Sorry its so long. I was trying to recall what I could for you. That really is such severe weight loss. Very scarey when those things start to happen and no one can figure out whatÂs going on. I have been told that the thyroid tests arenÂt always accurate. There are other tests and ones with different levels of sensitivity that they use to try to get a picture of whatÂs going on, but usually start with the basic thyroid test (canÂt remember, maybe itÂs T3; and T4 is the more sensitive one.) Feline HT is pretty common these days, so I would think they would have been screening appropriately for something going on there. They do test periodically and look for a change and trend in the values. Even though she may be classic, I guess they canÂt actually treat it with the radiation until itÂs clear from the diagnostics whatÂs going on. I think my vet tried meds on kitty #1 to see if it helped, even though the actual tests were showing he was ok after the first treatment. She is a cat specialist though, so may be more comfortable with something like that. ItÂs very frustrating, confusing, and expensive with a lot of these health issues, and with the various medical procedures and options. Doctors don't even agree on things, so you can get conflicting information. Around and around, and often evasive or illusive information from the docs. I often feel like IÂm dealing with a sales person rather than a medical professional, and have definitely become pretty wary about all of it at this point. ItÂs best to read and talk to others as much as you can, to educate yourself. Can you tell me what symptoms your cat was experiencing before the diagnosis and proceedure? The symptoms I remember with my cats are: - very hungry - but losing weight - very thirsty - increased urination - hyper behaviors like more aggressive, playful, or affectionate - increase in energy (crazy cat spurts) - heart rate also increases significantly (sign noted at the vet). The heart murmur on your cat is concerning, as HT can cause heart damage when the disease is uncontrolled. ItÂs a condition thatÂs very hard on the body because everything is revved up. Did you try the medication first with limited results? Yes. Both mixed and limited results. Can you give some detail as to why it failed, and if you know if this is common or not. As far as whether the radiation works or not, IÂve had mixed experiences. My first cat was controlled for a while with meds. Then he became symptomatic again, so the radiation iodine therapy treatment was done. He did well on that for a while, maybe a year?, but then was having trouble again. So, he had another treatment. I donÂt recall whether that helped at all, but he was still having problems. My vet (a cat specialist) figured he had other things going on, which is why the disease didnÂt appear to be under control. He eventually landed in the University hospital ER and, while they thought he had some asthma based on the xrays and negative lung aspiration, it turned out he had cancer and it was riddled throughout his body at that point. My second HT cat, I donÂt recall being terribly sick when he had his treatment done. He was diagnosed, we tried meds for a short while, and then I just decided to cut to the chase and get the radiation therapy done. His kidneys were ok but, right after treatment, it was like his whole body shut down. He had a heart murmur and his kidneys started to fail. I remember the doc saying something about his stomache slowing down too. I think he was even drooling. He was put on synthroid, but it was just downhill for him. So, the treatment was not a good thing in his case. My vet always explained to me that if thereÂs kidney deficiency, they wonÂt do the treatment. Unfortunately, also, by the time a deficiency appears on the labwork, their function is already 75% gone. She also explained that it doesnÂt always work, as I recall. With my third kitty, things were rough. She was very timid and sensitive, and I didnÂt want to put her through a weekÂs stay at the treatment center. She was also not a good pill taker, so we tried a med that gets absorbed through the ear. She wasnÂt doing well on that, as I recall, and her disease was difficult to control. She was scheduled for the radiation, but a week beforehand she became seriously ill and landed in the ER. They were able to stabilize her enough for the treatment and, fortunately, she had no heart damage so was able to get it. That did work for her. About a year later, she seemed off but the labwork wasnÂt pointing to anything. Then she became seriously ill and landed in the ER again. The doctor told me she felt a small mass in her belly. She was there for maybe three days and each day they felt more lumps appear. This time it was lymphoma. I did start the chemo after being told that it had a good success rate and that there werenÂt bad side effects, as with people. She went down so fast though. It must have been some sort of a galloping version of disease. I had to drop her for a few hours for one of her treatments and they called later to say she passed right there in the hospital. That was the last thing in the world I ever wanted for her (or any of my cats). To die in the hospital. And it was very hard to deal with. Lastly, our vet gave us no indication that there is a risk the treatment could fail. Your post is the first I've heard of that, so understandably it's a red flag to me. Can you give some detail as to why it failed, and if you know if this is common or not. I'm very interested in any information you can share also about the process, the healing period or side effects. My vet also always explained that it usually worked but not always. Sometimes they would need a second treatment. Or sometimes other things were going on. I donÂt recall the pre-treatment procedure, other than an initial visit with the radiologist for assessment. The doctor did an ultrasound to check the thyroid and for any incidence of cancer. If he finds cancer, the treatment isnÂt done. For the treatment itself, they stay in the hospital for a week because they are eliminating radioactive waste, which needs to be controlled. The tech called each day with a report. After they come home, youÂre instructed to be careful with their waste by using gloves and washing. I think it was a separate litter box, too, which is supposed to be discarded afterwards. DonÂt recall how long this goes on for but it wasnÂt terribly long. Other than my one cat, where the treatment actually killed him (unusual, I think), there were no side effects, other than stress, that I recall. The financial aspect was pretty shocking the first time I went through all that. And I was very afraid of the treatment, too. I can say that HT is a horrible way to go. And that there is a successful treatment for it. My little girl was a small, frail kitty to begin with and she got so terribly sick when it was uncontrollable. The treatment did stop that disease process and we had a good year until the next thing hit. If sheÂs actually well enough to go through with the treatment, I would do it. Though I donÂt know much about her. She will only continue to decline  and itÂs not pretty - and she will die from the disease. I do think itÂs a very treatable disease, unlike some others. IÂm so sorry you and your kitty are going through all this, and that it took so long for the disease itself to be diagnosed. It is terribly heartbreaking and often so confusing as to what to do. I always think IÂm going to die when one of my cats gets sick and there usually arenÂt clear answers on what to do. If you are going ahead with the treatment, I hope you're already scheduled, as it sounds like there's no time for delay at this point. Take care, good luck with everything, and please keep us posted. P.S. My vet said that there's research to support that the food canning process may be causing hyperthroid disease. The pop-top cans have a chemical used to seal them, which is suspect. There's also a preservative sprayed on the linings that may be involved.

