# Loomis the Cat



## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I went back to Dr. Dodds yesterday with Loomis the cat. Loomis weighed in at 21.3 pounds, so he has lost a bit of weight. They drew his blood and switched him to Taste of the Wild Canyon River Formula from Wellness Core Indoor.

Got his blood results today. Dr. Dodds first words were: OMG! His thyroid function is basically non-existent.

So we are starting him on meds and retest in a few weeks. Hopefully he will be feeling better soon. Now he is basically a slug. Poor boy!

We then discussed my cat Lily, who is psycho! lol...Dr. Dodds wants to test her thyroid as well, feels she my be hyperthyroid. So we get to go see her yet again. 

She truly is a very kind woman. She is very personable and so brilliant!


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## jazzipoodle (Mar 30, 2010)

It's great that your kitties are getting such excellent veterinary care!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

That is wonderful that Dr. Dodd has figured out his issue. I am sure now that he is on the correct medication he will be feeling more energetic soon. Lily has thyroid issues too? Is this very common in cats?


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks! HYPERthyroid is VERY common in cats. They get it when they are older usually from a benign tumor on the thyroid. They get very thin yet have a voracious appetite. There coat gets horrible and they get very vocal. Lily's coat looks good but she is thin and vocal.

Loomis had hyperthyroid at only 9 years old. He was obese and wasn't vocal, but his coat was horrible. I tried every food and supplement on the planet but his coat was awful and he was still obese. I just thought he was too fat to groom properly. I took him in for a dental and they did the pre-anesthesia blood work and it came back hyper-thyroid. I gave him the pills for awhile, but read where eventually it would start to hurt his internal organs. So I opted for Radio-active iodine treatment. They inject him with Radio-active iodine and it travels to his thyroid and kills the tumor. They stay in the hospital for 11 days and humans have to limit exposure to them. When he came home we had to get flushable cat litter, throwing his cat litter in the trash would have been illegal! (Don't understand how it is better to add it to the ocean).

Anyways, it worked, his thyroid came back to normal for 2 years. But we were again going to do a dental and his bloods came back hypo thyroid. I took him to Dr. Dodds because she is known for her research on thyroid. I guess hypothyroid on cats is very, very rare, unless they have 1. cancer, or 2. previous radio active iodine therapy.

So anyway, here we are. The good thing is hypothyroid shouldn't damage his organs like hyperthyroid would have


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

N2Mischief said:


> Thanks! HYPERthyroid is VERY common in cats. They get it when they are older usually from a benign tumor on the thyroid. They get very thin yet have a voracious appetite. There coat gets horrible and they get very vocal. Lily's coat looks good but she is thin and vocal.
> 
> Loomis had hyperthyroid at only 9 years old. He was obese and wasn't vocal, but his coat was horrible. I tried every food and supplement on the planet but his coat was awful and he was still obese. I just thought he was too fat to groom properly. I took him in for a dental and they did the pre-anesthesia blood work and it came back hyper-thyroid. I gave him the pills for awhile, but read where eventually it would start to hurt his internal organs. So I opted for Radio-active iodine treatment. They inject him with Radio-active iodine and it travels to his thyroid and kills the tumor. They stay in the hospital for 11 days and humans have to limit exposure to them. When he came home we had to get flushable cat litter, throwing his cat litter in the trash would have been illegal! (Don't understand how it is better to add it to the ocean).
> 
> ...


I know that cats are different then people, but in a human, the radioactive iodine is meant to kill the thyroid, not just a tumor - and humans who take that for hyperthyroidism will typically become hypothyroid and will take thyroid replacement meds for the rest of their lives.
And also, at least with people, the thyroid hormones effect every cell in the body, and too little can also effect the organs - especially the heart and skin, but basically every organ in the body! Also, again with humans, but I can't imagine cats could be that different - absorption of thyroid meds is greatly effected by having food in the stomach - and it is ok if you want to give her the pill food, but just make sure that it is the same amount at the same time of day - that way the dosage will be adjusted to account for the amount of absorption lost by the food!


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I was told with Loomis that there was chance his thyroid would be killed, but they try to do a low enough dose and that doesn't usually happen. Of course with us, it was bound to happen, I usually can't catch a break! lol. I believe as long as he is getting the meds/synthetic hormones for hypothyroid his organs should be ok. I think the meds for hyperthyroid can actually damage the heart. I could be wrong, it was two years ago and my memory is horrible.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Yes, so long as you check to make sure that his dosage is correct, his organs should be fine - it is when they are hypo and you don't know it that the organs can be damaged!
Be sure to especially keep an eye on the dosage as he loses weight!

Boy, it sounds like, just like me, you are a magnet for high maintenance critters!! It's too late to cover anything pre-existing, but from now on, health insurance begins the first day that their paws cross my threshold!


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