Conjunctivitis Woes!

So about two weeks ago I noticed that Oliver's right eye was watery and irritated, and when I took him to the vet I was told that it was Conjunctivitis and I was given antibiotic ointment and told to administer it twice a day for a week. After diligently applying it to Oliver's eye, I stopped after the week was up and it appeared that the infection was cleared up. But recently (about 4-5 days after I stopped) the infection has come back!

I took him to the vet (again!!!!! it's become once every two weeks) and the doctor told me it has spread to BOTH of his eyes. Oliver was prescribed another antibiotic ointment (tetracycline), but I was told it was very hard to find, CVS could not fill the prescription. I was also told to wash the eye with saline solution daily and wipe away all of the goop. I am supposed to do this three times a day for 2 weeks.

Anyway! Now my roommates kitty, Adeline, has been showing symptoms of the Conjunctivitis. Should we start doing the same thing with her? I feel so bad, we were keeping them separated until we thought the infection was gone, but it came back without warning

I am really frustrated about all of this. Especially because I just adopted Oliver and I love him a lot. I hope that it goes away soon! Does anyone have any helpful advice for dealing with infection?

It seems its feline herpes to me. My kitten has it and it flares up during stressful times.

It is my understanding that because its a virus antibiotics won't help.

Jack gets L-Lysine before things that could be stressful (like our upcoming move).

Leslie

I feel like I should take him to another vet, because they haven't done any testing to see if it is either feline Herpes or Chlamydia. They just keep giving me antibiotics and sending me off..! I have read L-Lysine and I think that may help.

Thanks for your help!

You can give them both Lysine with soft cat food. It doesn't seem to taste bad; even finicky Punkin eats it without complaint. I think it's available without prescription. I have it right here: Viralys L-Lysine. Give 1/4 teaspoon twice per day. If you do have a viral infection, it stops the tranfer of the virus down the nerves.

But if your vet prescribed an antibiotic, I would get it and use it until its all gone. If you quit before every one of the little bugs is dead, they're even stronger when they come back.

I take lysine for oral herpes (cold sores)--I buy it at kroger and crush it up and add to water for Jack

I think that I will just pick up some Lysine and crush it up in their water. Thanks again!

I feel your pain, I'm going though the same thing with my two guys! My vet, however, has me comming into the office EVERY WEEK! Its been about 6 weeks now so we've sent out an eye culture... all i know so far (after a week of waiting for results) is that only 1/2 are in and its not aerobic bacteria (bacteria that thrive off oxygen)

It's sounds like your vet it pretty dedicated to getting them better. I hope it begins to clear up for them, and my kitty(s) too!

If the Lysine doesn't help, ask your vet about alpha Interferon. Odo had a stubborn bout with conjuctivitis, so my vet prescribed alpha Interferon (or Interferon alpha) to help boost his immune system--it helped a lot. It's pretty inexpensive too.

I recently had something like that here with BooBoo & Eek. Then My DH got it! So he went to the eye doctor to figure out whats wrong and they gave him genamyacin or something like that, anyway, it cleared up my DH and then I used it on the kitties... naughty I know, but it worked! I had the stuff for kitties at one point but I couldn't figure out where it was at so I figure what the hey, its the same stuff!

I finally obtained the antibiotic that the vet wanted me to get, called Terramycin. I also picked up some Lysine and crushed it up in Oliver's water. That way I'm targeting both a virus and a bacteria. Hopefully he gets better soon! Thanks everyone for your help.