Etiopathologic findings of hyperthyroidism in cats.

None of the studies to date have isolated a single dominant factor that could be incriminated in the development of hyperthyroidism in cats. Rather, most of the studies provide further evidence of the widely held view that hyperthyroidism is a multifactorial disease in this species. At this time, the most likely candidates include one or more of the goitrogenic chemicals that have been shown to be present in cat food or the cat's environment. In addition, mutations of the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor gene or mutations of its associated G proteins seem to play an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease.