Hello and Hyperthyroidism

[Gaina]

Hello All

Hope you all had a nice Christmas and New Year.

Billy had a senior cat check-up today and has been diagnosed with high blood pressure. He also had some blood tests but I won't get the results of those until Monday. He's been given a 14-day course of Fortekor tablets for the blood pressure and I have to get a urine sample cos he wouldn't er...perform for the vet. :lol:

I know he's had a low-grade heart murmur since December 2008, which he wasn't receiving medication for at that point as it was considered very slight.

I actually don't know why I'm typing this, I think I've just been so anxious all day I needed to get it off my chest :oops: .

Is anyone else's cat on Fortekor and if so when did you start to see an improvement? Currently he's a bit lethargic and slightly underweight. Apatite and toilet habits all seem usual for him.

Hope all your respective fur babies are brimming with health!

Gaina xx

[angieh]

Hi Gaina - long time since you've been on! So very sorry to hear about Billy. I've not had a cat on Fortekor but I'm sure others have, hope you'll get some useful advice soon.

[Gaina]

Hello Angie :D. I know I should spend more time in here - I only seem to come on when something's not right with 'Himself' as my friend calls Bill.

How are you and yours? Very well I hope x

[farthing]

Hi, sorry to hear about Billy.
I have 3 cats on benazacare, which is a different trade name for fortekor- i've had others on fortekor in the past.

I assume the blood results you are waiting for are to check his thyroid levels, if he is hyperthyroid, after he us stabilised on whichever treatment you choose, his blood pressure will be much better. I would suggest you get his kidneys tested once his thyroid levels and blood pressure are back to normal though, often hyperthyroidism can mask kidney problems and they only show up once the levels are back in the normal range- as he has high blood pressure I would be more concerned it could develop. If he 'just' has high blood pressure you can use fortekor, although I had one cat on istin to as she was very high, keep an eye on his eyesight as blood pressure can rupture blood vessel in the eye until his blood pressure drops. Hope this hasn't scared you, at the moment I have 5 hyperthyroid cats, 2 in kidney failure one of whoms blood pressure was on thd high end of normal- they are both doing well over a year after diagnosis. Another who is hyperthyroid has heart failure because she would not stabilise and she is on benazacare too to help reduce her blood pressure- she also is doing well after a good few years if neglect before coming to me. One of them is 13, the other is 16 and the last one is thought to be 19.

[angieh]

Hi Gaina - I hope farthing's post has helped. I'm sure if you need further information she would be happy to help and has a huge experience of poorly cats of all sorts.

My two, Kizzy and Pip are fine, thanks for asking. Kizzy is now approx 4 years old and Pip is 2.5 years. We also now have a Miniature Schnauzer named Monty who is 10 months old. I'm sure once he calms down a bit, he and Pip will be great buddies, but he hasn't made friends with Kizzy yet!

Good luck with getting the urine sample. Did the vet give you the special sterile cat litter?

[Gaina]

Hi, sorry to hear about Billy.
I have 3 cats on benazacare, which is a different trade name for fortekor- i've had others on fortekor in the past.

I assume the blood results you are waiting for are to check his thyroid levels, if he is hyperthyroid, after he us stabilised on whichever treatment you choose, his blood pressure will be much better. I would suggest you get his kidneys tested once his thyroid levels and blood pressure are back to normal though, often hyperthyroidism can mask kidney problems and they only show up once the levels are back in the normal range- as he has high blood pressure I would be more concerned it could develop.

Yes, the blood work I'm waiting for will check for thyroid problems as well as kidney. We managed to get a urine sample this morning so that went straight off to the vets.

If he 'just' has high blood pressure you can use fortekor, although I had one cat on istin to as she was very high, keep an eye on his eyesight as blood pressure can rupture blood vessel in the eye until his blood pressure drops. Hope this hasn't scared you,

Don't worry, you haven't scared me as I've been doing my research on hypertension and hyperthyroidism :). I was given a check list of tests that had been done and one eye showed 'some central opacity'. But it doesn't mention a detached retina or anything like that.


at the moment I have 5 hyperthyroid cats, 2 in kidney failure one of whoms blood pressure was on the high end of normal- they are both doing well over a year after diagnosis. Another who is hyperthyroid has heart failure because she would not stabilise and she is on benazacare too to help reduce her blood pressure- she also is doing well after a good few years if neglect before coming to me. One of them is 13, the other is 16 and the last one is thought to be 19.

