Michael99 Â Â 10 #25 Posted January 26, 2010 My 15-year old cat has been on Vidalta for about 10 days now. He is eating very little and I think he has lost more weight. He has been eating the same cat food all his life, but seems to have little appetite for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
tplongy   10 #26 Posted January 26, 2010 Hi Michael My 16 year old cats both of them, have now been on Vidalta since my last post on August 2006, however both on different milligrams. My girl cat settled down almost immediately on the same dose of 15mgs x 1 tab. However my male cats weight fluctuated like a yo yo for some months before they got the dosage just right - so he went from being manic feed me feed me feed me behaviour to being like a sloth.  He is now on 2 x 10 mill tabs a day and has calmed down dramatically. I think the tablets do have that effect to start with as it balances the thyroid, I do recall it made my two sleep a lot (more!) at first. I am no expert, but perhaps give it a little longer - if he is still not eating (or can't be tempted with treats) and you are concerned re his weight loss, then bob him back to vets and they will probably change the dose... hope this helps. I think its worth perserving, a friend of mine took her cat off the tablets as she was "borderline" thyroid, ended up getting glaucoma in her eyes and going temporarily blind because of it, so sure you are doing the right thing by him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
vwkittie   10 #27 Posted January 26, 2010 I had an elderly cat with hyperthyroid and she had a thyroidectamy (sp?) rather than making her take tablets every day which worked very well.  Drawback with any of the more radical (surgical or radio iodene) thyroid treatments is of course you can end up hypo and needing thyroxine. In humans this is considered 'better' and easier to manage - I wonder if any vets on here can say if this is the same for animals out of interest?  Neo mercazole is indeed a human medicine, I was on it for a good few years myself! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
tplongy   10 #28 Posted January 26, 2010 I spose it depends on your cat. Operating on elderly cats is not always ideal. Certainly my vets never offered me that option.  I was very worried about giving them tablets in a stress free manner. However we discovered "wafer thin chicken". Every night at 7 pm we shake their tablet box and they come trotting in expecting a treat. Which is their tablets wrapped in a small piece of wafer thin chicken. Yumee they love it. I know not all cats so easy to please but its worth a try, before we hit on the chicken, we had tried butter, tuna, can't crush them, so was eternally happy they now take it. Force feeding them tablets every day for rest of their lives was not something I was looking forward to! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
meshuga   10 #29 Posted January 26, 2010 I had an elderly cat with hyperthyroid and she had a thyroidectamy (sp?) rather than making her take tablets every day which worked very well. Drawback with any of the more radical (surgical or radio iodene) thyroid treatments is of course you can end up hypo and needing thyroxine. In humans this is considered 'better' and easier to manage - I wonder if any vets on here can say if this is the same for animals out of interest?  Neo mercazole is indeed a human medicine, I was on it for a good few years myself!  Cats very rarely end up hypothyroid as a result of surgery or radioiodine treatment. In fact they are more likely to do so as a result of unmonitored vidalta or felimazole therapy (hence the need for regular checks)  Surgery is a good option as long as the drawbacks have been considered - 1. that the condition can recur as it is nigh impossible to remove every last cell of affected thyroid tissue; 2. it can only be useful for "anatomical" thyroid tissue, i.e. tissue that is where its supposed to be - ectopic thyroid tissue can occur in the chest or abdomen (rarely); 3. even in the best surgical hands there is a risk of damage to the parathyroids - the resulting hypocalcaemia being frankly more difficult to treat than the initial thyroid disease, and more expensive too, albeit usually short term. It should always be offered but few folk go for it without first trying the tablets - and that is usually my advice. Try tablets first, in food if necessary, if your cat really won't take them then go for surgery.  Radiotherapy is done at a few centres around the UK (Bristol vet school being one). It is quite possibly the most ideal of all treatments from the cats point of view as it is effective, treats ectopic tissue, and hassle free long term with no daily medication and lower recurrence rates than surgery. However it is expensive (£1000-1500at a guess), as your radioactive cat needs to be nursed for several weeks at the hospital until its safe to go home. Hence lots of initial tests and checks are done to ensure your cat isn't likely to fall ill from something else in the meantime, and hospitalisation fees in a special lead lined ward aren't cheap.  And just a reminder - the vidalta shouldn't be crushed in food - it is a sustained release prep that only works as a once a day medicine if left whole. If you want crushables, ask for felimazole. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
vwkittie   10 #30 Posted January 27, 2010 That's interesting meshuga, didn't know you could get thyroid tissues elsewhere in the body sometimes! When i had the radiotherapy thing I just got three weeks off work (no lead lined room for me!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Weebro   10 #31 Posted September 3, 2010 I have had real difficulty giving vidalta tablets to my elderly cat and surgery wasn't an option - got round this by crushing them despite being told not to, and dividing dose; half am. and half pm. mixed in an ever changing treat- mainly cat sachets with the medicine in a tablespoonful and then giving the usual cheaper cat food! The cat is thriving and the bloodtests are good - so now have a stress free cat. Weebro Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
tonklover   10 #32 Posted December 12, 2010 (edited) I had a similar experience with my Tonk. Vet very unhappy about giving us a prescripton for vidalta so swapped to different practice. Have found that the internet for vet drugs is amazingly cheap in comparason with normal vet prices. The only annoying thing is the prescription charges! Edited December 12, 2010 by tonklover Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
suemog   10 #33 Posted January 14, 2011 my cat has just been diagnosed with thyroid troubles after a blood test last week. My first tablets sold to me last night was £14 for 15 tablets. Then he will need another blood test to see if ok ! I did have a bit of trouble getting them down his throat and if did take 2 pair of hands....may try the way that weebro suggested though and split the times and crush them, as he did get a bit stressed and I felt like I was trying to murder him. Has anyone else had success with this way of administrating the tablets and does anyone know if there are other cheaper tablets Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
dougaldog   10 #34 Posted January 14, 2011 I used to use one of those plastic pill poppers. You can buy them from your vet. I just used to kneel down behind my cat, tip his head back and pop it in - took seconds. You can get it right to the back of the throat so they can't spit it out. He actually got to the stage where he'd come and ask me for it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
suemog   10 #35 Posted January 20, 2011 Thanks for that Dougaldog - having success at the moment with the thin sliced chicken and hams though - he loves them - trouble is he won't eat his own food when he has had the slices. How long is it usually before you see any change - he as only been on them for 1 week now and no weight increase but not quite as loud when he is having a moan ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
dougaldog   10 #36 Posted January 20, 2011 To be honest, my cat was on hyperthyroidism drugs for years in his old age, but never really put on any weight. He lived till he was 16 and died of something unrelated so they must have been doing their job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...