some nutrition into her.

Had her back to the vets today as she's not eating and now not drinking. Vet said that was unusual in cats with hyperthyroidism as they're usually scoffing everything in sight. He's given her an injection of anti-biotics, painkillers and an appetite stimulant, see how she goes over the weekend and have her back in on Monday.