Meowing and Thyroid

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CatNipped - 12 Jan 2006 19:26 GMT

I remember reading something here about cats who have thyroid problems
meowing more than they usually do. Does anyone have any information on
that? Jessie just had blood work done and one of the things the vet
suspects is thyroid problems. She's 6.5 years old, losing weight (from 7.65
to 6.8 lbs), her coat is looking raggedy, and a bit of her third eyelid is
showing. Added to all that, but I didn't twig to it until just now so
didn't tell the vet, is a yowly sounding meow that's she's been doing.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

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CatNipped

See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/

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Lucy's Mom - 13 Jan 2006 01:20 GMT

>I remember reading something here about cats who have thyroid problems
>meowing more than they usually do. Does anyone have any information on
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
>Any info would be greatly appreciated.

CatNipped,

Yes, our experience has been the same with our Tiger. She started
yowling around the house several years ago. We were already watching
her thyroid levels, since they were somewhat elevated. Her next
geriatric checkup revealed that the thyroid levels were becoming a
problem that we needed to deal with. Her weight was also noticeably
decreasing as well. If this is indeed Jessie's problem, there are
several good way's to deal with it. Let me know and I'll fill you in
on the options we had, what we chose, and how it worked for us.

--Kim and the CRC

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CatNipped - 13 Jan 2006 03:33 GMT

>>I remember reading something here about cats who have thyroid problems
>>meowing more than they usually do. Does anyone have any information on
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> several good way's to deal with it. Let me know and I'll fill you in
> on the options we had, what we chose, and how it worked for us.

I'll be getting her blood test results tomorrow at around 11:00 AM CST.
I'll know then whether I'll need your expertise - I may have several
questions for you, so thanks in advance.

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Hugs,

CatNipped

See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/

> --Kim and the CRC

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Lucy's Mom - 13 Jan 2006 01:51 GMT

and of course, Marina would have a good deal of experience with that
condition as well. IIRC, both Frank and Nikki had thyroid problems...

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Marina - 13 Jan 2006 04:02 GMT

> I remember reading something here about cats who have thyroid problems
> meowing more than they usually do. Does anyone have any information on
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, both Frank and Nikki started yowling when their thyroid started
acting up. AIUI, hyperthyroidism is usually caused by a benign tumour in
the thyroid gland. I could feel the little bump in Frank's throat, but I
couldn't feel it in Nikki's, but TED said she could. As you may
remember, I gave F&N medicine twice a day. Besides medication, you can
opt for surgery to remove the thyroid gland, and they say there should
be enough thyroid hormone left in the cat's system to last it the rest
of its life, but having had my own thyroid removed twenty years ago, I'm
sceptical about that. I have to take thyroid hormone by mouth every day.
The third option is to have radiation therapy to kill the tumour (? not
at all sure about this).

If Jessie turns out to have a thyroid problem, don't hesitate to ask more.

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Marina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki.
marina (dot) kurten (at) iki (dot) fi
Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
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Lucy's Mom - 13 Jan 2006 14:17 GMT

>> I remember reading something here about cats who have thyroid problems
>> meowing more than they usually do. Does anyone have any information on
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
>If Jessie turns out to have a thyroid problem, don't hesitate to ask more.

The radiation therapy worked well for us and Tiger. Seems there is a
feedback mechanism in the body to shut off the thyroid cells from
producing their hormone when there is too much circulating in the
body. The problem is that the tumor cells don't shut off and continue
to produce hormone. Tiger was injected with radioactive iodine, which
is taken up by the still functioning tumor cells and it kills them.
The normal cells remain unharmed, since they're shut off. After the
hormone levels in the body drop, the feedback mechanism turns on the
normal cells and all is good. She did have to stay for several days
at a special clinic that had facilities to handle radioactive cats and
we had to quarantine her for several weeks after she came home but it
wasn't too bad at all. This therapy is actually fairly common we were
told, at least around DFW.

--Kim

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Suzanne Thompson - 13 Jan 2006 17:52 GMT

>>Yes, both Frank and Nikki started yowling when their thyroid started
>>acting up. AIUI, hyperthyroidism is usually caused by a benign tumour in
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
> --Kim

The radioactive iodine also worked well for Peter. Hyperthyroidism made him
very aggressive. He would attack my legs whenever I walked by, and I mean
ATTACK! He would launch himself at me and sink his teeth into my leg,
leaving lovely bite marks and scratches. He stopped that immediately after
the radiation therapy.

Suzanne

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Marina - 13 Jan 2006 18:48 GMT

> The radioactive iodine also worked well for Peter. Hyperthyroidism made him
> very aggressive. He would attack my legs whenever I walked by, and I mean
> ATTACK! He would launch himself at me and sink his teeth into my leg,
> leaving lovely bite marks and scratches. He stopped that immediately after
> the radiation therapy.

Frank's only symptom was that he lost a lot of weight, though he was
hungry all the time and ate lots. Nikki's only symptom, OTOH, was that
she started overgrooming, and ripped out all her fur on her tummy and
back legs.

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CatNipped - 13 Jan 2006 14:00 GMT

OK, we've established that cats with thyroid problems do meow excessively
(Jessie was doing it all night, so I'm pretty sure what the blood tests will
show). But does anyone know *WHY* they do? Is it that they're in pain?

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Hugs,

CatNipped

See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/

>I remember reading something here about cats who have thyroid problems
>meowing more than they usually do. Does anyone have any information on
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> Any info would be greatly appreciated.

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Marina - 13 Jan 2006 17:29 GMT

> OK, we've established that cats with thyroid problems do meow excessively
> (Jessie was doing it all night, so I'm pretty sure what the blood tests will
> show). But does anyone know *WHY* they do? Is it that they're in pain?

No, not in pain, just running on 'too high voltage.' The thyroid
regulates all the other hormones of the body, and when there is too much
of it, it messes up everything; this is why patients loose weight and
have 'stary' eyes. I've experienced this myself (my thyroid meds were
kept on a high dosage on purpose for some ten years after my thyroid
gland was removed, so as to keep activity in the area low, so the cancer
would not have a chance to return), and I never felt any pain. The only
symptom I sometimes felt was a slightly fast pulse.

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CatNipped - 13 Jan 2006 18:06 GMT

>> OK, we've established that cats with thyroid problems do meow excessively
>> (Jessie was doing it all night, so I'm pretty sure what the blood tests
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> chance to return), and I never felt any pain. The only symptom I sometimes
> felt was a slightly fast pulse.

Hmmm. This gets more interesting... Jessie always was hyper - which I
thought was unusual for a 6-year-old, but I figured she just loves to play.
She's not aggressive though (except to the vet - well, and d*gs ;>).

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Hugs,

CatNipped

See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/

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