Hyperthyroid in Felines; A Growing Industry Over Time!

Over the three years (2013-2015), there was an increase in the number of cats with hyperthyroidism diagnosed with it. These patients were given different diagnostic procedures, hormone replacement therapy, and even the odd Hills Y/D prescription diet. According to our forecasts, the market for feline hyperthyroid treatment will be between $5 and $10 million in 2015.

Our forecasts are accurate to within +/- 5% since we extensively vetted our sample and triangulated it with other data sources for validation. The clinical Feline Thyroid Hormone Market size (about $10 million) was estimated using triangulation from a medical case database.

To calculate a weighted projection factor, we used data from a sample of 588 pre-qualified clinics with full invoices for the 36-month period (2013-2015), which included 1296 small general animal practice veterinarians (universe of 57 300) located across the United States.

Epidemiology of Active Felines in Clinics of the United States!

The chart below includes all the active feline patients who enrolled at least one invoice in a year. Moreover, the information is based on the continental United States. So, the number of active felines in clinics will vary worldwide, such as in Europe, Asia, Africa, etc.

	2013	2014	GR	2015	GR
Active Felines	19579611	19702726	0.01	20205088	0.03

These active feline patients come into the clinic on average 2.65 times per year, so the projected number of treatments is 53 million. Treatment is defined as at least one clinic invoice in a day.

The number of actual clinic visits invoiced for these active cats shows that 28% come in every year, 34% come in every other year, and 12% come in every three years. However, 24% leave yearly, either because they died or moved.

So, only 5.66 million of the 20.2 million cats come in yearly, and almost half of them only come every two or three years. Lastly, about 4.8 million are relocated cats or kittens that have just been fixed.

Epidemiology of Hyperthyroidism in Felines; Alarming Figures!

Now, let’s dive into the felines tested or treated for cat hyperthyroidism. It is important to mention that the percentage of the below charts is the subpopulation of total active feline numbers in Table 1.

	2013	2014	GR	2015	GR
Tested/Treated Hyperthyroid Cats	1066155	1164534	0.092	1263933	0.085

Cats with suspected or treated hyperthyroidism came in 4.3 times /year, once for testing and 3.3 times for treatment with a hormone replacement. Moreover, the data indicates the number of cats with thyroid problems is growing in the respective years from 2013 to 2015. But the growth rate in 2015 was fewer than the rate after 2014.

Feline Treatment in Hyperthyroidism (HPT)

Some interesting information pops up in the case of feline treatment for hyperthyroidism. The below data shows two different scenarios in  

the number of felines that received a test but no treatment and the cats that were treated. 

Here the first case scenario is presented where we can find out the feline number who only tested but didn’t receive the treatment.

	2013	2014	GR	2015	GR
Only Tested for Hyperthyroidism	886533	976548	0.1	1069674	0.095

The above table gives valuable insight for the only tested felines who didn’t receive treatment, and the growth rate is more likely stable, which indicates the cats are not being treated for various reasons. However, the reasons may define the severity of the disease, the owner’s unwillingness, or the cat’s death.

The number of felines that received treatment only for hyperthyroidism! 

	2013	2014	GR	2015	GR
Tested for Hyperthyroidism	179622	187986	0.047	194259	0.033

These cats came in an average of 3.3 times/year for hormonal replacement therapy or 110 total days of therapy. The subpopulation of treated felines is significant and helpful to study further. But eventually, it led to a growing industry where the treatment for hyperthyroidism in cats got some significant numbers. 

Tested & Treated Hyperthyroid Felines!

Here’s the conclusive chart that will give you a final idea about the claim of hyperthyroid in felines as a growing industry over time. This table showcases the tested and treated cats with thyroid problems. Besides, it gives a summary of the above-started research.

	2013	2014	GR	2015	GR
Tested & Treated for HPT	84354	93891	0.11	90474	Flat

The Number of Treated Hyperthyroid Feline Patients is Increasing!

The number of hyperthyroidism in feline patients is increasing, with a growth rate of 11 percent in the upcoming year. These patients received a variety of tests, hormone products, and, on rare occasions (average of 9,662 patients per year), Hill’s Y/D prescription diet.

Over these three years (2013-2015), an average of 187,300 unique cats received treatment/year, with or without a test. These cats received an average of 623,500 hormonal replacement products/per year. The number of clinic visits/cat was 3.3 times per year, or replacement therapy for 110 days. So this means 68.6 million treatment days, for $0.1-0.12 per day (an average of 10 mg per day for a 10 lb cat), equals an $8.2 million market, which is about the size of the cat hormonal market.

Another way to look at this data is that of the 187,300 unique cats that received treatment/year, 23% were newly diagnosed and were given an average of 190 days of therapy (as for DM), and 77% were existing hyperthyroid cats from prior years and were dispensed an average of 330 days of therapy during the year, which is an average of about 298 therapy days This means that there were 55,726,000 days of therapy, which at an average of $0.11 clinic cost per day gives a hormonal replacement market of $6.9 million, which is about the size of the hyperthyroid products (methimazole and methimazole) market.