I did that for my cat a few years ago. It did not improve his quality of life. He was close to the age of your kitty maybe a year older. He never put on any weight after the treatment. I have said that if I were faced with that decision again that I would opt for the pills but that is easy to say as I have not had to do that up to now. Sorry that I could not be more help.

My sweet kitty had this done. I don’t recall the isolation issues. I do remember having to keep litterbox stuff isolated for quite a while before disposal. She slept with me but liked to sleep on the opposite side of my king sized bed, so I didn’t worry too much. If your kitty is a lap kitty, I’d try to rig up a warm spotfor her that could entice her. Like a heated bed. The treatment ws successful for a while, but her thyroid eventually recovered and she had to be treated again! The specialist said it happens in a small percentage of cases. That worked for a couple more years and her thyroid recovered again! He said it was the first time he’d ever had to treat three times! The second time he gave me a 50% discount; the third time, he did it for free. She lived until she was 18 or 19 with no more issues.

I can't be of any help with the Radioactive Treatment but our 15 year old kitty is being treated with the methimazole and we have it in liquid form. We measure it with a dropper and put in on her canned food. She just gobbles it up. Maybe that would be an option instead of the pill form. Good luck!

We had a transdermal for our kitty when she would not take the methimazole pill. It worked quite well. It went on the ear. We used both methods, depending on her mood!

I had a previous hyperthyroid cat. We opted to give him the medication instead of the radioactive iodine tx. He was a good pill taker and we just didn’t want to put him through the trauma of being away. A friend of mine did the RI and her cat did well.

I second the transdermal. It works well and is easy to apply.

We went with the pills as well, instead of radiation. Our cat didn’t like the pill pockets so we hid his pill in a little bit of wet cat food and rolled it into a little ball, which he loved. Sometimes he would spit the pill out, but 99% of the time he gobbled it up

Maybe I can look into the liquid and transdermal. We had such a rough time with pills that last time, that I don't want to go through that again. She is also a very high-strung cat like the previous cat. She runs from the Revolution. The previous cat would also not accept the pill in his food. She might be more acceptable of that. We'd need to keep Blue out of her food, too.

Recently I started using pill pockets for my cat who takes meds. In all my years I'd never tried them but he loves them. He can't have anything but his prescription food so it's his only treat.

With the pill pockets, we learned not to touch the outside of the pill pocket with the pill or the same fingers that touched the pill. She would detect the pill from that! We also had to give another treat at the same time, as well as treats to the other cat of course. It became a game, tossing them across the floor to chase.

My grandcat Merlin was on transdermal for about 5 years He died at 19 1/2. My daughter would cut off the tips of nitrile gloves and used a fresh tip each time to put meds in his ear.

Wish it was available when I had a kitty that ultimately died from the complications of hyperthyroidism. He experienced hypertension that caused retinal detachment (blindness) and kidney failure. Had another cat that developed hyperthyroidism, that was scheduled for the "radiocat" treatment, when he died in my house fire. RIP tabby cat R.

MDLN, I'm sorry to hear that. Yes, our previous cat had secondary renal failure and hypertension as a result of the the hyperthyroid. Fortunately no blindness, but my old roommate's cat went blind.

Just to add a positive note - my hyperT cat had no complications and he was on methimazole for years. He also had IBD - diagnosed before the hyperT - and being on and off prednisolone for that took a toll on him but he still lived a good quality life until the age of 19. On another note, a different cat with kidney failure went blind from hypertension but I managed to reverse that by giving her a cat sized dose of my human BP medication as soon as I realized what was happening. At the height of Covid and I couldn't get in to see my vet so I took matters into my own hands. Cats - we'll do just about anything for them won't we. 🥰

that treatment caused immediate renal failure in my kitty. It was awful, wish I never consented.

I didn't have myself irradiated when I developed hyperthyroidism nor did I go that route for various kitties. Aside from all the obvious negatives of medicating a cat with any frequency, I needed something that my blind spouse could do as well. Pills, liquids, and transdermals just weren't an option. Your vet can work with a compounding pharmacy to get methimazole in treats. Tuna or chicken worked best for us. The ones that had to be refrigerated were preferred by the felines, but they accepted the others. The latter would be an option if you don't have a compounding pharmacy nearby. Methimazole doesn't have an especially nasty taste in most dosages, but the flavorings can be strengthened if a med tastes bad.

Hyperthyroidism can mask renal insufficiency, so close attention to bloodwork is needed in any case. If kitty isn't already on wet food, that's another important change to make.

For me, the hyperthroidism went into remission after several years. I wasn't aware that it could go into remission in cats, so Annie's post was a good data point.

I talked to our vet again, and we discussed the liquid and or transdermal. So, DH and I will think about it, that we could try these first if they are acceptable to her/us. She generally doesn’t mind stuff in her food, so msaybe it will work.

gsciencechick I hope if you try the oral or transdermal that one of them works for you. I should add, that we tried the transdermal first and our sweet kitty did not go for that so we called and found out about the oral option. I said in my original post that we used a dropper,

but actually it is a little syringe with markings on it for the dosage. It must taste good as our elderly kitty loves it. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Ah, yes, we had a syringe, too. We alternated among the different methods, depending on what worked. Cats, you know!

If you decide to have the liquid med compounded, i highly recommend MixLab. They were terrific when we had to have some meds compunded for our Miku. They gave us a choice of flavors, meds arrived quickly, they were packed well, came with instruction/dosing cards, the type of bottles they use made drawing up the meds easy (down to the kast drop), and they always included one or more cat toys in every package of refills. 😺

Coming in late but here's a more positive experience with the radiation treatment. When our 16 year old cat developed thyroid problems we decided instead of meds forever we would go ahead with the radiation because it was a limited time treatment and the results can be so successful for cats that are otherwise in good health as ours was (and is).

We ended up boarding her for the caution period afterward at the specialist vet facility that did the treatment. Because we had an infant granddaughter we simply didn't want to chance either of us being around the cat then causing a problem. We talked to the vet caretaker daily and visited her several times so it wasn't too awful and when she came home she seemed perfectly normal ie no lasting separation trauma.

It was a total success, and especially for a cat like yours gscience who has problems taking oral medication I wouldn't rule it out as an option.

We are trying the liquid methimazole, and so far it seems to be acceptable to her. We will need updated blood work in another month.

The radiation treatment they said they go in on a Monday and usually home on Wednesday, and then usually for 12 days after that limited contact (10 min per day) with people or other pets. That would be the hardest part for us. She spends most evenings on DH’s lap. We could board her at the specialist vet but that doubles the cost. We could also board her at our vet they said and it wouldn’t be so expensive. They have had cats like that in the past. DH says she would think we abandoned her.

Our old cat would've really suffered. When he needed surgery, I called the vet to see how he was doing and she said that cat you hear howling is yours...he's been doing that nonstop.

gsciencechick I wish you good luck with the oral meds. After adjusting the dosage a couple of times, our 15 year old kitty has gained some weight and does not have to go back for blood work for three months. It has worked well for her.

Annie, I know. She would howl the whole time. She is quite the drama queen. If we kept her in a room here she would be miserable knowing we are here. Our house is too small, and we don’t have a basement or upstairs to keep her separate.

GrammaJ, that is reassuring. Thanks.

It worked well for our cat as well. He was on the medication for 7 years and died when he was 22

Her meow has gone raspy from probably both the thyroid disease and the over vocalization. The vet thinks it will probably improve with the medication, but it might not. She isn’t showing any signs of an upper respiratory infection that would also lead to that. Ugh.