Hyperthyroid diagnosis in 11 year old cat

[dreamingoffreshstart]

Thanks for the advice everyone!
I'm treating him with methimazole for now and taking him back for blood work in a month. I'm not sure if I want to go ahead with the radiation treatment right now because my vet isn't being very helpful at this point so I'll try the medicine until I feel more comfortable.
It's been 3 days and he is not throwing up & is back to his regular food. no other side effects so far.

[andthentherewere3]

That is great! One thing you might eventually notice, is your cat might not lick himself as much. It was a few years after beginning the methimazole before it happened with my cat. I can't remember if it's a side-effect of the med (dry mouth) or a side-effect of hyperthyroidism, and I also think their skin can become drier. I have to brush my cat every once in a while, his fur gets a little matted otherwise. But my cat has tolerated methimazole very well, he just gets blood tests annually to make sure he's getting the right dosage, and his organs are functioning well.

[rucks]

I agree with Andthentherwere3&MissNM and am happy you've started your kitty on treatment.
I adopted a long haired manx 15 years ago when she was 3. About three years ago I noticed she started looking a bit stringy(for lack of a better word)about the coat&had less energy/spunk overall. Considering her age I just assumed it was a natural part of her aging process. A couple of weeks after that she began yelling(LOUDLY lol)at night. This quickly turned into a nightly thing. I,again,attributed it to her age. After about a week of this I took her in to have the vet look her over. Sure enough the test revealed dear kitty was sufffering from a Hyperthyroid condition. My cat,like MissNM's kitty,is on methimazole. She's been on the last 3 years&doing just fine. She responded very quickly to the medication too. In fact the first night she was on it the night howling had stopped. Within a week she'd started gaining her weight back.
I've had no trouble getting her to take her tablet(twice a day) thanks to those trusty pill pockets. There have been 2-3 times when I've been in between pill pocket deliveries. During those times I simply put the tablet in a spoonful of her wet food.
Good luck with your kitty.