Prednisone isn't usually prescribed for cats because they don't have as much of the liver enzyme required to metabolize it into the active form. Prednisolone is the active form, and it is the medication usually prescribed for cats and any species where liver disease is suspected. Prednisolone is a glucocorticoid steroid. These medications have a lot of effects on every system of the body. One of the effects is muscle wasting, which may be why your cat is unable to use her back legs properly. Steroids do not spare the heart muscle either. If her heart is failing, she may be showing it by overall weakness. Another problem with steroids are that they cause increased urination, which may cause your cat to have lost too much potassium. Potassium deficiency can also cause the symptoms you describe. Yet another concern is that steroid use in cats especially can make them diabetic, which can cause generalized weakness and other serious problems. What condition was the prednisone supposed to treat? Steroids are not generally prescribed for urinary marking conditions or other urinary problems as they tend to make those types of problems worse. Since this is a new problem, you should at least talk to the vet about it, and ask about if the pred could be part of the cause. Because steroids can cause a lot of problems, s/he may suggest a PE and repeat bloodwork, which would be the only way to tell if she had a potassium deficiency or had become diabetic. What you are describing is NOT a normal aging process and may be treatable. Good luck.

I've seen a LOT of hyperT cats and I can remember exactly 1 that was under 10 years old at time of initial diagnosis. And this was a 1.5 year old siamese that was a total sicky-poo from day 1 and he had repeated elevated T4 plus tc-99 scans to confirm hyperT as nobody in his/her right mind would believe hyperT in a 1.5 year old cat. I wouldn't even TEST for it in a 7 year old cat unless I was completely at a loss for cause of symptoms and had run every other blessed test in the book. And even then, I would probably insist on tc-99 scan to double confirm, or even triple because I'd probably run the T4 at least twice- once as diagnosis and second time while on tapazole with a resolution of clinical signs to confirm normal T4. So I *have* to ask how were the previous 2 diagnoses made? A second possibility is that you cat has a very rare thyroid carcinoma. Most thyroid tumors in cats are adenomas, which are benign and respond extremely well to usual doses of I-131. However I remember a cat who we initially treated at age 20, and T4 did not return to normal at 30 day recheck. We repeated treatment and T4 went down but was still not normal. Finally we did a biopsy of the thyroid and it was carcinoma not adenoma and we treated her a 3rd time at a MUCH higher dose which was curative at 1 year post treatment. I agree with the others- get a diagnosis first. I can think of about a million different reasons for a cat to have weight loss and nervousness, and hyperT is not amongst the first 999,999 at age 7 or even at age 9. I truly wonder about those diagnoses and how they were done. At age 11 I can believe hyperT but unless he has a thyroid carcinoma I can't make this case make sense. We treated on average 4 cats per week with I-131 when I was a tech, which I did for 9 years. I have a very good memory for things out of the ordinary and am positive that I would have remembered treating a 7 year old cat, and retreating at 9 years if it had happened. It just didn't though. I am sure that the youngest we saw was that siamese and after that I think the youngest was 11 at first diagnosis. The only confirmed carcinoma was in that 20 year old cat. I can think of a couple of repeat I-131 treatments but they were all in older cats (12+ years) who failed to respond at the 30 day recheck. I even remember a cat who had both thyroid glands removed by the referring DVM and owner was thinking about suing for malpractice because cat was STILL hyperT. But we did a tc-99 scan which proved there was hyperT thyroid tissue in thoracic cavity and we did the treatment and he was fine for 3 years at least. I know you are totally distraught over your poor cat. Has he ever had diarrhea or vomiting, or weight loss despite an increased appetite? These are what I would consider hallmarks of hyperT4, not just weight loss (unless appetite was increased as well) and nervousness. I mean, cats are nervous species and if not eating of course weight loss ensues but inappetence is NOT a sign of hyperT4. Please get a diagnosis on your kitty. I hope you can get records of previous treatment including full labs and diagnostic T4 along with post-treatment T4. We usually got T4 level at 30 days, 60 days, and 1 year post-treatment and only with normal t4 for all 3 rechecks did we call the treatment a success. We were 98% successful, and we treated a LOT of cats.

Our dog Bailey is like this. She would live off of treats if we would let her! We have limited the amount she gets, but when we tell her 'no', oh my! You would think that we had just beat her within an inch of her life!! She sadly retreats to her bedroom(a dog kennel made out of nylon and we have a dog bed in it)! If we don't say 'NO' harshly enough though, she is back within a few minutes trying again, like maybe we weren't really sure of our decision the first time!!! LOL! Now the cats(we have 2)are smart whippersnappers!!! They live on our screened in porch from sun up til the time we go to bed(I don't allow the door open when we go to bed, mainly because I am afraid if a bat were to get in the porch, it could get in the house)! All we have to do is go out and say 'Kitties in' and they both come into the house! Some nights we need to remind them, though as some nights I think they think we are kidding!!