Cat Has Hyperthyroidism And Bladder Infection
Hello I'm hoping someone can offer some advice for my 11yr old female tabby. She has been fed dry food in the A.M (Holistic brands only-from Core to wellness then now on Blue Buffalo) and soft assorted same brand at night. Now she does not eat hard at all and we are feeding her soft trying to get her weight up.
The vet bill is at $500 and growing. I have no problem spending $$ on my babies but my finances can only handle so much and my other cats need a visit to the vet and am having to hold off as my savings are dwindled to almost nil!
On a visit to emerg. vet for a minor wound involving an entanglement with a plant stand surfaced other issues. Nellie has lost weight over time as well as my other older cat, but Nellie more so and it was worse than thought when they told us her wieght. Then she started urinating on the bed carpet etc. She also stopped eating her hard food (we believe due to her teeth) wanting to see if she could handle surgery we took her to a close by vet. The emerg. vet suggested we have her checked to see if she could handle surgery for her teeth but first to check into the weight loss in case it may be thyroid or something else. We fed her lots of wet food only for the next month before getting her in to our nearest vet only to find out she lost wieght.
I told him the emerg. vet suggested to check for a Urinary tract infection and thyroid which he didn't seem to like much. The emerg. vet also did an ultrasound and said she had one abnormally small kidney but that her enzyme levels did not show any signs of renal kidney failure. He suggested we get bloodwork done and check for Urinary tract infection.
We did that after a Geriatric Panel and Bladder sample they said she has Hyperthyroidism and a Bladder infection. She is now on a penacilin Baytril 15mg and Tapazole 5mg for thyroid. Blood work and bladder test was over $400.00
I convinced the girl at the desk to print the blood panel (Geriatric panel w urine) for me which she did:
Platelet count was low 67. Urea (BUN)-high 14.4 Alanine Transaminase High 174 Aspartate Transaminase High 108 Alkaline Phosphatase High 156 Protein Urine was + and said no baceria seen or crystals not sure what the sediments mean RBC 305/HPF WBC 5-10/HPF I went back a few days later as he wanted a urine sample another 5$ to walk in the door and 70ish for the test. which came back that she had Urinary tract infection. Why this wasn't done the first time I'm not sure. seems like the more visits the more $$ not sure weather to trust this vet or not? We have to go back after the 7 days for another bladder test and again after 30 days of thyroid pills-I would think this could be one visit instead of two. If he tells us she has to have blood work done again thats another $300. yikes! But I want her healthy.
In the meantime I have read there is a link to Thyroid issues and dry food, especially those containing fish which is higher in iodine and salt content especially those that are not human grade (cheaper foods) which is the head etc. I give them higher protein food Blue Buffalo brand. He also suggested that her enzymes are starting to show renal failure-which the emerg vet one month earlier said there was no sign! In that time I had switched food to salmon from chicken then she stopped eating hard at all.
I have thought about making food as suggested by some websights lower iodine and salt content by grinding your own meat and sticking to chicken or beef and including leg meat chicken liver for higher taurine.Also they mentioned adding a mineral supplement. But they say to cook enough to kill bacteria but not as much as we would for humans. Does anyone know a tried and trusted way to do this?? I though of maybe buying the frozen pucks of raw but cooking it (she wont eat raw tried before). The vet is already suggesting lower protein food and lower idodine of course the brands they sell Hills or Royal Canin wich is full of corn and grains not good for cats and By Products (not fit for human consumption meaning it includes everything! ) I have a friend who worked for a local chicken processing plant, she had to throw all the parts not used for humans in to the bin that goes to the (I wont say the name but know it) local pet food company and when she tried to throw out the green lumps (cancer) her supervisor reprimanded her and she was made to put them in!
I have given her goats milk yogurt Plain in the past and think I will after the antibiotics are done to boost her good bacteria. This is twice in two months she has been on antibiotics can't be good.
I lost a cat to renal kidney failure before back when foods used to have more carbs in them and less protein. This cat has only had high quality human grade food. Dry in the morning and soft at night. She has had only holistic brands-Core-Wellness and eventually Blue Buffalo. So if low protein isn't the answer and high protein is not the answer what is??? FYI back then I used a popular floor cleaning machine that comes with a liquid attached to the mop-you know the one- and my cat used to lick the floor after, I tried to stop her but didn't always notice soon enough. After that I locked her in a room with carpet until my lino floors dried. Found out that liquid is one molecule away from anti-feeze! if you have cats don't use one! Maybe it was that, or the food??? who knows.
Any suggestions on making your own cat food and what to do would be greatly appreciated! What dosage would I give as maintenance of the ACV and water would I give her or is that recommended at all with cats with Hyperthyroidism?