Thank you for sharing your experience, that's a real comfort :). Billy was a stray and in extremely bad shape when he found us 13 years ago and the vet guessed that he was about a year old at the time. He did however grow over the next year or so, which makes me think her assessment of his age was accurate. He's been thoroughly pampered ever since but I think that rocky start to his life must have left him with some lasting problems because he's always had tooth problems and barely has any left, bless him.

[Gaina]

My two, Kizzy and Pip are fine, thanks for asking. Kizzy is now approx 4 years old and Pip is 2.5 years. We also now have a Miniature Schnauzer named Monty who is 10 months old. I'm sure once he calms down a bit, he and Pip will be great buddies, but he hasn't made friends with Kizzy yet!

Glad to know your fur babies are all well. Do you have any photographs of Monty? He sounds adorable! I'm sure Kizzy will come round to his charms eventually :)

Good luck with getting the urine sample. Did the vet give you the special sterile cat litter?

Yes, we were given the sterile cat litter (which is a good job because it was entirely too cold to run around the garden after him with a jam jar! :lol: ). I got a sample this morning and Dad dropped it off at the vet for me.

The funniest thing yesterday was that the vet said I should encourage him to exercise. He's never been big on exercise and so when I showed him the free cat toy we got, he just looked at me as if I'd lost my mind and wandered off! Haha.

I'll let you know when the blood tests come back and what they say. Thanks so much for your support xx

[truthisouthere]

Hi Gaina
I've no experience with forketor, but farthing's post is very helpful.
Ref exercise; have you tried the fishng rod toy, even the most laid back of cats can't resist these.

[angieh]

Gaina - here's a recent photo of our Monty Bogle http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=40445

[paulinef2]

My cat tiger is on fortekor, he had a stroke in february/ march last year. The vets reckons the stroke was down to a heart condition. He was doing much better within a week to ten days as they had given me blood pressure meds too to help support him initially. Hope this helps a wee bit :)

[Gaina]

Hi Gaina
I've no experience with forketor, but farthing's post is very helpful.
Ref exercise; have you tried the fishing rod toy, even the most laid back of cats can't resist these.

SORRY POSTED TWICE!

Hello :). This is like a riding crop with feathers on the end. Billy just doesn't 'do' play - never has, despite the toys I bought him when he was younger. He did used to enjoy nicking peppermint teabags but that's about his limit. Hmm....I'll think of something! :D

[Gaina]

My cat tiger is on fortekor, he had a stroke in february/ march last year. The vets reckons the stroke was down to a heart condition. He was doing much better within a week to ten days as they had given me blood pressure meds too to help support him initially. Hope this helps a wee bit :)


Hello Pauline,

Yes that helps a lot thank you, cos I've got a 14-day supply of fortekor so I know when to expect to seen an improvement :). I'm just praying that it's primary hypertension, or if it's secondary then its the thyroid which I am gathering is relatively straightforward to treat.

[Gaina]

Gaina - here's a recent photo of our Monty Bogle http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=40445

Aww, he's gorgeous! :D

[Gaina]

After a very nervous day, I just came off the phone to my vet.

Billy's thyroid levels are double what they should be, and the root cause of his heart murmur and some strain on his kidneys and liver, so tomorrow he's starting a 14-day course of a drug called Videlta to get that under control.

There has been a noticeable improvement in his energy levels and breath in four days, so the vet thinks this is a positive sign to have improvement even before the Videlta has been started.

I have to take him back for a check up at the end of next week to see how well he's responding to both medications.

I'm honestly so exhausted I am not sure if I'm going to burst into tears or be sick, I've been so worried!

[angieh]

Tears are easier cleaned up than sick Gaina! Glad that Billy is responding well to his meds already. Hopefully his condition will stabilise and he'll be a happy cat again.

