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Cat 16 hyperthyroid, with benign lump at throat, also twitching, drooling and may need more dental work. Anything better than stright allopathic approaches? Please help

RavenW

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Dec 4, 2023
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5
  1. Your pet's name
    Fluffy
  2. Approximate age
    16 years and 3 months
  3. Sex
  4. boy
  5. Neutering status
neutered at about 9 months
Breed
cat orange= born into the family- his mom was my cat and she came with her mom at 2 months.

Approximate weight
9-10 lbs and losing weight

Diet
mostly raw
whole foods diet since birth with high quality canned mixed in.
In last two years a lot of Darwins, Some Small Batch in the last year,
Historically Lots of Primal brand frozen raw, fresh raw chicken rotated with other meats, organ meats as often and varied as I could get.
High quality canned Weruva, Honest kitchen, vital choice, ziwi peak when possible before they sold out,stella and chewy, Fromm, NULU
frozen rabbit from local butcher when had access to that.
pumpkin, or thawed lightly cooked purreed peas stirred in at times,
sardines in water, fish, etc.
Orijen or other highest quality kibble when I needed to- for petsitter when traveling or during overwhelm times.
Just started getting pumkin pie pumpkin from whole foods and cooking to mush in instant pot and then mixing with a pound of raw beef, or bison or lamb.
I have trjed to be varied.
recently started heating raw chicken pieces in pot with filtered water and also feeding the broth but not making the gelatiounous stock.
For many years fed chicken wings or entire chicken bones and all and they would devour the entire thing ( I had 7 cats of the same family then and they were younger) Now with all the dental surgeries, I avoid the boney chicken parts. Not sure it is good for them to chew since they have had some teeth pulled. ( It is hard to separate diet conversations to one cat when it is a family I feed) also supplements:
Fish oil, lysine powder, brewers yeast for fleas, soemtimes raw frozen goat milk,
Myos bulking supplement just for Fluffy lately.
over time various herbal extracts from Animal Essentials such as Senior pet,
Snacks: freeze dried salmon chicks as treats, GOAT from Honest Kithchen - probiotic snack cubes,
probiitics as needed- Naturen
orijen tundra soft treats, Vermont Natuals calming,
I got them Standard Process whole food and immune pills but they don't like it.
( I cannot make thier own pet food. I dont even like or eat meat, actually, so that is about as far as I can go with it) Looking for other raw frozen brands that work.
Never Pork, Not trusting the raw aspect of pork with tapeworms et al, and when is the last time you saw a cat take down a pig?

And he goes in and outside so can catch whatever prey he wants to. I've seen him catch and eat baby bunnies.

What's their BEAM (behavior, energy, appetite, mood)
B
sweet, engaging, affectionate.
Sometimes restless sitting on me wants to sit, rearranges and then departs the lap. twitches.
E lower energy than years past
A not eating much for the last few days.- drooling again.
M I don’t think he feels good and wants me to do something.

Vaccination history / exposure to toxins, other medication
vaccination History

Vaccinations
I avoided the vaccination route following Juliette De Barclay Levi and Anitra Fraizer's approach of: follow nature and build immunity the natural way with whole food diet and lifestyle and by respecting their innate intelligence and healing ability.
By law I had to vaccinate for Rabies 2011, again in 2018 with three year purevac and again three years later in 21 and will have to again when that expires. We have raccoons coming into the back yard, so I am honestly glad. Sad I did not know about homeopathics to mitigate the vaccination side effects at the time.

I will say, a neighborhood community cat seemed to give everyone the eye and nose virus sometime around 2015-16 even if I did all the rest correctly. So, I kind of wish they had been protected as their natural immunity and lifestyle was not enough.

Also, I can’t take them to any kennels here because of not having all the vaccines.
I wont be getting other vaccines than legally required rabies.

Exposure to toxins. I keep a clean and green lifestyle re chemicals in and around home and yard. We did live behind a corn/soy field for 7 years. ’12-’18. They dusted the crops with pesticides - probably Roundup. Cats did have access to that field at will.
Have lived in houses with mold issues.
Cats have been inside/outside since 2 months old with the exception of 1 year of traveling.

