# Thyroid medication cats



## Fluffypiglet (8 July 2019)

Hi all, I will be talking to the vet tomorrow but Iâ€™m feeling a bit like they arenâ€™t listening to me and I would be grateful for thoughts.  Our 11 year old cat was looking rather scraggy, eating and drinking loads and not looking great. He had a geriatric blood screen which showed his thyroid wasnâ€™t working. He was put onto 10mg tablets of thiamazole. Weâ€™ve had repeat bloods and itâ€™s been confirmed his bloods have normalised. Unfortunately however heâ€™s had side effects of red, itchy ears and the vet confirmed this can be the case with this medication. He has only been on it for 3 weeks. Heâ€™s scratched a hole in his head in front of his ear and seems quite bothered. I spoke with the vet who said that he can swap onto liquid. My husband picked up the new prescription tonight and having just read the leaflet it is the exact same medication and has a warning that it can cause pruritis and excoriations of the head and neck. Iâ€™m reluctant to give him the same drug thatâ€™s causing the issues. When I expressed concern about him scratching his head open, Iâ€™ve just been told he will need to be on medication for life. Which I know but is there not an alternative drug? Does the liquid version have a better tolerance? Has anyone been through this and what did you do? Ideas? I donâ€™t like to challenge the vet but against that I also donâ€™t want to be causing suffering to the cat even if it is to treat a serious condition. Help.

Thank you for reading!


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## Sussexbythesea (9 July 2019)

I think all the meds are basically the same thing or break down into the same thing. I looked at this when my elderly cat reacted badly to the medication in that it made her ill and wouldnâ€™t eat or move. 

As your cat is relatively young (mine was 15/16) there are the options of surgery or radioactive iodine treatment. I didnâ€™t do this because of her age and that she was also a very stressy cat and they have to stay in hospital for a couple of weeks because of the radioactivity. 

As I understand they often want to stabilise on meds first to make sure there are no other underlying issues such as kidney insufficiency. The high blood pressure caused by overactive thyroid can mask this.

I stopped meds and just let it take its course in the end as it was less stressful and better for her.


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## Fluffypiglet (9 July 2019)

Thank you for responding, I'm sorry you lost your cat. It's definitely something we've talked about - if the side effects outweigh the benefits it's just not fair. I would like to go ahead with the radioactive treatment but even though he's only 11 I worry that it's a lot to put him through at his age. I know they'll look after him but the one time we tried a cattery for three nights it completely stressed him out. I guess a lower dose needs to be tried (which is what the vets are doing, they just didn't explain that!) and we'll keep fingers crossed.


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## Mynstrel (9 July 2019)

A friend of mine had the radioactive treatment for her cat at the beginning of this year and she's really impressed with the results. Her cat's about 14 and not a people person but she found a vet in Yorkshire happy to take unfriendly or shy cats and she said the biggest stress was not being allowed cuddles for a few weeks. She'd had trouble with daily treatment, which is why she went for it, and she says you'd never know the cat had been ill now.


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## Umbongo (9 July 2019)

So there are a few options for hyperthyroidism in cats.
Felimazole tablets (thiamazole).....I'm guessing these are the ones your cat was on?
Thyronorm liquid (thiamazole)
Vidalta (carbimazole)
Transdermal gel applied to the ear (methimazole).

If the thiamazole is causing this reaction then maybe bring it up with your vet again. Most practices will keep a couple of different types. Saying that, my friends cat was itchy on felimazole tablets but was fine on the thyronorm. So it might be worth giving it a try. Turned out he was allergic to some other ingredient in the tablet form that wasn't present in the liquid form.

If you don't want to give medication or cat is difficult to give medication. Then some cats can be managed on diet (Hills y/d) but they can ONLY eat this and nothing else. Surgery or radioactive iodine are options to think about long term. Both come with their risks and benefits.


