18-Year-Old Cat with Hyperthyroidism — Seeking Holistic Guidance for Liver, Heart & Thyroid Support

[lermanrlee]

Hi Dr. Jeff and Holistic Actions Community,
@Dr. Jeff , @Dr. Christina @Dr. Jean Hofve

I'm reaching out for support and guidance for my 18-year-old male cat, Trogdor. He is a black tabby, neutered. He's been treated for hyperthyroidism and is doing very well behaviorally—eating, alert, energetic—15.5 pounds. But I want to ensure I'm doing the absolute best for him, especially when it comes to heart, liver, and long-term thyroid care. I'd love to know if there are any holistic strategies we can incorporate either alongside or in place of his current medications.

• Post-May Medication Adjustment:
  • Due to the elevated thyroid levels, his Methimazole dose was increased to 0.3 mL of a 10 mg/mL compounded formula, twice daily.
• June 2025 Follow-up:
  • Total T4: came down to 1.1 (now within normal range).
  • Liver and heart values were not retested yet due to cost concerns—I plan to do that at his next visit in about 2 months.
  • Methimazole dosage was slightly reduced to 0.27 mL twice daily based on the improved T4

Diet / Lifestyle Notes:

• During the few months leading up to his May 5th lab results, I had been giving him more fish to help stimulate his appetite—he was eating less, and fish got him excited about food again.
  I’ve since stopped the fish completely.
• He alternates between:
  • Primal Freeze-Dried Rabbit
  • Rayne Kangaroo/Rabbit MAINT (Thera-Diet canned food)
• His behavior, appetite, energy, and mood all seem great.

Questions:

1. Are there any holistic supports (herbal, energetic, nutritional, etc.) you'd recommend to gently support his thyroid, liver, and heart, especially while he's on Methimazole? And if so, what are the dosings that you recommend? I see general recommendations, but hoping to get more specific for mine.
2. If his liver and heart values normalize at his next check-up, would you recommend continuing with Methimazole long-term, or would you consider radioactive iodine (I-131) a viable option for a cat his age and health?
3. Could the short-term fish reintroduction have contributed to the elevated liver or cardiac values seen in May?
4. Any thoughts on detox or support protocols that help the body manage Methimazole’s effects?
5. Regarding the mild proteinuria (UPC 0.5): my vet didn’t flag it since his kidney markers and urine concentration were otherwise excellent, but should I be supporting his kidneys more proactively or monitoring this closely?

I’m deeply grateful for your time, insight, and the loving work you all do. Trogdor is doing great. I just want to make sure I’m honoring his vitality with the gentlest, most thoughtful care possible.


Warmest thanks,
Rebecca (Trogdor’s mom)

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Rebecca!

Welcome to HA! and thanks for making your first post about Trogdor.

I have a few general recommendations to start answering your questions.

The first is a question about how deeply you've explored the HA! resources?

Spending some time learning more about the Path to Pet Wellness framework of energetic healing will be super helpful.

Most of your questions are answered in other forum posts (use the search function in the upper left corner), in the HA! 101 course and in the other thyroid resources that you'll find in your HA! member dashboard.

In addition to educating and empowering yourself regarding long-term thyroid, kidney, liver, etc. support, having a trained vet homeopath on Trogdor's vet care team is super important IMHO.

If you want to pursue this, just let us know or schedule a 15-minute Holistic Medical Decision Making call with me or Dr. Christina for a referral.

It seems that he is still sensitive to the methimazole. I'm super happy to see the dose adjustment work so well since May!

This is really, really good news because to me it means that everything you're doing has been very successful at maintaining his resilience.

My main questions are about his body condition. And whether you've eliminated any red meat or liver from his diet?

I ask because the size (MCV) and percentage of hemoglobin (MCH which is related to iron) has dropped quite a bit.

Do you use B12?

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My last question (for now) is what brings him the most joy? What makes him purr?

The reason for this question is my own clinical finding that happiness and joy are fun and essential ways to help his body heal.

The Happiness Protocol in Your Pet's Life

At HA! we are committed to much more than helping pets become dis-ease free. We promote restoring and maintaining vitality, balance, energy, & happiness.

www.holisticactions.com

The Return to Wholeness and Homeostasis

As the legacy of Decartes comes to an end, the principle of dynamic equilibrium is being rediscovered and gaining prominence in veterinary medicine.

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Feel free to reach out if we can help in any way.

Tomorrow (Monday) 8pm ET webinar may also be helpful for you.