Forrester S.D., Towell T.L. and Shenoy K.
Conference Proceedings, (2012). Veterinary Medical Association, 130th Annual Meeting, Iowa: p.87-91
Production of thyroid hormone requires uptake by the thyroid gland of sufficient amounts of iodine, provided by dietary intake. The only function for ingested iodine is for thyroid hormone synthesis.1 This led to the hypothesis that limiting dietary iodine intake could be used to control thyroid hormone production and manage hyperthyroidism in cats. After more than a decade of research and development, a limited-iodine therapeutic food (Hill’s® Prescription Diet® y/dTM Feline) is now available as an option for managing cats with hyperthyroidism. To date, over 100 hyperthyroid cats living at the Hill’s Pet Nutrition Center (Topeka, Kansas) have been fed a limited-iodine food as their sole management for hyperthyroidism; most cats were successfully managed for 2 to 3 years and a few have been managed for 5 to 6 years.