I suggest to consilt your veterinarian.

We have/had 2 cats on methimazole and neither showed signs of aggressivness or anxiety. Your cat might have something else going on.

I'm assuming this is an older cat. It could be in pain from arthritis or have a tooth issue.

It is best to consult your veterinarian.

it was checked (6.2) was 7.9 off med i am giving him 1/4 of 5mg 2x's a day. vet wants higher dose. but when increase to 1/4 and 1/2 he doesn't have his appetite also, when he is on med for 1 month his attack mode starts ??? he use to attack me after i had him for 4 years-stopped for 2 years and when started on methimazole it started again. t4 was 4.8 then. he isn't hyper seems depressed and miserable everything annoys him.

How old is he? Could he have arthritis that is painful and makes him cranky? How are his kidney values?

Often kidney issues go hand in hand with thyroid issues.

9 thank you everything else is fine so far.

^Yes 6.2 is still high T4 - 1.5-3.5 is the ideal. I assume the test was 4-6 wks after starting (or after adjustment in dose)? You are taking the increases slow - that is good. Is he eating at all after

Re aggression.... yeah, that is so difficult to comprehend sometimes. Do you notice any patterns to his aggression ? Does it happen in relation to you getting a pill down him - or how is he getting meds? With Figgy, his agitation often revolved around food and if I didnt feed him immediately he would start batting at my ankles - could be part of hyper-t that he was just starving all the time or being former street cat he is always fretting about not getting fed.

part of this is my being pig headed. i am fearful of pills especially for my cats. my vet has repeatedly told me to that the dose i give is too low. hearing all the horror stories i just keep giving that dose. first, i thought the meth was making him feel ill and the aggression is how he released it. when i gave 1/4 am and 1/2 pm-well, to me he didn't have his appetite. so today, i spoke with vet and we decided to do that dosage again. i got the transdermal but sorry i did. for a while he seemed to catch on the pill was in the food. i also found out about oral compound which comes in flavours. this might be better. there is no rhyme or reason when he acts up. we were playing in the morning after he went to bedroom (their quarters) to rest. i walked in the room and as i was leaving boom when my back was turned. another time his brother was tormenting him i went to address it and he lashed out at me. my vet discussed prozac which i also got transdermal but one of the side effects is aggression and i don't need it to escalate do you give your cat anything for the aggression? thank you

Aha - so you have some inter-cat aggression going on. Please try not to take it personally if you get caught in the crossfire - thats displaced aggression and can happen if an animal (people too LOL) are angry but cant take it out on whoever they are angry at. That really explains it all, although hyperthyroid still may (or maybe not) be a factor. No I don't give my cats any psychoactive drugs for what really is normal cat behavior (ie male cats fighting over territory) and instead keep them totally separate, rotating spaces throughout the day. By now they are totally used to it. If I didnt have the space or ability to build an outdoor catio I would have re-homed one or the other. There's some really excellent science based info out now about cat behavior - some aggression can be really subtle, for example stalking and poking. My aggressor was the master of that - it took a long time to realize he really was the instigator. Totally recommend the many Jackson Galaxy videos on You-tube (he really knows cats), Pam Johnson's book on inter-cat aggression and John Bradshaw on cat behavior in general. I thought I knew cats - have lived with them many decades - but found there was a lot I didnt know until I had to figureout how to deal with this situation. theGood luck! Its not an easy situation I know....

hi, no, no. they get along it is just when he doesn't feel well.

if you don't mind telling me-what was your cat's t4 and what dose were you given him/her?

was it the tab, suspension or transdermal?

to me he doesn't seem like the med agrees with him-as if his head hurts.

thanx

Re "it is just when he doesn't feel well" - yeah I get it, that totally makes sense too, I know if I feel really sick being around other people is the last thing I want and I too might have some displaced aggression/frustration against them. I looked up meth side effects for humans and headache, dizziness, were on the list ... among many other things. Cats cant tell us they have a headache so that is probably the main reason its not listed as a side effect for cats. Poor guy! How long has he been on the meth?

Supposedly side effects are supposed to go away after some time, and I was advised to push on through. HOwever the people on the hyperthyroid support group (check it out) advise starting very low - i.e. 1.25 mg twice a day - for two reasons. To minimize side effects - it really is a pretty harsh drug - and because you might miss optimum dose if you start too high. I did this for my one cat Figgy figuring I woud raise it up to the prescribed dose of 2.5 mg if T4 proved to still be high - but - vet was surprised when his T4 had gone down to a good level (a little under 3) on just that tiny dose. So thats where he is now. Upon diagnosis T4 had been around 6.

