How Bizarre Is Life?

[DJHawkes]

My vet (well the cats vet, not mine, I go to a GP who is of the human persuasion) has diagnosed my cat Lizzie with hyperthyroidism! I've had the same (human) condition since 1987, it's freaky, I didn't even know cats could develop the disease! Blinkin eck, I wonder if she gets up in a morning and thinks, "sod this I'm going back to bed",

[RATTER15]

Lol, I bet she does!!

[Duncer]

Is there a cat in the world that DOESN'T think about going back to bed?

[DJHawkes]

she's sleeping way more than her 'sister' trisha, and now has quite bad lesions on her neck, I thought it might be cancerous but apparently not thank goodness.

[DJHawkes]

the two are so different, Trisha is a real night prowler but Lizzie hasn't really moved much for a couple of months and yet she's looking thinner. now i know why.

[Ronnie10]

It's always handy to fully research animals that you intend to domesticate so not to get caught out like this.

[Duncer]

Thank goodness. One of mine sleeps much more than the other.

[anneasquith]

my friends dog has just been prescribed thyroxin.

[DJHawkes]

lol I think after having cats for over 50 years I've developed a keen sense of spotting when one of them is not functioning to expected capacity, it's not caught me out, I have petplan lol

[wildwood]

Mammals are mammals. Most of the illnesses common to humans are also common in other mammals. It just not so obvious in a herd of gazelles, the weaker ones have been picked off by the predators.

Next time, take your cat to your GP, it is much cheaper than a Vet. ☺

[Prudie]

My cat also got diagnosed with that dotty and until then I hadn't realised how common it was in older cats (how old is Lizzie?). what's the treatment - tablets, thyroid removal or just keep an eye?

[DJHawkes]

well the vet thinks she is about 6, she was a rescue cat i took from fylde cat escue in 2010 and so nothing definate, he's given me some tablets to start her on for a couple of weeks to see what happens, Thy something.

[anneasquith]

thyroxin

[flump1]

Dot, good news it is something treatable. I didn't know they were able to get the conditions we do either. You learn summit new every day.

[Prudie]

Mine went for the tablets. If I'm honest the daily dosing became quite a stressfest.

[DJHawkes]

no not thyroxin, i'm on that, it's a longer word.

yes flump i know, never knew

[Prudie]

Mine took Vidalta - a brand name for carbimazole. Little pink tablets.

[wolf63]

My little boy cat is asthmatic - I had no idea that cats could get asthma. Thinking about it - why not. They are mammals just like us.

My last cat had chlamydia - it seems that it is not sexually transmitted in cats. I mentioned to the vet that George didn't have a girlfriend so how could he have it. Snag that I am.

[cupid04]

One of my cats caught tonsilitis and lost his deep meow! I missed his meow as he was always so talkative. I still miss him even though we've had another cat for over ten years. He died too soon, not of tonsilitis but feline aids.

[jaynethepain]

I have recently come across two friends who have had cats diagnosed with thyroid problems by the vet, both animals were put on the medication your describe at great expense. Both cats developed nasty lesions on their body and one of them was really miserable as she had to wear a collar to stop her licking them & making the lesions worse.

One friend was recommended to take her cat off the medication & feed her special food which she buys on the Internet. As the drugs were costing a lot (plus the vet consultation fee every visit) she decided to go with it and the cat hasn't looked back. I told my other friend about this too and put her cat on the same food, stopped the drugs and again, cat is happy, healthy, eating and the nasty sores on her neck are disappearing. Apparently it's the iodine in ordinary cat food that makes some cats ill, this other cat food doesn't have it in. You aren't able to feed them anything else though, no treats, chicken, fish etc but its got to be worth a try?

For the life of me I can't remember the name of this food but it is available from vets (costs more) but also from amazon (a lot cheaper). If you a) ask your vet I'm sure they will tell you the brand name or b) search online, I'm sure it will come up. Let me know if you can't find it and ill contact my buddies for the name.

[jaynethepain]

It's me again, I think it's made by Hills.