Yowling kitty problem appears on its way to being solved.

[ginnyinWI]

Last edited Tue Jan 10, 2012, 11:28 AM - Edit history (1)

Our 17 year old calico went to see the vet on Friday. Her heart rate was high, and she paced around the office continually. My problem at home was that she would yowl before eating, after eating or whenever she was awake and didn't have anything else to think about.

Blood test showed she is hyper-thyroid--a level of 5.8 which isn't super-high but is clearly above normal. So she was prescribed a half dose twice a day.

It's still early days--she's only been on the drug for two days, but she seems calmer, less restless and yowling less. Yay! Seems to be limited to in the morning when she wants me to get up and feed her, but even then it is less than before. Just once instead of every ten minutes!

I put the little half-pill in about a half teaspoon of wet food and give it to her before the rest of her meal and she eats it down with no trouble. Has no idea she's taking a pill. Double-yay!

edited to add:

[flamin lib]

1. Grind the pill into powder and mix it with petroleum jelly.

Smear it on her paw and she'll take her meds all by herself. Plus it helps with hairballs.

[virgdem]

2. You're lucky that she eats the pill with her food...

My cat Tigger would eat around the pill and pill pockets, so we went to the trans-dermal solution, which involves putting Methimazole cream on the inside of the very tip of the ear. If you have any problems with the pill down the road, this is another alternative to consider.

[ginnyinWI]

4. The vet told me about that.

Is it a lot more expensive than pills?

So far so good with the pills; at a half a pill at time they are very small pieces and she doesn't seem to notice them. But if she goes to a whole pill at a time that might change. Then I'd be crushing them or looking at the topical option.

[applegrove]

10. I tried the pill pockets. Cat got wise to that so I went back to mixing them in with meat flavoured

baby food.

[virgdem]

20. I'm not sure how much the pills are..

it's been quite some time since we used the pills, but you can get three syringes of Methimazole at Drs Foster and Smith for about $40.00. That should last you about 3-4 months. It is as effective as the pill, just a different application for those cats that just will not be pilled. You might want to ask your vet about all the alternatives to the pill, as Iodine treatment is a permanent solution to the problem, but runs about $800.00. Good luck!

[ginnyinWI]

21. We did talk about radiation treatment

He said that another person calculated that the cost of the permanent fix radiation treatment would be worth the same as 4.5 years of pills. Sounds about right if the treatment costs $800. You'd want to consider it with a younger animal, but my cat is at least 17.

The pills cost me 50 cents a day right now, at one per day. She is on a half dose morning and night. That would be $45 for three months, and $60 for four months. And that doesn't include the labs: first blood work up, with the office visit, was $250, and she will need to be rechecked.

So I should probably price it all out with the vet. If the pill treatment will include having to come in for labs regularly, we need to consider all the options in total.

Thanks!

[ginnyinWI]

5. we think this kitty is also going deaf.

I have startled her when she didn't hear me coming up behind her. Also the vet says that at this age their night vision goes--it is normally four times better than a human's. But they lose the ability--we have had to put a light on near the litter boxes or she won't be able to see to go down the basement stairs at night.

All three of these conditions--the thyroid, the deafness, the worsening eyesight--could all contribute to the yowling.

[badgerpup]

6. I'd yowl too...

Dealing with some 'aging' issues myself and I don't blame her for yowling!

Hope treating the thyroid and the lights near the litterbox help.
Old kitties are a treasure...all the love and attention you've 'put into' them they give back every day...but they just get more fragile it seems...

[badgerpup]

9. I thank you for the heads-up!

I will know to address yowly behavior immediately as a symptom of something serious and not just a mood or phase.

[ginnyinWI]

14. I know--

She wasn't in any pain because if I got out her feather toy or a ball to distract her she would immediately be all set to play. We thought for a while that she just enjoyed her own voice, because she'd do it more wherever she could find an echo effect--like at the bottom of the stairs or near the fireplace. Which is probably true, if she's deaf or partially deaf. That way she could hear herself better.

She's still doing some yowling today, although she's always better during the day than at night. Time will tell if the thyroid meds decrease it or stop it completely.

[CountAllVotes]

17. I hate to tell you this

but ...
Old Kitty was playing with her toys right up until the very end. In fact, she was rather hyperactive which is part of the hyperthyroid problem.

I know she was in horrible pain yet she continued to play. Maybe it distracted her from the pain? I don't know ...

[Curmudgeoness]

19. Another heads-up...they do not always yowl.

My cat had what is called apathetic hyperthyroidism, and he just stopped eating and hardly moved. Of course, that is something we all know to be concerned about. But he had lost a lot of weight, I don't know if it was because he refused to eat, or if it had started earlier (he was a long-hair and it is really not all that obvious to look at him). I know drop in at the vet's office just to have my cat weighed occasionally just to make sure I catch a weight loss early.

[Curmudgeoness]

7. As soon as I saw "yowling kitty", I knew

what the problem was. The meds do work well at controlling the thyroid. Just watch her and watch her weight. If she loses weight, and is still eating well, or overeating and not gaining, get her to the vet again. This is very treatable with meds---but it will be for the rest of her life. You are lucky that she takes the pill without problems!!!

Good luck. Take care of your old lady.

[ginnyinWI]

13. we'll see if she actually gains weight

Right now she's eating like a horse and not gaining weight. So a little weight gain would be kind of a relief--showing that her metabolism had slowed back down. Then we "walk a fine line" as the vet said, between too fast (bad for heart) and too slow (bad for kidneys). She'll be going back for a re-check in a month or so.

[Curmudgeoness]

18. Don't worry, she will gain weight when the meds are right.

The fact that she is not yowling anymore is a blessing. This means that she is no longer starving while eating a lot of food---which is what happens when the thyroid goes berserk. I lived through this, although I have lost that cat now, and a friend has a cat who is well regulated on meds and looks so healthy now. It will work out. Good luck!

[CountAllVotes]

12. Old Kitty is gone now because of this problem

She was pushing 18 years of age. She had a tumor and she was very sick. The yowling was due to severe pain.

There wasn't anything they could do for her but put her out of her misery.

I hope you have better results but apparently this hyperthyroid problem is very common in old cats.

I wish you and you cat the best of luck.

[ginnyinWI]

15. thanks

Camilla is probably turning 18 this spring, so is doing pretty well considering. For the last several years I've had her on more wet than dry food, which I believe is a much healthier diet for cats. Dry food is way too high in carbs for cats. And I supplement with a little liver or chicken gizzards sometimes. The switch from dry to wet several years back helped her slim down to 9-10 pounds from a top weight of 15!

Here she is in 2003 about nine years old:

[CountAllVotes]

16. Camilla is beautiful!

I hope she gets a lot better soon.

In Old Kitty's case, she had other issues to go with the hyperthyroid problem.

She also had skin cancer (several surgeries for that) as well as feline herpes of the eyes.

Being Camilla doesn't seem to have a load of other problems, I believe there is hope!