My other cat....... he had horrendous high T4 greater than 15, so I went straight to doing the I-131 treatment for him. But ... it failed and there was some evidence he had (has) the more aggressive form of thryoid cancer . He was controlled for a while last winter on massive dose of meth - 10 mg twice a day - but now his poor little body is failing for other reasons (FIV end stages /gi lymphoma) and his liver eventually could not tolerate that high dose.

In spite of our unhappy ending with I-131, I would certainly advise at least considering it - the odds are overwhelmingly good, theres like a 98% success rate and when you think about the money you save in not buying meds and having to get frequent vet checks. Plus - its gone for good (assuming successful treatment) , If for some reason the I-131 treatment ends up putting his T4 too low, then the thyroid replacement hormone is very cheap and well tolerated.

PS in answer to your question - mine both are on transdermal medication. Both are super mellow but fight tooth and nail if I try to put anything down their throat and I didnt want to take the chance it would change my relationship to them, so if theres the option to do it transdermal - why not. Methimazole is one med that is equally effective when given transdermally - it does however take longer ie several weeks for it to build up in the cat and take effect. Just speculating, but even if he seems to be accepting being pilled it could add to his overall anxiety.

hi,

yes, i started low but with this and that had taken him off and went right back up again-no higher than 7.9. (he started attacking me so thought the med)

he is on 1.25 2 x's a day.

how often did you have to bring in your boy for testing the t4 on the med?

yes, we went through all the tests required for the I-131 procedure and for some reason (not sure me asking 101 questions or what might vet mentioned (he did not lose weight) anyway they suggested we go to a 24/7 facility. after i thought about it and not liking the options i gave in to the pill. recently, ordered the transdermal and decided no . they groom each other and thought the little one may ingest some.

how old are your cats? and how long have they been on this med?

thanx and i hope you are enjoying the holidays!

Mine is also on the transdermal and does well on it. He had been on 2.5 mg/day forever but recently started to lose weight and was throwing up a lot. His T4 had gone from 4.7 (high normal) to 7.4. We doubled the dose and he stopped throwing up almost immediately. I had his T4 rechecked after 4 weeks and not only was it back in the high normal range but he gained 2 pounds.

One of our other cats often grooms him but I have never seen him licking his ears right after I applied the Methimazole. It actually never crossed my mind that he would do that.

Our old man is 20 by the way.

hi and thank you for your info!

how old was your boy when he was diagnosed with hyper?

did you ever try the pill?

do you apply it once or twice a day?

is it better for the system or he just won't take the pill?

my guy was only 9 when this happened-he does take the pill in food-but sometimes i feel it bothers him. he won't eat the food-so i kind of listen to him and let it be. (just 1 missed dosed)

hope you find time for my questions and hope you and yours enjoy the new year!

He was about 17 when he was diagnosed. I did not try a pill with him but with a previous cat and saw no difference with her. The vet recommended the transdermal for ease of administering it and because it is absorbed well. He can be asleep and not wake up when I put it on his ear.

I applied it once a day on the 2.5 mg a day and when we doubled the dose went to twice a day because the dosing pen only gives 2.5 mg per click. When I had to reorder I went to 5mg per click and once-daily application. The cost for the 5mg pen is the same as for the 2.5 mg pen. I did ask the vet before doing that. I can't tell a difference in him.

Coby would never eat a pill in his food. Anything oral has to be administered directly down his throat.

For supplements I like Pet Wellbeing . Their supplements actually work. I would not give their Thyroid supplement with medication without consulting your vet but it might be an alternative. Coby seems to do better overall when he is on their "Old Friend" remedy for senior cats. Unfortunately, he is not fooled by the bacon flavor and I have to give it to him directly.

One of our cats is hyperthyroid and is on methimazole 2 times a day. He is 15, but we adopted him at 14 3/4 so do not know how long this had been going on. He was very thin - he no longer his.

He has had 2 blood tests and will be going for a third next week. He was on 2.5 mg in the a.m. and the same at night. We absolutely cannot pill a cat. Our vet told us that his numbers were very high. But on his last refill the vet who filled his refill said that his numbers had gone down and prescribed 2.5 mg in the morning and half that at night. If anything, he has gained more weight on the reduced dosage. I expect to be told he has to go on a diet.

His pressure etc. were all good.

Note that he has not displayed any aggression towards us or our other cat (who is 10 - they lived together but obviously were not litter mates).

If you can pill a cat, that is great, but we just can't. I also think that you should give your cat the recommended by your vet dosage.

My experience with animal thyroid issues is with a dog who was hypothyroid. Different, but the main thing was getting the dose right. Same with people. This is why the initial every 3 weeks blood tests and then 3 months are important. I know our dog was on .2, .1, .2 again and then .15 but he would eat anything and the pills were nothing to him. How I wish!

thank you to all who replied. still going crazee with this hyperthyroidism.