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## Northern (9 July 2019)

My cat has just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (she's 15), and I have opted for the radioactive iodine treatment. Had her booked in and she became very unwell, so needs to be stabilised for a few weeks on meds first (I wanted to avoid this as they need to be off meds for 2 weeks prior to the treatment, but she had other ideas!). I understand the RAI treatment has a 95% curative rate and negates the need to medicate for the thyroid afterwards. My cat is older, but is otherwise completely healthy so I went down this route so we aren't tied to twice daily pills (she is a bit challenging). In an 11 year old cat I would definitely look into RAI, it will save you the cost of medication in the long run as well.

ETA: I am personally not a huge fan of the methimazole cream, I have looked after cats that have constantly damp and irritated ears from it (but was still the lesser of the two evils compared to pilling them!).


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## Yokosmom (10 July 2019)

My cat isnâ€™t bothered by the methimazole cream, which is a good thing, because if I had to pill her twice a day, sheâ€™d be PTS.


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## Fluffypiglet (10 July 2019)

Umbongo said:



			So there are a few options for hyperthyroidism in cats.
Felimazole tablets (thiamazole).....I'm guessing these are the ones your cat was on?
Thyronorm liquid (thiamazole)
Vidalta (carbimazole)
Transdermal gel applied to the ear (methimazole).

If the thiamazole is causing this reaction then maybe bring it up with your vet again. Most practices will keep a couple of different types. Saying that, my friends cat was itchy on felimazole tablets but was fine on the thyronorm. So it might be worth giving it a try. Turned out he was allergic to some other ingredient in the tablet form that wasn't present in the liquid form.

If you don't want to give medication or cat is difficult to give medication. Then some cats can be managed on diet (Hills y/d) but they can ONLY eat this and nothing else. Surgery or radioactive iodine are options to think about long term. Both come with their risks and benefits.
		
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That's good to know, I've been googling but limited results. He's really good about taking medication and it's interesting that it might be some other ingredient in the tablet. I've started him on the liquid at a lower dose than 10mg (in line with vet advice) but it's good to know that there might be another drug to try if his reaction continues.


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## Fluffypiglet (10 July 2019)

Thank you all for sharing, massively helpful! I would like him to have the radioactive treatment but I think it would stress him the most so that will be the option if we can't sort the Mx issue. Medication is no bother, he happily licks the thyronorm from the syringe like it's a treat! He's even quite easy to get pills down if it's in the middle of a meat stick!! It's just the itchy ears that's the concern, poor boy. He's otherwise improved loads. I'll definitely avoid the ear cream as an option!!


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## Fluffypiglet (10 July 2019)

Northern said:



			My cat has just been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (she's 15), and I have opted for the radioactive iodine treatment. Had her booked in and she became very unwell, so needs to be stabilised for a few weeks on meds first (I wanted to avoid this as they need to be off meds for 2 weeks prior to the treatment, but she had other ideas!). I understand the RAI treatment has a 95% curative rate and negates the need to medicate for the thyroid afterwards. My cat is older, but is otherwise completely healthy so I went down this route so we aren't tied to twice daily pills (she is a bit challenging). In an 11 year old cat I would definitely look into RAI, it will save you the cost of medication in the long run as well.

ETA: I am personally not a huge fan of the methimazole cream, I have looked after cats that have constantly damp and irritated ears from it (but was still the lesser of the two evils compared to pilling them!).
		
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I hope you get your cat sorted and stabilised ready for the RAI. ðŸ¤ž


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## Sussexbythesea (10 July 2019)

Umbongo said:



			So there are a few options for hyperthyroidism in cats.
Felimazole tablets (thiamazole).....I'm guessing these are the ones your cat was on?
Thyronorm liquid (thiamazole)
Vidalta (carbimazole)
Transdermal gel applied to the ear (methimazole).

If the thiamazole is causing this reaction then maybe bring it up with your vet again. Most practices will keep a couple of different types. Saying that, my friends cat was itchy on felimazole tablets but was fine on the thyronorm. So it might be worth giving it a try. Turned out he was allergic to some other ingredient in the tablet form that wasn't present in the liquid form.

