25/05/2026
🌟🌎 World Thyroid Day! 🌎🌟
🐾 The thyroid glands are very small specialised glands sitting either side of the trachea (windpipe) in the neck of most mammals. Their job is to produce hormones, Thyroxine (T4), Tri-iodothyronine (T3) and Calcitonin. Although the glands are tiny, the impact their hormones have on the body are huge, affecting most body systems.
🐾 T3 and T4 are hormones that play a role in metabolism and keeping the body functioning at an optimum rate. Calcitonin helps ensure that blood calcium levels don't rise too high.
🐾 Cats, particularly those who are middle-aged or older, are more likely to develop over-active thyroid glands, hyperthyroidism.
🐾 Symptoms include a ravenous appetite, weight-loss, vomiting, diarrhoea, erratic or manic behaviour, an unkempt coat and possibly a goitre (palpably enlarged gland).
💊 Treatment is very effective in most cases. Daily medication can help normalise levels and therefore reverse symptoms.
🧑⚕️ Another treatment option once the patient is stable is surgery, a thyroidectomy, where our surgeons can remove the affected thyroid gland. Cats that are tricky to medicate might be good candidates for the procedure.
☢️ Radioactive iodine treatment is available at a number of referral centres as another treatment option. As iodine is stored almost totally within the thyroid gland, administering a radioactive version will allow the radiation to damage the excessive thyroid tissue and cure the condition. Specialist hospitalisation for up to two weeks is required due to the risk to people from the radiation.
🥣 There is also a very low iodine food available that can control symptoms if fed exclusively, but it does rely on cats not hunting or stealing food!
🐾 In dogs, the opposite condition tends to occur, with the thyroid gland not producing enough thyroid hormones.
🐾 The symptoms of the slowed metabolism tend to include lethargy, weight gain, skin changes, alopecia (hair loss) particularly over the flanks, muscle aches and cold intolerance.
🐾 Treatment is a daily medication to provide the dog with synthetic thyroid hormones.
🐾 Thyroid problems are fortunately rare in most of our smaller species.
🐾 If you believe your pet might be demonstrating any of the signs of thyroid disease please give us a call for an appointment. In most cases a simple blood test that we can run within our in-house laboratory can diagnose a problem on the same day.
