OTJ, and ravenous...thoughts?

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SugarFreeLucy

SugarFreeLucy

Member Since 2012
Hello all!

It's been a long while since I have posted here....with lots of help and support from folks here, Lucy has been OTJ for almost 3 years (yay!) but now I am worried that her diabetes is back...or there are other issues going on. Before taking her to the vet, I thought I'd check in to see if anyone has experienced the same situation!

Lucy currently is eating 3 cans of FF daily...one can for breakfast, one in her feeder through the day and one for dinner. She is constantly starving...yesterday she even stole sausages off of the counter!!! She is constantly on the counters and in the kitchen looking for any type of food to scavenge.

I have tested her periodically and she is always low, (49-59 range) I feed her and then she settles down.

She has lost weight over the years and the last time the vet saw her she said she looked old :( Other than the voracious appetite she is her normal cuddly self...drinking and bathroom habits seems to be normal.

Does she just need to eat more? Does this sound like a more serious issue? Any input would be welcome :)
 
My first thought would be to have her thyroid checked.

Hyperthyroidism is relatively common in cats and can cause a voracious appetite and weight loss. It's relatively easy to treat but can lead to other complications if ignored.

The thyroid test isn't typically part of the "standard" bloodwork vets run. You'll want to request a thyroid panel, or at minimum a "free T4 (by ED)".
 
Ooohhh I just did some quick reading on the kitty hyperthyroidism, she has symptoms for sure! I will make sure I ask specifically for it to be tested

I tested her today about 1.5 hours after her dinner since she was bouncing off the walls and screaming at all of us that she was starving....she tested at 49. I fed her another can of FF and she is currently sleeping on my head!
 
My Goof has been OTJ since June 1st, and for the past month or so, it's been the same thing with him. He hasn't lost weight, but he's just constantly hungry. He's being fed about 99% canned food and his numbers have been climbing for the past 3-4 weeks. Had him in for a full work up, just prior to a dental with one extraction. Everything was ok, other than his kidney numbers were a little higher. He got me up at 3:50 this morning...STARVING, I'd last fed him at 9:15 pm.

I'll check back to see what your vet says.
 
Robin&BB said:
Thanks - will look forward to seeing your update on Lucy.:)
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Sorry for the delay!! We've been bal from the vet and settled in for. A few hours now, waiting for the official diagnosis from the blood tests that we had done tonight.

The vet took one look at Lucy, read the notes (always hungry, BG low, weight loss) from the appointment booking and said "so we're testing her thyroid?!"

I'm thankful that my vet is so good with cats, especially when Lucy bit her because she couldn't open the treats fast enough for miss hungry pants!!

We should have the bloodwork back tomorrow morning, I'm to call the vet at lunch to get the results and then we set up a treatment plan. Vet said it will likely be lifetime of pills (twice daily) and apparently they have a good success rate with the pills. There are other options (surgery, radioactive iodine) but we are going to stay away from them if possible due to expense and the fact that they can be harder on a senior lady like Lucy - plus who wants a radioactive cat?! Ha ha!

Thanks for everyone's crossed paws and well wishes! I will post an update tomorrow after work to let you know what her results are.
 
SugarFreeLucy said:
Sorry for the delay!! We've been bal from the vet and settled in for. A few hours now, waiting for the official diagnosis from the blood tests that we had done tonight.

The vet took one look at Lucy, read the notes (always hungry, BG low, weight loss) from the appointment booking and said "so we're testing her thyroid?!"

I'm thankful that my vet is so good with cats, especially when Lucy bit her because she couldn't open the treats fast enough for miss hungry pants!!

We should have the bloodwork back tomorrow morning, I'm to call the vet at lunch to get the results and then we set up a treatment plan. Vet said it will likely be lifetime of pills (twice daily) and apparently they have a good success rate with the pills. There are other options (surgery, radioactive iodine) but we are going to stay away from them if possible due to expense and the fact that they can be harder on a senior lady like Lucy - plus who wants a radioactive cat?! Ha ha!

Thanks for everyone's crossed paws and well wishes! I will post an update tomorrow after work to let you know what her results are.
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Somewhat unrelated, but my dog (German Shepard) is on thyroid medication. Noticed when he was pretty young (puppy/teen) that he just kept chewing & itching himself for no reason. Turns out it had a "lazy" thyroid. He takes his pills with a treat and everyone is happy! 7 years strong.
 
