Have you noticed that the cat eats a lot, but loses weight? One of the most frequent, especially in elderly catsit is thefeline hyperthyroidism. But be careful: it is certainly not the only one. Cats with intestinal parasitosis, with chronic intestinal inflammatory forms, maldigestion and malabsorption syndromes, pancreatic insufficiency, intestinal lymphoma, diabetes mellitus (cats with diabetes are not always plump), Cushing’s syndrome, feline acromegaly or, paradoxically, even renal failure ( chronic renal failure normally causes loss of appetite, but some cats show a normal appetite with weight loss, at least until the situation does not worsen), can cause similar symptoms.
However, today we will talk to you about hyperthyroidism in cats and why, especially in elderly cats, it is important to also monitor thyroid function.
Cat eats a lot and loses weight: feline hyperthyroidism
In addition to diabetes mellitus, another very common hormonal disease in cats is feline hyperthyroidism. In general we must remember that: the dog suffers from hypothyroidism, the cat from hyperthyroidism. Very rare to see the reverse.
In cat hyperthyroidism, as in human hyperthyroidism, there is aincreased production of thyroid hormones, T3 and T4. In most cases the problem is due to the development of forms of secreting thyroid hyperplasia, rarely to adenomas and even less to thyroid carcinomas.
Hyperthyroidism is typically a hormonal disease that affects older cats. The average age of diagnosis is 12-13 years, although cases have also been described in significantly younger subjects (but these are rare and sporadic cases). There is no sex or breed predisposition, any cat can be affected.
Symptoms of hyperthyroidism in cats
Speaking of symptoms of hyperthyroidism in catsas an owner you may notice one or more of these clinical signs:
Just to complicate things, however, we add the fact that they exist forms of atypical hyperthyroidismdefined “apathetic hyperthyroidism”. In these cases we have the following symptoms:
Therapy and treatment of hyperthyroidism in cats
There diagnosis of feline hyperthyroidism usually involves the execution of blood tests complete (to also evaluate the state of the livers, kidneys and electrolytes) and the evaluation of T4. In most cases you will need to set one medical therapy aimed at administering drugs that block the overproduction of thyroid hormones. There are several formulations on the market registered for specific feline use, to be administered either orally or transdermally to those cats who are a little less cooperative or who do not tolerate the drug orally.
Periodically it will be necessary to re-evaluate thyroid function to ensure that thyroid function is not reduced too much and to check renal function and potassium levels.
In mild cases there is also a special one medicated feed which allows you to keep feline hyperthyroidism under control, ask your vet which solution is the most effective in your case.
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