| Hyperthyroidism
is the most frequent diagnosed endocrinopathy in cats. The number of cats
determined to have hyperthyroidism has increased markedly over the past
10 years, since the first clinical cases of hyperthyroidism in cats were
reported in 1979 and 1980. In the early 1980s, clinical studies of hyperthyroidism
in cats were performed at several veterinary institutions. In these studies,
from which much of the current literature is based, cats were found to
be severely affected by the disease, with typical signs of weight loss,
Polyphagia, and hyperactivity approaching a prevalence of 75 to 100%.
Today, screening of cats for hyperthyroidism by laboratory testing is
more prevalent, and many cats with hyperthyroidism
appear to have less severe clinical signs than those cats in which the
disease was diagnosed 10 years ago. |