I did the radioactive treatment on Rudy about 2 years ago- got rid of the tumor and his thyroid hasn't had any problems since. It was very expensive and every cat and situation is different, but there are radioactive kitties out there :-)
 
Well, in true kitty form Lucy's results were not what we were expecting at all

Normal thyroid values are between 10 and 60......Lucy is at a whopping 6 so clearly she isn't a hyperthyroid kitty! And apparently hypothyroidism is extremely rare...the results were so low (and unexpected) that the vet had the lab redo the tests.

So, now we need to figure out what is suppressing her thyroid function. Everything else on her blood tests was clear, other than her white blood cell count was elevated - indicating infection of some sort, but the vet said it wasn't the primary issue.

Bottom line is it is either irritable bowel syndrome or lymphoma apparently it can be officially confirmed with an ultrasound ($300-$450) We are torn as to what to do as the treatment for both is essentially the same...prednisone and possibly another medicine that I can't remember what it's called.

We got a prescription for Tylosin Tartrate tonight to hopefully fight the infection....still can't get a urine sample from her, so we're treating blindly at this point ugh!

Oh and of course she is generally behaving the same (minus the ravenous hunger, weight loss and occasional diarrhea)
 
I can't advise on what to do about the ultrasound because each situation is different, and it's a harder decision knowing that the treatment is the same with either diagnosis. But I did want to share my experience, which was that the first ultrasound was not clear, and the second (higher res one) was very clear, and neither showed what anyone expected to see. So, it might be worth it to have an answer, but I would talk to your vet about how good their ultrasound machine is and whether it would be worth just going to a specialist (board-certified radiologist) to get a straight answer the first time. I am very much hoping the answer you get, if you do get the U/S, will be one associated with a good prognosis and a long, happy, healthy life. Cats can surprise us sometimes.
 
SugarFreeLucy said:
Well, in true kitty form Lucy's results were not what we were expecting at all

Normal thyroid values are between 10 and 60......Lucy is at a whopping 6 so clearly she isn't a hyperthyroid kitty! And apparently hypothyroidism is extremely rare...the results were so low (and unexpected) that the vet had the lab redo the tests.

So, now we need to figure out what is suppressing her thyroid function. Everything else on her blood tests was clear, other than her white blood cell count was elevated - indicating infection of some sort, but the vet said it wasn't the primary issue.

Bottom line is it is either irritable bowel syndrome or lymphoma apparently it can be officially confirmed with an ultrasound ($300-$450) We are torn as to what to do as the treatment for both is essentially the same...prednisone and possibly another medicine that I can't remember what it's called.

We got a prescription for Tylosin Tartrate tonight to hopefully fight the infection....still can't get a urine sample from her, so we're treating blindly at this point ugh!

Oh and of course she is generally behaving the same (minus the ravenous hunger, weight loss and occasional diarrhea)
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Just thinking, did they do a stool sample? Tape worm infestation could cause her to loose weight and be starving all the time. I don't know about the white blood cells, but worth investigating if they haven't all ready. (Sometimes too they are nauseous and vomit and diarrhea which mimics IBD) Even if she is an indoor cat she could have gotten a mouse in the house.
 
SugarFreeLucy said:
We got a prescription for Tylosin Tartrate tonight to hopefully fight the infection....still can't get a urine sample from her, so we're treating blindly at this point ugh!
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Another thing to consider would be a fecal PCR panel (Idexx and Antech both have one), but neither of these would help diagnosis IBD or lymphoma, and it wouldn't explain the thyroid issue. But I'm not sure why a urinalysis would help if you're not suspecting a UTI.
 
Thanks for all the ideas!!!

Here is the plan thus far....treat with the tylosin over the long weekend and also change food to a hypo food (venison or duck and pea) monitor and see if she has better poops (yesterday's was pudding like) and check back in with the vet on Tuesday. Apparently we need to find out if the diarrhea is from the infection or is a more chronic symptom of the lymphoma.

They want a urine sample because she has had several uti and bladder infections ovet the years....I questioned the vet to find out if we still needed to test that and she said we may be able to see if there is a large amount of protein in her urine then that is where it is all going an we can give her antibiotics.

I think overall we are going to treat go two weeks as if she has IBD or a GI infection and then reasses after that.
 
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