He really should have had a bloodtest a few weeks after the operation not only to check 'current' thyroid function but also kidneys as well, since treated hyperT can unmask renal probs. I'd request a BP check and urinalysis as well!

Seeking out cooler places is a symptoms of hyperthyroidism though on its own it may not be significant.

Chrissy -- I sympathise with your difficult situation with Bertie. I must say I think your neighbour has not behaved reponsibly in feeding and petting him when he is in their garden, as this is bound to have encouraged him to think he has a second home there. Particularly so, as he appears to be a bit mentally confused -- due to old age and possibly dementia.

Personally I would not shut Bertie in, as it sounds like it's making him miserable and aggressive, and spoiling his quality of life. Having never been just an indoor cat he probably cannot understand why he is suddenly being imprisoned. So I would let him go out as much as he has been allowed to all his life.

But the neighbour needs very much to play their part. If they don't want Bertie in their garden because of their own cat, then they should make the effort to keep Bertie out -- either by constantly shooing him out, or by cat-proofing their garden with the high add-on sloping net fencing another poster has shown.

You also need a firm undertaking from the neighbour that under no circumstances will they feed Bertie. (What possible justification could they have for feeding him in the first place? )
I am assuming the neighbour is not leaving cat food unattended out in the garden ? (which would be asking for trouble) Is Bertie getting in through the neighbour's cat flap and stealing food? If so it is is easily remedied by the neighbour fitting a microchip cat flap.

Hopefully, if Bertie loses the option of going to to the neighbour's he will decide of his own accord to come back home again. Though, if he has a bit of dementia, there is no saying his behaviour is going to be as loving as it was before. I have found with some of my 'oldies' they withdraw into themselves for the last few yrs of their lives, no longer much interested in cuddles or strokes. It is sad.... but one of those things...

I would certainly do as others have advised and get Bertie thoroughly checked by the vet, with blood tests. One of my cats had hyperthyroidism, which once it was diagnosed and treated revealed advanced stage Chronic Renal Failure (CRF), which had previously been masked by the thyroid disease. CRF often causes mental confusion, personality changes and behavioural changes.

Once the weather gets much colder I bet Bertie will be home though.

Hi All

Quick update on Bertie.

Back from holiday last night and have just returned from the vets. Bloods taken, overactive thyroid strongly suspected due to enlarged gland and high blood pressure (ease of taking blood).

Will await test results and either start medication or consider removing the remaining lobe (one has already been removed). Latter option more risky so suspect medication will be the choice.

Thanks for all your invaluable advice. Hopefully Bertie will be as good as new and back to his normal self once the thyroid issue is brought under control.

Fingers crossed for the test results. My old cat also had hyper-thyroid and we had him for tablets for the last 4 or 5 years of his life. They do pretty well on the medication. It will be interestin to see if this has been the cause of his parrticular pattern of altered behaviour.

Thanks for updating Chrissie. Poor Bertie - not surprising then he's been acting strange! Keep us posted!

Hi everyone

My vet rang me just before 6 pm to say he'd got the T4 results, they were 70 so I've started him on Vidalta tonight.

Hopefully that will not take too long to kick in and dear Bertie will be much improved.

We are going to take more bloods in 30 days and see how things are going. The vet suggests that due to his age and the issue with removing the remaining lobe (due to the parathyroid gland attached) that we should probably rule out surgery and maintain him on the Vidalta.

I think the reason why there were no other obvious symptoms (apart from the behaviour change) was because although the levels are elevated they are not extreme. With the first episode, there were lots of symptoms and the levels then were 90. My vet tells me that any cat with a level over 60 is hyperthyroid.

Bit unfortunate for Bertie that the removal of one lobe didn't keep him well for as long as one would hope before a reoccurrence.

Kidneys are fine, liver is a bit "off" but that's apparently common with the hyperthyroid.

Chrissy - I reckon given the short space of time, it's far more likely this is due to ectopic tissue as opposed to a new tumour on the remaining lobe. Most frequently this occurs about a year or more post surgery. Sometimes tissue can be present in the chest away from the main surgery site, though it can re-grow here as well. (Without a special X-ray impossible to know where it's migrated to in the body). In a few weeks time the T4 could well be close to 90 as well. Our cat had a T4 of 240 on diagnosis!!

Has Bertie had Vidalta before? Hope he's better soon.

Hi Ianthi

My vet mentioned the possibility of ectopic tissue in the chest, which is one of the reasons why he feels surgery isn't the best option.

Wow, 240 on diagnosis, I thought 90 (the first time around) sounded bad!

Yes, Bertie had Vidalta for a month prior to surgery last time – to stabilise him before surgery.

I gave him the first dose last night (just after he’d eaten) and boy did we have an eventful night! He spent the night vomiting here there and everywhere! So we had six or seven piles of sick to clean up, three lake size piddles and two poops all in the space of about 4 hours!

He’s toileting all over the house (still). I’ve worked out that he never visits a spot twice so he’s getting very inventive about where he’s going! We’ve had on the bed (pretty standard!), in the laundry basket, in a shoe, in a slipper, on a magazine by the bed and the Pièce de résistance a big poo sitting on top of a sack containing about 60 large bags of dog chews which is waiting for me to put in a cupboard!

I hope he’s better soon too as I’m on a constant hunt for pee and poo – never know where I’m going to find it! The only place I can guarantee is that it won’t be in the four litter boxes or on any of the puppy pee pads dotted about the house

Sorry to hear about all the vomiting and pooing, though I hope the latter resolves when he stabilises. I'm glad to hear he was OK before on the Vidalta because this struck me as being a fairly high dose of carbimazole for a cat with a T4 of 90, which is relatively low. However if the sickness continues ( it may have been a one off! ) then I'd speak to the vet about Felimazole.

Yes, our cat had a bilateral thyroidectomy ( not simultaneous obviously) and has done very well ever since. She's one of the lucky ones with no ectopic tissue present elsewhere, though this isn't always the case. I've heart of quite a few!

My cat was on Felimazole too, and did really well on it. It seems that felimazole is used more often than Vidalta - at least in my job as a petsittter, I have only come across Vidalta twice, compared to say many more cats on Felimazole. Or is it that it is a newer medicine?