Give thyroid medicine?

Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry to hear that Fern is uncomfortable.

I have several clients who have moved up North and I understand how difficult it is for you, not having a vet readily available!

There are a few things that can cause a cat to strain to urinate like Fern is. The good news is that she is a female cat so that makes a serious urethral blockage very unlikely.

The most common reason for a female cat to strain to urinate is something called interstitial cystitis. We don't know why cats get this but it is like having a stomach ulcer in the bladder. The good news, if it is interstitial cystitis is that it often will go away on its own within a couple of days. If I diagnose this I often will prescribe an anti-inflammatory medication, but this is something you really can't give without having some tests done first to make sure there is not another issue.

A UTI is possible as well. We actually don't see a lot of UTIs in cats. However, in an older cat, it is a little more likely.

Now, let's talk about the thyroid medication. These symptoms are extremely unlikely to be related to the thyroid medicine. I would definitely keep giving her regular dose of medication. As an aside, it is much better to go back to giving the medication twice daily. Most cats do much much better at keeping their thyroid regulated if they are on twice daily dosing rather than once daily.

If we stopped giving her her medication this will cause her thyroid level to increase which will increase the stress on her body, increase her blood pressure and can have other negative effects.

If you do have access to a vet at all, it would be great to have some repeat bloodwork done on her just to make sure her thyroid level is correct and also to make sure that there are no kidney issues. Some cats, after starting on thyroid medication can develop kidney problems. It's not that the medication is harmful to the kidneys, but rather, the thyroid problem sometimes masks kidney issues and once we correct the thyroid then the real kidney problem can surface.

Kidney disease would not cause straining though (unless she has a kidney infection) but it could cause the increase in thirst.

I hope this helps and I hope she feels better soon!

I will be online for about another 10 minutes tonight, so if you have more questions just let me know. Or, I will be back on in the morning.

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

You're very welcome! I hope all goes well!