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Can I give my senior cat old hyperthyroid meds to avoid a vet?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | 17 years and 4 months old | 6 lbs

My cat of 18 years passed away six weeks ago of kidney failure. The one remaining cat (who was not close to him) is 17 and starting to show symptoms of hyperthyroidism. We still have the other cats pills to treat this. Can we give them to her? Last time we took her to the vet, she vomited and peed in the car, then panted, shedded at vet and hid around house for 3 days. I don't think she would survive another vet trip

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 18th, 2017

I'm sorry you lost your other cat and that Bird is now showing symptoms of another disease. The most common diseases in older cats are renal failure, hyperthyrodism and diabetes. It is really not a wise decision to give Bird any of the other cats medications. Just because you think she looks like she has symptoms of hyperthyroidism doesn't mean she actually has it. As a vet, I have been fooled many times. You could certainly kill her by doing this or make things worse. Even if she is hyperthyroid she may not need the same dose that the other cat was on. If she is that stressed getting to the vet I would ask your vet if they would be willing to make a house call to draw blood as that is the way to diagnose this issue. The other option is to find a mobile vet in your area that could come to your house. I hope this helps. If you have any additional questions please feel free to ask!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Amber Da Silva, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I'm so sorry that your other kitty has passed away so recently and now Bird is acting sick. I would not recommend giving any of the left over thyroid medication to Bird. While it is necessary for a cat who has hyperthyroidism, it can also have serious side effects and I would never give it to a cat unless it was confirmed to have hyperthyroidism. I'm sorry to hear that the last vet visit was so stressful for her. You could see if there is a mobile vet in your area who could come to your house in order to draw blood and urine samples so you wouldn't have to take her anywhere. Hopefully she would tolerate this better than being transported to a vet clinic. The blood sample would be important to not only diagnose hyperthyroidism, but to screen for other problems as well.

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