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.

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 .

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 . 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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by angieh

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! ). 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