Thyroid medicine for cats?

Question

I'm trying to determine whether to give my cat the oral medication or the "ear flap" cream. For those of you who have given your cats the pill version of thyroid medication, is it the kind of pill you can grind up and put in food, or does it have to be forced down their throat whole?

Answer 1

I researched the transdermal and the pill version of the methimazole years ago.  What I remember is that the pill is the preferred method, the cream can irritate the skin.

Luckily, my kitties have all been easy to pill.  I can hold them and pop the pill in their mouth and they swallow.  But I try different methods..just to keep them guessing..and thinking I forgot the pill.

Bonnie is a petite kitty and she only takes 1/2 pill twice daily.  The methimazole is a tiny pill anyway and it can be hidden easily in food or treats.  

Some of the tricks I've tried are the Pill Pockets, many cats like them, they are supposed to be chicken flavored, but mine don't.  I have put the pill in other moist kitty treats and they eat them just fine.  My understanding is the methimazole is bitter, so you want to make sure the treat can mask that bitterness.  A little dot of cream cheese, butter, or peanut butter have worked too.  

I have also crushed her pill and stirred it into a bite of meat flavored baby food (no onion formula), a small amount of a flavor of cat food she really likes, a small amount of chicken broth from chicken I've cooked-if you use canned look for the low sodium or a small amount of the Whiskas Cat milk.  A small amount is suggested so kitty will eat the amount of food offered and get all her dose.  Then give a little more food to eat at her pleasure.

The methimazole can upset the stomach, so giving with a little food, broth or cat milk is good.  If you decide to pop the pill in her mouth, feed her right afterwards.

Here is a nice video from Cornell University showing different methods of giving a cat a pill.  I like to have a visual, it helps me understand better.  The vet will show you, but if yours is like mine they do it so quickly and there are plenty of hands to help at the clinic that you don't have when you get home!

Did you know that there are surgical and radioactive iodine treatments for hyperthyriodism?  The surgical can be tricky because the tumor on the thyroid gland can be difficult and dangerous to remove.  The radioactive iodine is a permanent cure, although it is quite pricey.  The second link is more about it if you'd like to read more.  Your vet can give you information on the closest radioactive treatment facility to you.  

Purrs to you and kitty.

Answer 2

The dose is usually 2-5 mCi depending on the cat's highest thyroid blood test result, careful physical examination of the thyroid gland(s), the duration of the hyperthyroidism and any previous antithyroid medication, body weight, age and kidney function. Cats with very large thyroid masses or malignant disease can require larger doses and longer hospitalization periods.

Medication must be given at least daily (usually twice daily). Some cats simply will not take oral tablets at this frequency. Methimazole is readily made into a_ "FLAVORED LIQUID" for easier administration by a compounding pharmacy or it may even be possible to convert methimazole INTO A GEL administered on the hairless inner surface of the cat’s ear.

  

Approximately 15% of cats will experience some kind of side effect. The usual side effects are: lethargy, loss of appetite, and vomiting. If one of these side effects occurs, medication is discontinued until the symptoms resolve. Medication is then restarted at a lower dose and gradually increased to the former dose. These side effects do not generally recur if medication is increased gradually in this way.

  

Facial itching is a more serious side effect. This side effect also resolves with anti-itch medication and discontinuation of methimazole. Cats who have this side effect can be expected to have it again if medication is restarted and another form of treatment should be instituted. Facial itching occurs in less than 4% of cats on methimazole

MY CAT TOLERATED THE FLAVOR DOZE .........IT JUST DEPENDS ON THE INDIVAUAL CAT. We tried the pill but he would eat around it and then look up at us as if to say" I anii't taking that."  

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 3

As you can see from the answers so far, there is no single best method overall.  My cat doesn't like to be touched, so I was happy when she gobbled up the pill pockets as if they were a treat.  However, that only lasted for about a month, and then suddenly, she wouldn't eat a pill pocket if it were the last thing on earth.  

Now I'm using the transdermal gel, and it's turning out to be really easy to do, partly I think, because she's very lethargic.  Previously, she would not let anyone touch her; if she were in that stage, neither pilling nor gel would be easy.  In that circumstance, I would recommend the surgical treatment, which I've previously had success with.  Good luck.

Answer 4

Actually I find crushing them to be the easiest solution. After I crush them I mix it in with a half teaspoon of butter or non dairy whipped topping. When I crush pills for them I just put it into a spoon and another spoon on top and press down hard then rock the spoon to get all the chunks mashed. For me, making them swallow a pill usually requires 2 people. lol

Answer 5

It truly depends on the cat.  The pill form is much cheaper than the transdermal form.  It's really a human medicine, and you can get it cheaply at your local drug store.  If you have a cat that's easy to pill that's the most economical way to go.  Putting a pill in food is never a good idea, as most cats figure it out and eat around it.  They are a very small pill, and most cats only get 1/4 to 1/2 of it twice a day, so it's not like you're forcing a large pill down their throat.  If pilling them isn't a good option, then the transdermal cream is a good alternative.

My 15 year old tiger cat is on medication for his thyroid.  He is, however, the world's easiest cat to pill.  He will do anything for a small blob of cream cheese.  So twice a day he gets his tiny piece of pill in his cream cheese.  You can't forget to pill him, because he reminds you.  And yes, he knows the pill is in there but he doesn't care!  

Answer 6

My cat gets a pill twice a day.

If I bury it in her wet food, she'll usually eat it while she's eating the wet food.  Sometimes, though, if she decides to eat around it, we use Greenies Pill Pockets where you wrap the pill in it and the cat thinks it's a treat.

Never the less, on occasion, she's just unreasonable and I have to force it down her throat.  But, most of the time, the above methods work.  Grinding them up is an awful hassle.

Answer 7

From personal experience I would recommend the ear cream. If you give it  food they may not eat it all and then don't get the prescribed dose. Our cat hated trying to be forced to take pills and would get so upset and fight and scratch it didn't seem worth going through it all. Good luck!