It's very worrying and I'm sure we all can appreciate what you've been going through with him.

[Gaina]

Tears are easier cleaned up than sick Gaina! Glad that Billy is responding well to his meds already. Hopefully his condition will stabilise and he'll be a happy cat again.

It's very worrying and I'm sure we all can appreciate what you've been going through with him.

Thank you so much Angie, you've all been a wonderful comfort to me - I don't know how I'd have managed without all your kindness and advice xxx

I'm now emailing the companies that make the wormers and flea treatments I use to see if there are any known reactions with Fortekor and Vidalta. Best to check 'eh?

Billy is, in true feline style completely cool about the whole thing and a bit puzzled when the humans keep picking him up and asking him how he's feeling! :lol:

[farthing]

Glad you have a diagnosis and that Billy is better already.
Hopefully in 2 weeks he should be feeling even better as the ness kick in, don't be disappointed or surprised if it takes a few tries to get the right dose- we end up juggling things for about 6 months often until we get them all settled, and regular blood samples are recommends as thyroid levels change through time- they can increase or often decrease if the cat has an other chronic illness ( CRf for example). I would still recommend a blood test to check kidneys when his thyroid levels are normal, just to be sure.
Certainly I've had no problems with profender, drontal, frontline or advocate with my hyperthyroid cats- I have 4 on Vidalta and one on felimazole because the Vidalta kept making her sick.
Hope he just gets better and better.:D

[Gaina]

Glad you have a diagnosis and that Billy is better already.
Hopefully in 2 weeks he should be feeling even better as the ness kick in, don't be disappointed or surprised if it takes a few tries to get the right dose- we end up juggling things for about 6 months often until we get them all settled, and regular blood samples are recommends as thyroid levels change through time- they can increase or often decrease if the cat has an other chronic illness ( CRf for example). I would still recommend a blood test to check kidneys when his thyroid levels are normal, just to be sure.
Certainly I've had no problems with profender, drontal, frontline or advocate with my hyperthyroid cats- I have 4 on Vidalta and one on felimazole because the Vidalta kept making her sick.
Hope he just gets better and better.:D

Thank you, Farthing :).

My vet seems to be pretty switched on (I seem to see a different vet every time for regular check ups but I have asked to see this particular one for Billy in future as I really like her) so we'll be monitoring things carefully :).

We start the Vidalta tonight as it has to be taken at the same time every day so we picked a time when we're all around to give it to him and we'll watch how he goes for the next week or two.

He's very content today and has been outside again which is always a good sign :).

[farthing]

That's great. Just a quick point, Vidalta is more effective if taken around feeding time.

[Gaina]

That's great. Just a quick point, Vidalta is more effective if taken around feeding time.

I think it says that on the packaging which is why we chose 6pm, but thank you for reminding me :D.

[truthisouthere]

Hi Gaina,
Just to add to the already teriffic amount of support and helpful advice on here, for what it's worth my cat Mitzi has been on Vidalta for about 4 years now, felimazole didn't suit her. She was very sleepy for the 1st 2 weeks while her body adjusted on the Vidalta but was fine afterwards. I've found the 15mg suits her at the moment.

An important point Farthing has mentioned is if Billy is ever poorly, you will need to keep a very close eye on the dosage. Vidalta can play havoc on a poorly cat if not monitored carefully, and in my Mitzi's case will give confusing readings and need to be adjusted accordingly when going through illness or if a cat loses weight or/and puts it on again. When Mitzi was ill the blood notes came back that her dose would need to be upped, however, this was the illness affecting the reading, so be aware of this. You know your own cat and what is 'normal' and not normal, be guided by that. I had to change the dosage a little while Mitzi was ill as it would have been too much for her little body to take otherwise. Her organs were ok to start with though, and they're ok now. Billy's a different case and I trust your vet will guide you on his other bits and pieces, bless him.