If you don't want to give medication or cat is difficult to give medication. Then some cats can be managed on diet (Hills y/d) but they can ONLY eat this and nothing else. Surgery or radioactive iodine are options to think about long term. Both come with their risks and benefits.
		
Click to expand...

Felimazole tablets (thiamazole).....I'm guessing these are the ones your cat was on?
Thyronorm liquid (thiamazole)
Vidalta (carbimazole)
Transdermal gel applied to the ear (methimazole).

According to what Iâ€™ve read thiamazole is another name for methimazole and carbimazole converts to the active methimazole after absorption. The latter may be a better option as apparently as a â€œpro-drugâ€ can have less side-effects.


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## Boulty (16 July 2019)

Would say it's worth trying the liquid as it may be something else in the tablet other than the active ingredient causing the reaction. (probably not but worth a try just in case) Would definitely discuss radioactive iodine if you're still having issues though. There's various centres offering it (although be warned it's not a cheap option although if you weigh the cost against years of tablets then I guess it balances out in the end).  There's one near us where that's literally all they do & I know they aim to get them home as soon as they possibly can afterwards (some go back home within about 4 or 5 days) whereas some places they seem to have them there for quite prolonged periods (I guess it's worth seeing where your options would be locally & how long a typical stay is to compare)  https://www.hyperthyroidcatcentre.c...MI4caE4YW44wIVB7TtCh3WOA-WEAAYASAAEgK4nPD_BwE   is the one near me but I suspect if your location on here is accurate it may be a little far (but some of the info may still be useful)


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## Fluffypiglet (16 July 2019)

THank you Boulty, thatâ€™s really interesting to read about, unfortunately it would be a very long way to go and cat doesnâ€™t travel well based on how he reacts if he has to go 8 miles up the road to the bigger vet practice! Iâ€™ve not entirely ruled out the RAI and if they could get him back with a week I would definitely be more interested. 

Pleased to say (thank you everyone for your input) he seems much better on the liquid and his scabby head is clearing up beautifully so he doesnâ€™t look so much like an unloved street cat anymore!  Iâ€™ll be interested as to what his blood results comeback like tho as heâ€™s on 5mg a day instead of 10. Fingers crossed itâ€™s working. Heâ€™s still quite scraggy looking but heâ€™s loving the liquid, seems to think itâ€™s a treat twice a day!


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## Mynstrel (16 July 2019)

Boulty said:



			Would say it's worth trying the liquid as it may be something else in the tablet other than the active ingredient causing the reaction. (probably not but worth a try just in case) Would definitely discuss radioactive iodine if you're still having issues though. There's various centres offering it (although be warned it's not a cheap option although if you weigh the cost against years of tablets then I guess it balances out in the end).  There's one near us where that's literally all they do & I know they aim to get them home as soon as they possibly can afterwards (some go back home within about 4 or 5 days) whereas some places they seem to have them there for quite prolonged periods (I guess it's worth seeing where your options would be locally & how long a typical stay is to compare)  https://www.hyperthyroidcatcentre.c...MI4caE4YW44wIVB7TtCh3WOA-WEAAYASAAEgK4nPD_BwE   is the one near me but I suspect if your location on here is accurate it may be a little far (but some of the info may still be useful)
		
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That's the place my friend used, she can't rate them highly enough. She travelled from Blackpool so not as far but mostly A roads for her, and she used pet remedy spray in and around her carrier for the trip cos her cat's a bad traveller too. She decided to use that one cos of the setup there and the quick turn around to get cats home again and her cat came home sulking about her holiday but otherwise untraumatised.


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## missmatch (16 July 2019)

I use this for one of mine https://www.animeddirect.co.uk/cats...MIrPmx57-54wIVwbHtCh1JegTyEAAYASAAEgLuOvD_BwE

Itâ€™s worked very well but I have to be careful that is their only food source.


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