Diagnosis of hyperthyroidism Dec 2019. Did not give him methamizole for about a year. First tried Chinese tea pills Hyper Bi Jang, rheumania 6 or 8, which did not do anything and were hard to dose. Tried the ear gel from Wegewood Pharmacy for several months but vet did not think it was absorbing as well as pills do. Then moved to regular pharmacy tablets placed in mouth 5 mg BID.

Being regular with it is hard. Missed doses. He also spits it out.

He has had dental surgery twice. First in Dec 2019 and 3-4 teeth pulled. 4 more pulled in Jan 22. It seems he might need more pulled again.

Also had ball/scrotum surgery spring 20 when a stray attacked him here. I saw it and broke it up. His rear was ripped up. Emergency surgery the next day. Recovered well.

Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time
10)
A)
Fluffy has a benign tumor at his throat. I noticed a lump over a year and a half ago. Vet disregarded it. It grew over six months. It was finally biopsied and pronounced benign. It continued to grow.
Another integrative vet looked at him in July or August and said she could move it with her fingers and that it did not bother him. His thyroid labs were at 6 and she refused to treat him until I religiously dosed him with the methizamole twice daily for 30 day in a row. So nothing really happened for him. His dose was continued but not changed.
She also mentioned that if I thought that was just the real number as that is how dosing goes in reality with us and he may never get it every twelve hours like swiss clockwork, then maybe I should rush to get him in to radiate, ablate, irradiate??his thyroid or something - not sure about the terms.

I think this integrative vet who has the strongest reputation in this part of the state within a 2-5 hour radius drive wanted to kill his thyroid. That surprised me. Aren’t that any better and effective alternatives? I have not been back yet.

Honestly, I am not sure who to take him to now. When an integrative vet with a good reputation for being balanced in holistic and allopathic says that; I think maybe that IS what is needed. But I don’t know. I know that she is twice as expensive as my conventional cat-only vet who may say the same thing, but no hope of holistic treatment.

I know the holistic homeopath who does not do bloodwork who saw and felt my other cat disregarded any need for hyperthyroid treatment, but bloodwork from a different vet for that cat showed her to be hyperthyroid and needing methzimole ( which improved her, actually)

A note: It has been my experience, that some vets say they are integrative but practice mostly allopathically ( which can be a frustrating and costly experience) and some homeopathic vets are so holistic they seem to miss issues that needed a more allopathic approach allowing the cat to not get treatment needed when needed


I need to understand my options.

I do know Fluffy is getting worse and I need to address it.
What would they do to my cat’s thyroid or parathyroid if medication is not cutting it? How would that affect him?


B)
He is drooling again. smell from the mouth. Seems uncomfortable. I just wiped drool and it had bits of black flakes. Not wanting to eat. Holding body tightly.
In 2017-18 he was drooling at the time- a very nice Pritcarian trained vet give him Thuja 30 C. 1/2 dropper twice daily for 2 days. with pain meds and chiropractic adjustment
Not much difference made
After the first dental extraction 2019, (different vet, different state) he stopped drooling. This vet said he had stomatitis and was reabsorbing his teeth. Is this where homeopathics are not the best approach? Seems like he could have had dental a year earlier and suffered less.


C) He also twitches.
He can be laying on me or sitting on a chair and just twitch in his face and upper body. He is not chasing the tail nor rippling his skin. It is not that. It is like a thunder bolt hit him and ripples though him. It can happen every 4 minutes and last for 4 seconds and repeat, then pause. Looking back over vet records for this I noitced I first mentioned it around at 2017. It isahs waxed and waned and changed since then. BUT NOW it is high.

I have asked every vet I took him to and they all say they don’t know and move on. First we thought it could have been dental pain, then flea bites. But it continues. I have started giving him hypericum dissolved in water and potentized.

It has waves. It goes away and comes back. Could it be connected to his dental health?

D) This summer Fluffy has also been wobbly. The previously mentioned vet had said it could be from muscle wasting and give him Myos, the bulking product made of eggs. He did not always eat his food if that was mixed in.