I get my tablets from the internet now. The vet's cost was spiralling and it's much more manageable for me this way. In time you might want to do this too. Once you get the dose right ask for a 'repeat prescription' from your vet. You'll still need the regular blood tests, every 6 months or so, depending on how Billy is doing. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

[Gaina]

Hi Gaina,
Just to add to the already teriffic amount of support and helpful advice on here, for what it's worth my cat Mitzi has been on Vidalta for about 4 years now, felimazole didn't suit her. She was very sleepy for the 1st 2 weeks while her body adjusted on the Vidalta but was fine afterwards. I've found the 15mg suits her at the moment.

An important point Farthing has mentioned is if Billy is ever poorly, you will need to keep a very close eye on the dosage. Vidalta can play havoc on a poorly cat if not monitored carefully, and in my Mitzi's case will give confusing readings and need to be adjusted accordingly when going through illness or if a cat loses weight or/and puts it on again. When Mitzi was ill the blood notes came back that her dose would need to be upped, however, this was the illness affecting the reading, so be aware of this. You know your own cat and what is 'normal' and not normal, be guided by that. I had to change the dosage a little while Mitzi was ill as it would have been too much for her little body to take otherwise. Her organs were ok to start with though, and they're ok now. Billy's a different case and I trust your vet will guide you on his other bits and pieces, bless him.

I get my tablets from the internet now. The vet's cost was spiralling and it's much more manageable for me this way. In time you might want to do this too. Once you get the dose right ask for a 'repeat prescription' from your vet. You'll still need the regular blood tests, every 6 months or so, depending on how Billy is doing. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.

Hello! Thanks for your thorough reply x

My vet said we'll be better able to see what's going on with his kidneys etc when his BP and thyroid are stabilized as the thyroid problem is the root of everything else.

I'm fully insured so right now it's just a case of talking to my insurer and finding out if it's worth going online for the meds or if I should stay with the vet. We considered doing this before with his flea and worming treatments but I realised after prescription costs I'd have been precisely 50p better off! :lol:

I'll keep you updated on his progress.

Gaina x

[Gaina]

Mum just picked Bill up and it seems he's put a little weight on in the last week. He's continuing to move around and explore the garden a lot more and he jumped up on the dining chair for a cuddle this morning which he wasn't doing last week. :-D

[angieh]

That's good news Gaina - seems he's feeling more himself again.

[Gaina]

That's good news Gaina - seems he's feeling more himself again.

Yep :). Not totally relaxed yet until we get the BP and Thyroid levels stable but it's going in the right direction ;).

[truthisouthere]

Bless him. That's good news :)

I forgot to mention about the Vidalta tablets: Always, always give with plenty of water. I used to drizzle a small syringeful of water down Mitzi's mouth when giving the tablet, but just to make absoloutley sure it goes down and to stop it sticking to the side of her mouth I always give her about 3 or 4 syringefuls now. It's quite powdery and expands quite a bit when dropped in water, so it wouldn't be good being 'hidden' in the pocket of a cat's cheek! It's time relased, so it must go down unbroken and fairly quickly.
If Billy is the sort of cat who will spit it out on the sly, like my Mitzi does(!), then you'll need to pick it up again and dry it off in something close at hand before trying again, it can get sticky and shouldn't really touch any skin once wet. It needs to be dry to drop it in the mouth.

Very important to always rinse hands immmediately after administering. This sort of dose would be considered very high for a human and any trace must be washed off.

[Liz]

Good news about the stabilisation. Our HT boy Max has nearly got all his weight back and we are just waiting for the vet to get his plastercast off so he can have his op to remove it as he is deemed the perfect candidate for the op

Max is on 20mg of Vitalda at the moment and is stable and very active we are paying approx £30 a month for his tablets, makes a change as the last thing we had at that price was the insulin and needles for our 2 late great diabetics

We have the same vets as Farthing

[Gaina]

Good news about the stabilisation. Our HT boy Max has nearly got all his weight back and we are just waiting for the vet to get his plastercast off so he can have his op to remove it as he is deemed the perfect candidate for the op

Max is on 20mg of Vitalda at the moment and is stable and very active we are paying approx £30 a month for his tablets, makes a change as the last thing we had at that price was the insulin and needles for our 2 late great diabetics