Not sure what to trust with the vet and pet food companies as their main concerns these days seems to be making Money! I have 3 other cats two rescued ferals the food I give leaves them with a nice coat but it is hard to keep the weight down on it. As I said they all get soft blue buffalo assorted foods for supper and dry in the A.M. I don't want a repeat in these cats of Nellie. I thought High protein is best as cats are true carnivores.
Mpls., Mn
12/31/2014
Hey Tmb!
I'll try to answer your questions.
You stated: "Platelet count was low 67. Urea (BUN)-high 14.4 Alanine Transaminase High 174 Aspartate Transaminase High 108 Alkaline Phosphatase High 156 Protein Urine was + and said no baceria seen or crystals not sure what the sediments mean RBC 305/HPF WBC 5-10/HPF I went back a few days later as he wanted a urine sample another 5$ to walk in the door and 70ish for the test. which came back that she had Urinary tract infection. ****Why this wasn't done the first time I'm not sure. seems like the more visits the more $$ not sure weather to trust this vet or not?"
****The initial blood panel showed no bacteria, so no infection. And then time elapsed, and things changed - an infection developed. It is not that your vet is money hungry, rather they are recommending a standard protocol when dealing with aged kitties presenting typical old cat failures. And while all vets are in business and therefore not charities, the testing does bear an expense to both vet and client. So I don't get the impression your vet is taking you for a ride here.
You have a senior kitty with bad teeth; the bacteria from the mouth enter the bloodstream via those bad teeth and gums, and the organs - kidneys - have to work double time filtering the bacteria and toxins from the bacteria from the blood. Bad teeth can trigger renal failure; so while there was no renal failure the first round of tests it very well could have developed and then showed up on the second round of testing. Sometimes they can recover from it and it is a temporary illness, and other times it simply is the first overt sign that your cat has had renal issues all along.
Read up on pet teeth on EC:
https://www.earthclinic.com/pets/mouth-and-teeth-issues.html
You might consider slippery elm or activated charcoal for the teeth. Read up on EC's toothache page:
https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/home-remedy-toothache-tooth-pain.html
The antibiotics for the UTI may help with the teeth as well. I think the vet meds for the hyperthyroid are effective and I would give them to my cat in this situation as they will work quickly. There may be natural remedies to try once your cat is stable, but for now I would go with the vet med.
You might consider putting a coat on your kitty and turning up the heat in the house so that she does not have to use her vital energy to keep warm.
You stated: "I lost a cat to renal kidney failure before back when foods used to have more carbs in them and less protein. This cat has only had high quality human grade food. Dry in the morning and soft at night. She has had only holistic brands-Core-Wellness and eventually Blue Buffalo. ***So if low protein isn't the answer and high protein is not the answer what is???"
***The feeding guidelines are ever changing and confusing, but in the end cannot over come genetics if they are at play here. All you can move forward with is that at this stage of your cat's life a lower protien diet may help extend her life.
The vet prescription diets are all corn based - and are effective at addressing the dietary needs for particular health needs. That said, they taste awful and I have never been able to get any of mine to eat them when I tried to feed them. What I did was simply seek a low protien canned senior cat food. And when they turn their noses up at that, I switch accordingly to a home made diet; I don't worry so much about having everything balanced, I concentrate on finding something my cat will eat. So I cycle through hamburger one night, roast chicken the next, tuna or salmon the next and so on. For a very picky eater I have resorted to feeding the junk cat foods, the canned stuff with sugar and salt - its garbage but if they have an appetite for it I will feed it to keep their energy up. As the disease progresses and their kidneys are only at 14% function, eating makes them feel sick; they cannot process the food they do take in or can only process it very slowly.
You pondered: "Found out that liquid is one molecule away from anti-feeze! ... ***Maybe it was that, or the food???"
***Please rest assured that your cleaning product did not cause your cat's illness:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp
My guess is genetics are just as likely to be a factor in your pet's health and I think you did a very conscientious job at choosing your cat's diet with intelligence and care.
Dosing ACV may help with your kitty's hyperthyroid:
https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/hyperthyroid.html
You can try adding 1 tablespoon to 1 quart of water and then if she tolerates that, you can slowly increase to 3 tablespoons of ACV to 1 quart.
One last question of yours on home diets, sorry to skip around: " But they say to cook enough to kill bacteria but not as much as we would for humans. ***Does anyone know a tried and trusted way to do this?? "
Bacterial contamination happens on the outside of meats, so if you wanted to make a raw chicken leg safe you might blanch it in boiling water. In ground meats the only way to ensure they are free of bacteria is to cook them completely through. You might consider baking an entire chicken to 165 degrees and then feeding this meat if you wish it to be as close to a RAW diet as possible.
