Diet cures feline hyperthyroidism

When I was still in veterinary school at Tenessee I remember the Internal Medicine folks announcing that C/D diet for cats was going to cure feline cystitis and, "You'll never see another P/U surgery again."  It didn't quite work out that way though C/D, S/D and W/D have worked as more arrows in our sling against that troublesome disease. Lately though Hill's has taken it's aim against another killer of cats,  Hyperthyroidism. 


Standard Hyperthyroid treatments


Traditionally we have had three possible treatments for Hyperthyroid cats: surgery, Radioactive iodine treatment and oral methimazole (Tapzole). Of course the trouble with the three is the first is invasive and expensive, the second requires days away from home and is expensive, the last choice is, at least, inexpensive though it can cause vomiting in any number of cats and at least some fall to severe drug reactions or simply can't stomach it. 


What hath Hill's wrought? 


So now Hill's thinks that they have the fix for all of these troubles with Y/D (hYperthyroid diet), a severely iodine restricted diet and, by the way, a vegetarian diet. This is really an unusual move as the most recent research seemed to show low iodine levels actually causing hyperthyroidism¹


What Hill's did was to put a group of cats with hyperthyroidism and put them on a severely restricted iodine diet. All cats had lower  thyroid levels within three months, most were normal. They continued with the kitty's for two years and they all were apparently healthy and continued with normal thyroid levels throughout. So what's the catch? Well, first they can't eat anything else as other foods will have higher iodine levels and thus ruin the effect. Second, no one knows if this will work and be safe for all cats. Nine cats is not a large test group. In early commentary on this diet one board certified veterinary endocrinologist expressed some real concern about Y/D. The iodine restriction is so severe that the cats will be iodine deficient. Clearly this is not a safe food for a normal thyroid cat, is it safe for a hyperthyroid cat to eat for years? "Too many unknowns", he commented.² 


So what cats should be on Y/D diet?


Certainly any cat that is too sick for surgery or radioactive iodine treatment and is allergic to methimazole is a candidate for Y/D diet. Perhaps some may be early adopters and want to try Y/D for their cat before even  using any of the standard treatment but a long discussion the risks inherent in an untried diet will need to be part of the treatment plan. 


1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20800208
2. VIN link

Key Benefits

Easy. Effective. Safe.
Clinically proven nutrition to restore thyroid health
Improves thyroid health in 3 weeks* (when fed as the sole source of nutrition)
Complete daily nutrition with a taste your cat will love

Additional Info

Additional benefits for overall health
Supports kidney health with controlled phosphorus and low sodium
Helps maintain bladder health with controlled mineral levels
Promotes heart health with essential nutrients like taurine and carnitine
Promotes healthy skin and a luxurious hair coat with high levels of omega-3 and -6 fatty acids


IMPORTANT
Because iodine intake from other food sources -- treats, another pet's food, etc. -- can compromise the effectiveness of low-iodine nutrition, it's critical that you follow your veterinarian's feeding instructions carefully and feed only y/d.