This post is not about my kids, or even a particularly funny cat story. I wanted to document what we went through with Zoom, my 14 year old cat, and a nasty reaction to methimazole, which was prescribed for hyperthyroidism. Mostly I want to put this out there on the internet so the next person looking for "real life" examples of what can happen, and how it can get better, will find something more than obtuse medical journals.
Zoom has always been "the good one" as the two of my cats go for medical issues. She had been dropping about half a pound a year for 4 years or so, and finally had blood test results in July that officially diagnosed her with hyperthyroidism. The irony is not lost on me as I have no thyroid anymore. At this same vet visit, Zoom's weight was 6 pounds, down half a pound from six months prior.
She was started on a course of methimazole, a quarter of a pill twice a day (I can't remember the exact dosage - sorry, but it was pretty low given her weight). She was fine for several weeks, and eating well, and actually acting less anxious about food than had become her norm. Approximately 3 weeks after starting the medication, on a Tuesday night, she started vomiting. First the food came up, then only bile. We did not give her the medication, figuring it would not stay down anyway, and had been on the lookout for side effects. She vomited 8 times in a row. Then there was a slight break, and vomited multiple times in a row again. This pattern continued through the night, and the vomiting had tapered off slightly by morning.
I took her to the vet for a check of her vitals on Wednesday; the good news is that in the 3 weeks she had been on the medication she had gained 8 ounces. She did not have a fever, which was excellent. The bloodwork results were supposed to be back the following day, and in the mean time we were try to keep her eating and drinking (the bloodwork did come back that her thyroid was in normal levels, and a couple other levels were up probably from all the vomiting).
Zoom has always been picky about her food, and does not like wet food. I can't explain it. She's a weird cat. She loved Tender Vittles and when they stopped manufacturing that, that's when she started losing weight. She was not interested in eating in this time after the vomiting, and the vomiting continued for 3 more days (although not as frequent as that first night). By Saturday, she had not eaten or drunk much in 3 days, and was looking pitiful. It looked like it pained her to sit. We took her back to the vet and she received some assistive care - subcutaneous fluids and an anti-nausea medication injection. She had lost 11 ounces since Wednesday 3 days); her bloodwork was normal, so it was clearly (to me anyway) a reaction to the medication (my husband claims perhaps she had the "kitty flu"- he's has many fine skills but I don't think veterinary medicine is one of them). We were told to keep offering her food, but perhaps not expect her to drink much given the fluids she had just been given.
I tried various brands and flavors of "junk food" (wet food), treats, and even tuna. She was not having it. Sunday she started drinking a few sips of water here and there, but still no food. Sunday evening we cooked bacon for sandwiches for the humans in the house, and left some of the grease in the pan. Zoom has a history of trying to sneak in a few licks of the pan before we wash it, so we had hopes this would entice her. Fortunately, it did. She had a little bit of bacon grease, and I later mixed some in with wet food. She didn't eat the wet food, but appeared more interested in it than before.
Monday (6 days after the initial vomiting), she was showing more signs of being interested in food. Monday evening she ate a few bites of her usual dry food, and we just about threw a party. Tuesday her appetite was still suppressed, but she was eating a bit more - maybe 4-5 mouthfuls over the day.
By Wednesday, she was eating normally again. In fact, I'd say she's making up for lost time in the near week since then. The total time of her nausea/anorexia from taking oral methimazole was one week. Even more troubling than the anorexia is the lack of social interaction. Zoom has always been very interested being around people, but she hid for that week she was ill, and did not come to sleep on our bed as her usual. I considered it a victory when I sought her out, held her, and got her to purr on Friday evening.
I would say now she is fully recovered, and I do think the IV fluids were necessary in the interim. She's now taking a transdermal compound of methimazole, which is rubbed into her ear. She's been on that for 4 days with no signs of a problem.
Zoom has always been "the good one" as the two of my cats go for medical issues. She had been dropping about half a pound a year for 4 years or so, and finally had blood test results in July that officially diagnosed her with hyperthyroidism. The irony is not lost on me as I have no thyroid anymore. At this same vet visit, Zoom's weight was 6 pounds, down half a pound from six months prior.
