?? Hyperthyroidism/liver problem in 5 year old cat ??

Hi,

Today I returned my five-year-old female cat to the vet for a follow-up UA after a pretty severe UTI.

While the blood, pus, and crystals have cleared from the urine, now she has rather severe urobilinogenemia (8 on a 12-point scale). In addition, on physical exam her heart rate is way too high, at almost double normal. Since the last visit she has lost more weight than I thought (she has lost 4 lb., but I knew she had lost a couple of lb. since switching to a grain-free cat food).

She was found to be quite dehydrated (they gave her fluids), so the protein and specific gravity abnormalities on UA were not unexpected. Also, in humans dehydration can increase heart rate so it's possible that the dehydration accounts for some of that. Still, I'm quite concerned...

The vet suspects hyperthyroidism (primarily based on the heart rate), which could be messing up her liver as well. This is rather rare in a cat of this age, and she exhibits none of the classic symptoms of hyperactivity, overeating, etc., although I know that sometimes hyperthyroidism can be asymptomatic.

Blood work results will be available tomorrow, but I'm worried sick about my baby.

Does this scenario sound familiar to anyone here? Any (other) ideas on what this may be?

Thank you!

 

HI. I'm sorry your kitty is not well. Let us know what the lab results are. As for the heart rate, you may want to ask your vet to show you how to take her pulse at home (more accurate). Most cats will have a much higher heart rate when they are at the vets, as they are stressed. I hope your kitty is okay.

 

Thank you for the kind thoughts.

Well at least we now have some diagnoses:

1) Low-grade UTI;
2) Hepatic nodular hyperplasia + cholesterohepatic stasis [barely legible, so I'm not certain); bilirubinuria ___________;
3) Thrombocytopenia;
4) Tachycardia;
5) Marginal anemia.

#4 could be secondary to dehydration, anemia, as well as "white coat" syndrome (being at the vet's office).

Labs are quite abnormal. She is one sick kitty! She has lost 4 lb. since last visit. The vet thinks the new GRAIN-FREE FOOD they have been on is the culprit, and I have to concur. Both cats have lost a lot of weight, and they devoured the new food I brought home from the vet as though they were starving (they plenty of the "old" food was accessible). In addition to the new, liver-gentle food, he has placed her on nutritional support, a liver support supplement, an antibiotic for the UTI, and I'm to give her 1 Tbsp. of whole cream or butter daily (he says he thinks she needs the fat).

Maybe cats NEED grains, since they eat birds and rodents which feed primarily on GRAINS.

Thoughts?

 

P.S. Her heart rate was 210 in the office, which made my vet initially suspect hyperthyroidism (which is why he did the blood work). But thyroid was normal, although it could be borderline hyper. In light of anemia, dehydration, and possible "white coat" effect, I asked him to defer tapazole right now, and he agreed. After she's been on the diet + nutritional support for a couple of weeks I'm to take her back in for a heart rate recheck... Hopefully she won't need thyroid medication.

Needless to say, I'm very worried and stressed about this -- she is a very sick baby.

 

Hi. Keep us posted and let us know how she's doing. I wish her all the best. I understand how tough it is when our fur animals are not well.

 

Thank you, "chess!"

This has transformed me into a basket case -- not sleeping well and hardly accomplishing anything at work.

Unfortunately my kittty has some earmarks of leukemia (feline leuk test was negative) -- my vet never mentioned this. To ease my mind (hopefully), we have a 2nd opinion appt. on Monday afternoon with a lady vet here in town who specializes in cats and is board-certified in Internal Medicine.

Meanwhile my child's oral intake is down to almost nil (she's now refusing to eat the food we bought at the vet's office, which she hardly was eating anyway). So... this morning I cut up some raw halibut, and she actually got a few bites down. Since her kidney function was normal according to the blood work I'm hoping this was okay to do (i.e. not too much protein). Anyway, it was therapeutic for me to watch her cock her head to the side as she chewed on the fish flesh!

Thanks again for your kind words. Hopefully I will have an "expert" opinion on Monday -- I'll let you know what she says.

Crossing my fingers and praying it's not something bad like leukemia.

 

Hi. Yes, please let us know how the vet visit goes on Monday. It's one thing when our fur animals are sick, but it's even worse when they are ill and we don't know what the cause is. It's very frustrating. Hang in there. Hopefully, you'll find out soon. I wish your kitty all the best. Also, do you by any chance have any pics of her to post here?