Hyperthyroidism, yowling, mouth frothing, disorientation, difficulty urinating

by Kim
(Venice, FL)

Our cat is geriatric, 20 years old. Up to a few months ago, she had the meds of a 5 year old cat, according to her vet. Then she started losing weight dramatically and we figured it to be the thyroid problem and she was put on methimazole. That seemed to do the trick and she looked and acted very normal again. That is, until about three days ago. Suddenly, she started this utterly horrible yowling and has little head and body 'tremors' - she them seems to 'freeze' in position and stare off into space and then froths at the mouth and at the same time releases some very light pink tinged and yet clear 'urine' that does not smell at all like cat urine. After this trauma is over (which lasts just a minute or two), she then seems to snap out of it and paces awkwardly, but does not groom herself or seem to realize that she just peed on herself and the floor. Then she wanders over a few feet away and lays down and looks and acts perfectly normal until maybe an hour or so later when the same kind of thing happens. The yowling alone is enough to scare the bejeebers out of us. So, we took her back to the vet for a few hours of observation and he thought maybe she was having seizures and now has put her on phenobarbitol in addition to her thyroid medicine. But, perhaps the Phenobarbital is disagreeing with her? And sometimes I watch her and wonder if it is seizures, and maybe is something else entirely. The vet did take blood samples and we are awaiting that report, but in the meantime we are trying to observe her and see if we can help figure this out. She is old and was doing so well, yet we don't want to try and have her be experimented on with too many drugs and such, her quality of life seems

to be deteriorating rapidly. Other notes: Her vet seemed to say her thyroid medicine is working well and that is no longer a problem. Her pancreas is fine. He even said her kidneys are fine. Yet, maybe could she have kidney stones that are causing painful urination and the frothing? Some sort of Parkinson's for cats? Is there a pain management medication to lessen her agony while we see if we can save her?


Answer by Kate
Hi
what a terrible story, it really does sound like your cat is very sick.

unfortunately I am not a vet and would not like to even try and diagnose the problem, anyway your vet is doing that by the sounds of it.

At 20 years old she is a old cat and to be honest with you it may just be the end of her life. I know this can be hard to accept, especially when she has been so healthy all her life. but illness can suddenly creep up on our pets and they can turn from an energetic happy cat to a frail and sick cat within a few days. My own cat is getting on now and we have noticed changes in her and are preparing ourselves for any signs of ill health which could mean the end.

You are doing everything you can for your cat by taking her to the vets. to be honest only your vet can advise as to the best course of action. if they feel that she is in too much distress or that by putting her through lots of treatment is not worth ny distress etc they should tell you if they are worth there salt.

I really feel for you at this time as i too would find it hard to know what to do for the best. All you can do is to be with her for comfort and reassurance and to follow the advice the vet can offer.

best wishes Kate

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