We have the same vets as Farthing

Plaster cast? Oh dear - what's Max been up to!? :roll:

Billy's on 15mg of Vidalta. Does your pet insurance pay for your tablets? I'm just wondering if my pet insurance will work out the cost monthly or yearly, cos if it's the latter then maybe I'll be covered. I'll wait and see what happens when he's stabilised and I'll have a better idea how we're proceeding If, when stable he's a good candidate for removal of the thyroid I won't mess about, I'll just have it done.

truthisouthere - Thanks for the warning about washing your hands. The pill has definitely gone 'all the way down the hatch' because it's hidden in his favourite treats and gets polished off quickly! He also gets another piece of whatever we've hidden the pill in and then has a drink before retiring for a nap (he's got such a hard life, my cat! haha).

We went out for lunch today and when we came back, he trotted straight outside to greet us as soon as the door was open, which is another sign he's reverting back to his usual self :).

[Gaina]

Guess what Billy did today? *skipped* upstairs and shouted at my mum for not giving him his breakfast 'right now'. Someone's feeling better!

Back to the vet on Wednesday or Thursday to check his heart and BP. Hopefully both improved, but by looking at his demeanour today I think I can breath a little easier.

[Gaina]

Hello all :)

Himself is still doing well and the shine is coming back to his coat along with the weight ;).

Tonight he was about half an hour later with his Vidalta than usual as the plumber was in (don't ask! haha). Is this ok? When they say 'to be taken at the same time every day' how specific are the manufacturers being with the phrase 'same time'?

I wouldn't even have known it was supposed to be taken at the same time every day if I'd not looked up the medication - vet gave me no clue at all, just said 1 tablet a day!

Oh, and we're off to the vet for an check-up on Thursday so I'll update you then on his progress;).

[Elaine]

I wouldnt worry too much about being half an hour late, it's always advisable for meds to be taken at aprox' the same time each day but he should be just fine. xxx

[Gaina]

I wouldnt worry too much about being half an hour late, it's always advisable for meds to be taken at aprox' the same time each day but he should be just fine. xxx

Thanks Elaine :-D

[angieh]

Glad to hear that he's perked up Gaina and that his coat is shiny again - always an excellent sign.

[Gaina]

Glad to hear that he's perked up Gaina and that his coat is shiny again - always an excellent sign.

:) He marched upstairs to demand breakfast again this morning.

[Gaina]

Just come back from the vets. She's very pleased with his response to the medication, and he's put nearly a pound on!

He has to go back in on February 16th for another blood and urine test, but right now things look encouraging :).

[angieh]

Such good news, hope he keeps getting better.

[Gaina]

Such good news, hope he keeps getting better.

Thank you, we've all very relieved x

[Gaina]

Billy had another blood test last thursday (16th) and the results came back today

His thyroid levels are right down to 30 which is right in the middle of the 'healthy zone' and his kidney and liver enzymes are stable, if a bit high.

His blood pressure was high, but the vet said he did get a bit stressed when they took his blood she's not overly concerned about that.

We've changed his diet to a 'senior' diet low in protein but I need to keep an eye on that as keeping the protein low helps with his kidney function.

Generally the vet is happy with his progress and we need to go back in six weeks for a check up (that thankfully doesn't involve a blood test so no starving necessary!). However, I have to get some more wee to take with me. That'll be laugh - Mum ended up in the garden holding an empty 'Flora' tub under him to get the last one! :P

[angieh]

Hi Gaina - it's good to hear that Billy has improved and his medication must be at the right level for him. I hope that his high blood pressure was only because he got stressed, but I expect your vet will keep an eye on that.

I think you can get sterile cat litter for wee collection!

[Gaina]

Hi Gaina - it's good to hear that Billy has improved and his medication must be at the right level for him. I hope that his high blood pressure was only because he got stressed, but I expect your vet will keep an eye on that.

I think you can get sterile cat litter for wee collection!

We did get some from the vet. He poo'd on it then went outside for a wee. :lol:

I have to pick up some more tablets this week so I'll get another sample pack and keep it until the night before his urine test is due (with the Flora tub on standby! :lol: ).