Expert: Tina - 11/2/2010

Question
Our Cat lucky has been going into heat every couple weeks for the past 6 months. we have taken her to our vet and they have confirmed that there are hormones present that should not be there since she was spayed several years ago and they want to "exploratory surgery" to find out why,  because they are labelling it as exploratory the price tag is astronomical and we cannot afford it......  so we are trying to "deal" with her symptoms, but it is very difficult.  we have been keeping her in the basement at night because her meowing is so loud it keeps us up.....  we are tired and frustrated and want help.  do you have any suggestions other than "exploratory surgery" that we cannot afford?  Can we give her something to make her sleep at night?

Answer
There are a few other possibilities. For example increased vocalization and hyperactivity are also signs of hyperthyroidism, very common in older cats especially over 10 years but 8 is not too young to potentially have hyperhtyroidism. Has your cat had a thyroid blood panel done? If not, I recommend you get this done right away (T4 and Free T4). If your cat is hyperthyroid, she can be easily treated with a relatively inexpensive medication.

Is she also hungrier than usual, has she lost any weight? THese are classic signs of hyperthyroidism however about 10% of cats do not display the "classic" signs and therefore vets do not guess they may be hyperthyroid.

As for female hormones, it is not unheard of for some ovarian tissue to be left behind but normally that would not cause a problem unless it develops into a tumor. AN ultrasound should be able to show if a tumor has developed, and should only cost about $200. If there is a tumor, it would require surgery to treat, but it should not be too expensive, if confirmed by ultrasound.

I think it is more likely that your cat is hyperthyroid than that an ovarian tumor has grown, simply because this condition is extremely common in cats.

Here is a source of excellent information on feline hyperthyroidism:

http://www.avmi.net/NewFiles/Hyperthyroidism/Hyperthyroidism.html

If your cat's T4 is greater than 50% of the normal range AND her Free T4 is elevated, this can indicate hyperthyroidism even though T4 is in the normal range.