She was started on a course of methimazole, a quarter of a pill twice a day (I can't remember the exact dosage - sorry, but it was pretty low given her weight). She was fine for several weeks, and eating well, and actually acting less anxious about food than had become her norm. Approximately 3 weeks after starting the medication, on a Tuesday night, she started vomiting. First the food came up, then only bile. We did not give her the medication, figuring it would not stay down anyway, and had been on the lookout for side effects. She vomited 8 times in a row. Then there was a slight break, and vomited multiple times in a row again. This pattern continued through the night, and the vomiting had tapered off slightly by morning.
I took her to the vet for a check of her vitals on Wednesday; the good news is that in the 3 weeks she had been on the medication she had gained 8 ounces. She did not have a fever, which was excellent. The bloodwork results were supposed to be back the following day, and in the mean time we were try to keep her eating and drinking (the bloodwork did come back that her thyroid was in normal levels, and a couple other levels were up probably from all the vomiting).
Zoom has always been picky about her food, and does not like wet food. I can't explain it. She's a weird cat. She loved Tender Vittles and when they stopped manufacturing that, that's when she started losing weight. She was not interested in eating in this time after the vomiting, and the vomiting continued for 3 more days (although not as frequent as that first night). By Saturday, she had not eaten or drunk much in 3 days, and was looking pitiful. It looked like it pained her to sit. We took her back to the vet and she received some assistive care - subcutaneous fluids and an anti-nausea medication injection. She had lost 11 ounces since Wednesday 3 days); her bloodwork was normal, so it was clearly (to me anyway) a reaction to the medication (my husband claims perhaps she had the "kitty flu"- he's has many fine skills but I don't think veterinary medicine is one of them). We were told to keep offering her food, but perhaps not expect her to drink much given the fluids she had just been given.
I tried various brands and flavors of "junk food" (wet food), treats, and even tuna. She was not having it. Sunday she started drinking a few sips of water here and there, but still no food. Sunday evening we cooked bacon for sandwiches for the humans in the house, and left some of the grease in the pan. Zoom has a history of trying to sneak in a few licks of the pan before we wash it, so we had hopes this would entice her. Fortunately, it did. She had a little bit of bacon grease, and I later mixed some in with wet food. She didn't eat the wet food, but appeared more interested in it than before.
Monday (6 days after the initial vomiting), she was showing more signs of being interested in food. Monday evening she ate a few bites of her usual dry food, and we just about threw a party. Tuesday her appetite was still suppressed, but she was eating a bit more - maybe 4-5 mouthfuls over the day.
By Wednesday, she was eating normally again. In fact, I'd say she's making up for lost time in the near week since then. The total time of her nausea/anorexia from taking oral methimazole was one week. Even more troubling than the anorexia is the lack of social interaction. Zoom has always been very interested being around people, but she hid for that week she was ill, and did not come to sleep on our bed as her usual. I considered it a victory when I sought her out, held her, and got her to purr on Friday evening.
I would say now she is fully recovered, and I do think the IV fluids were necessary in the interim. She's now taking a transdermal compound of methimazole, which is rubbed into her ear. She's been on that for 4 days with no signs of a problem.
3 comments:
Oh, I am so sorry you are having to deal with this with your kitty. We went through a similar experience with one of our cats, years ago. She did not tolerate the pills at all - she was constantly throwing up and losing even more weight. We did the ear cream for a short time, but she really hated that, and dosing her was a constant struggle, so eventually we bit the bullet and paid for the radioactive iodine treatment.
However, I currently have a cat who is on methimazole (and has been for several months now) and she tolerates it just fine. She gets 1 1/2 pill per day, and she's easy to pill, so (fingers crossed) as long as it doesn't seem to bother her, we'll keep with the pills for the duration.
Zoom was surprisingly easy to pill - it was a bit like throwing a piece of dust in her mouth because the 1/4 of a pill was so small! She doesn't seemed bothered by the ear medication at all, and likes having her ear rubbed, so it's working out okay so far.
Thanks for sharing your experience with methimazole for cats. It is interesting how different cats respond. My cat had to take methimazole and she hasn't had any reaction to it. I am glad to hear your kitty is feeling better though!
Post a Comment