Hyperthyroidism. While this is primarily an issue in our cat patients, dogs can get it too. This is another one of them there quick and effective videos giving a solid overview of the condition!
Having hypothyroidism, I was kind of jealous when I found out my 18 year old cat had hyperthyroidism. She has since passed away. Cassie Lynn was awesome! All our pets are❤
My cat passed many years ago. I've always assumed it was as a result of his diagnosed hyperthyroidism. He was on medication, but that medicine is notorious for being super bitter, and most cats won't take it. I could get him to take it by putting it in a mound of the stinkiest wet food I could find. He learned that trick, though, and I'd find the pill eaten around occasionally. I was about to head off to college, so my cousin and parents took over his care, and I wasn't able to monitor his condition as often. I was the only one in my cat's life willing to take him to and pay for the vet. I have a lot of regret for leaving him.
I was excited to see this presentation on hyperthyroidism in cats. My 11yo cat went to the vet five days ago for a blood panel b/c the vet suspected hyperthyroidism, but the blood tests revealed nothing; everything was normal. He eats very little, has a scruffy coat and is lethargic. No answers yet to this puzzle. I enjoy your videos.
I had almost the same experience with my cat, Teddy. All blood tests normal, no feline leukemia, no FIV, no infectious peritonitis (FIP). Teddy’s fur became thin and full of dandruff, he barely ate a tablespoon of food per day, and he became very lethargic. His thyroid was normal. .Our vet said that since Teddy hadn’t had his teeth done in two years, perhaps that was the problem. I made an appointment for a dental, but Teddy died five days later of an apparent heart attack.
Very well timed for me, thank you! Taking my cat in for her regular thyroid follow up this week but she’s been getting more clever about eating her treat and slipping the pill in her cheek to spit out later… Might be gold star time 🐈⭐️
20 years ago we had a cat that developed hyperthyroidism that we treated with oral medication. She often would walk away after being pilled and spit the tablet out on the laminate floor😩
i had 2 cats that had this 1 died due to kidney failure because on the medicine took too long for her thyroid to be operated on so kidney got messed up sadly and the other one was maintained on it for over a year before she passed away from some other problems brought on by meds sadly if can get it quick there is good chance to operate on them but can do good on meds but it does mess with the kidneys sadly
My cat developed hyperthyroidism at 10 years old. It became impossible to give him that darn pill. I wish there would have been a liquid available. Would ya do a video on the best way to pill a cat. BTW you’re awesome!
I’ll just say here for now until he makes the video, this is what works for me: Step one-build a high level of trust with the cat you need to pill, or as much as you can beforehand anyway (I’m sure you already had this part but I’ll mention in case someone else reads it) Step two-figure out the when and where to actually execute the pilling; wait until they’re awake but not riled up and find a spot where you can have a walk to your back Step three-ready the medicine and have it within reach of where you plan to pill them Step four-bring the cat into position (you can try to wait for them to be close to where you need them if you want) by placing them so they’re perpendicular to the wall that’s going to be at your back and their butt should face that wall (at this point you would be perpendicular to the cat or parallel to the wall with your hand eton the cat) Step five-swing one leg over the cat’s back so you’re perpendicular to wall and standing over the cat, both of you with your butts to the wall (you can be close but no need to be closer than 6 inches, and at this point yo be u’re reaching down to keep the cat where you want him Step six-push your cat down so that they flatten their belly against the floor but are still on their feet (aka doing the roast-chicken 😂) Step seven-while speaking softly to the cat for reassurance, drop down so you’re on your knees with the main part of the cat’s flattenened body between your legs; don’t squeeze your legs together or put your weight on the cat in any ways but hold them in place by putting your hand o their chest so they can’t crawl forward (at this point your legs are preventing them from moving left and right, your body is preventing them from moving up, and the wall is preventing them from moving backward, so with a hand on their chest they should be secure without any extra force) Step eight-grab your pill or whatever and hold in the hand you feel comfortable with (I usually do my dominant hand); you may need to place it down again briefly but you may not Step nine-while speaking softly to your cat and with a calm but firm demeanor, lean forward and down so you have the best view of the cats mouth; take one hand, make your thumb and pointer and/or middle finger into a “U” shape (similar to how you’d hand gesture that something was teeny tiny 🤏🏻 except you need the space to be about 3 inches) the distyance between your thumb and finger) and place it over the top of the cats muzzle so your finger and thumb point toward the floor Steps ten and eleven-In one swift motion, using your finger and thumb, tilt your cats head back and pull their lips up to expose their teeth and wedge your finger between the teeth so they naturally open their mouth (keeping your fingertip in between the teeth on that side to prevent it from re-closing; take the other hand that’s holding the pill, and pull their bottom jaw gently down to open their mouth wide enough to reach the back of their throat-and place the pill as far back as you can without forcing it down their throat manually Step twelve-If your cat is know to spit their pills out, quickly close their jaws and rub the throat for five seconds; otherwise you can release the cat by letting go of their head and standing up Step thirteen-watch for a sec to make sure they swallowed it, tell them how fucking good they are, an give a high value treat so they learn there’s an exchange of sorts when they accept the pill ***you should speak soft praise and reassurance to your cat the entire time, but most importantly when your hands are on or around their mouths ***you will not have a 100% success rate on the first attempt, I suggest trying once and a max of twice more and if you don’t get it, wait a while and then try again because you don’t want to make it a really bad experience with them (I have a cat who is very tolerant-of me and imprinted on me as his mother, and I’m used to the technique so my first-attempt successs rate is about 70%, and by the second or third attempt 90%) ***If your cat struggles wildly, please release them; this isn’t a perfect method for every situation and the nature of how it’s executed means it would be really easy to hurt a cat who freaks out if you try to force their bodies Thanks for coming to my TedTalk
One more thing that’s helpful if you don’t have a cat but not as helpful once you have one for a while: starting early. Just give them a “pill” once per week for the first months of their lives and they’ll be more accepting of it. You can use an empty pill pocket for this.
You have my sympathy. I have a former feral cat that I can’t even pick up. If I had to pill him every day to keep him alive, I’m afraid he wouldn’t live for long. He loves other cats - people, not so much.
My vet, who was familiar with how ... uncooperative ... my hyperthyroid cat was, referred me to a veterinary compounding shop. They produced a medicated soft chicken-flavored chew, which that teenage cat eagerly ate every day. (It did not hurt his feelings that *_he_* got a chicken-flavored "treat" every day but the other cat did not.... Not one bit.)