Is the condition better or worse from exercise, heat, cold, time of day, certain foods, emotional upset, being touched, excitement, etc?
I don’t know.

He had told a medical medium who did a long distance healing that he feels less safe outside these days. And there was “an incident” but no more detail
(New unfriendly next door neighbors with a young pittbull ( who this guy bullies and yells at, and smacks to train) and aggressive chiwawa and five kids have impacted his roaming territory and over all sense of control and freedom ( I think ).
In front of me, in April, as I was gardening and their kids were out, the chiwawa came onto my yard and chased Fluffy into a neighbor’s yard. He escaped by climbing the privacy fence.
He is becoming picky with food.

He is very sweet and loving.

Has any diagnostic work been done? Diagnosis if available (you can attach your diagnostic tests to the post if you have them)
Current and previous treatment

Dental surgery twice. The biopsy. The ball surgery. Methizomole. I add Animal Essentials senior pet and or CBD to food sometimes. And a variety of supplements.

Other health concerns

integrated above -#10:ABCD-

is the twitching and drooling connected to the wobbling and hyperthyroidism and begin tumor and weight loss? Would the killing the thyroid be good or bad? Could homeopathics solve it? Is there a good alternative to more dental extractions? the vet who extracted is teeth said her cat had 17 pulled out..yikes

@Dr. Christina, @Dr. Jeff, @Dr. Barbara, @Dr. Jean Hofve, @Dr. Jessica< @Dr. Sara, @Dr. Linda, @Dr.Eli, @Dr.Lorrie
 

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Dr. Jeff

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Feb 23, 2017
Messages
5,694
Holy moly Raven!

You win my award for the most thorough and detailed first post. How long did it take you to write it?

Welcome to HA!

(I'll reply after Laughter Yoga dance class...)
 

Dr. Jeff

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Messages
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I avoided the vaccination route following Juliette De Barclay Levi and Anitra Fraizer's approach of: follow nature and build immunity the natural way with whole food diet and lifestyle and by respecting their innate intelligence and healing ability.
Yay for your focusing on building his terrain! It's paying off now (he looks very vital in his pic!).


I think this integrative vet who has the strongest reputation in this part of the state within a 2-5 hour radius drive wanted to kill his thyroid. That surprised me. Aren’t that any better and effective alternatives?
Yes! The main alternative is to do what you're already doing to optimize his immune function and decrease vaccines and also decrease his susceptibility to germs (and from any ill effects from being hyperthyroid).

I need to understand my options.
1. T.O.P. (terrain optimizing protocol), 2. methimazole, 3. radioactive iodine, 4. surgical thyroid ablation (removal).
This vet said he had stomatitis and was reabsorbing his teeth. Is this where homeopathics are not the best approach?
It's still the best approach IMHO. @Dr. Christina, @Dr. Jean Hofve ?

Could it be connected to his dental health?
Yup. But the underlying cause is not his teeth. It's the same "cause" as his stomatitis and resorption. Internal energetic imbalance.

is the twitching and drooling connected to the wobbling and hyperthyroidism and begin tumor and weight loss?
Yup!
Would the killing the thyroid be good or bad?
Bad IMHO.
Could homeopathics solve it?
Solve? He is over 16! They can help, and possibly cure. But he may need continuous treatment until he passes (and homeopathic treatment makes the transitioning process easier).
Is there a good alternative to more dental extractions?
Not really. Tho I wonder if you have tried holding a chicken or duck neck for him to chew on?
 

Dr. Jean Hofve

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Messages
598
Wow that is a lot of info! Thanks!!

Personally I would use another diet besides Darwin's, especially if you have been using it a long time. They have a long history of recalls, denying problems with the food including *causing* hyperthyroidism.

If he has decayed teeth they need to be addressed, because they are painful and can seed infection throughout other organs. Other causes of drooling are nausea and neurological problems like vertigo/inner ear. But teeth are always an obvious place to start.

Here's some info on hyperthyroidism. If he is hard to pill, you can get methimazole in a topical gel to put in his ears. It does need to be treated consistently, assuming it isn't caused by the food. Feline Hyperthyroidism | Little Big Cat - Dr. Jean Hofve
 

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