Vet thinks Siddha probably has herpes. :(

I took Siddha back to the vet this morning to recheck his eyes and to get a booster shot (FVRCP). He did another corneal stain and said that he had some mild "uptake" in both eyes. Prescribed another week of Terramycin to both eyes and gave me Enisyl in a pump bottle to give him for 2 weeks. He said that it's most likely that Siddha has the herpes virus and is having flareups.

I have a couple of concerns... Will Bodhi get herpes from Siddha?? Also, I've seen some things about Lysine on the boards but am kinda confused about how best to give it as a preventative. I can't afford a $20 bottle of the Enisyl to give Siddha all the time, but it seems that some people are using the human-grade capsules?

I hate that my baby boy is sick. I want to do my best to keep him (and Bodhi) feeling as well as possible. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions...

Candace

I know it is scarry, and Feline Herpes (FH) can be cronic. My vets believe that Jordan has FH. Jordan is one of 4 cats. My other cats have shown some mild symptoms, but none have had flareups the way Jordan does. If your vet is perscribing at vet grate L-Lysine talk to him/her about the dosage. My vet understands that I can not afford to buy the vet products. So he told me how many MG a day Jordan should have. I buy pills at the pharmacy or grocery store. They can be crushed and put in wet food. The truth is that almost all cats have been exposed to FH at some point. Especially if they have been in a shelter. Jordan is 6 and when he was a kitten he had chronic eye mucus, but has only had 2 serious respiratory flare ups. The serious flare ups are very scarry, but working closely with your vet you will be able to keep him healthy most of the time. I know several other people here have cats with FH and I'm sure you will find all the help you need here. I hope your baby gets healthy fast.

My Meeko has herpes.
She gets L-Lysine for it.
I paid 8 for it at the vets.
Its like a paste and I put it on her paw.

IF your cat has Herpes and IF your vet gave him the FVRCP, he's likely going to have a flare up as the "R" part of the shot might trigger an URI for your cat. IF the vet thinks he has Herpes, I'd be asking for the Idexx Real PCR URD test to make sure that's what you're dealing with. Go to the Idexx site, http://www.idexx.com/animalhealth/laboratory/realpcr/ , and print out the info. If you click the "Tests" tab at the top of the article, you can see the specifics of the tests. If he has herpes, he can't be cured, just managed and treated for secondary infections.

You can buy Lysine at Wal-Mart in the 500 mg tablets. Just crush between two spoons and add to wet food or water. I buy the NOW brand powdered form of Lysine from the health food store and give about 1/4 t twice daily to my herpes girl.

As for transmission of the virus, if your other kitty is older, most likely he won't get it. Herpes generally attacks the immune systems of young kitties who are malnourished and not taken care of. It can also be transmitted to a kitty at birth from a herpes positive mom. As cats age, they generally develop an immunity to the virus. It can lay dormant for years and then flare up when the cat is in a stressful situation, usually. When your kitty has a flare up or gets a "normal" illness, it will take the cat longer to get well as his body has a compromised immune system. (Just like with humans, those with compromised immune systems take longer to heal, even from the common cold.)

I have a 3 yo tabby, Hannah, who is herpes positive, and is just as normal as can be. My 13 yo cat, Callie, is not and doesn't show any symptoms. They've lived together for 3 years now.

Both of my kitties came to me as Herpes carriers. Stanley has more flair ups than Bella, but that being said it is still very well controlled with the lysine. I buy human capsules (the tablets were cheaper, but I got sick of the grinding pretty quickly) my vet never sold me anything he said go to a health food store and get either the powder or capsules in 500 mg. I give them each 1/2 a capsule mixed into their wet food 2x a day. It is kind of salty and they seem to like it in their food just fine.

This year we've only had one semi-flair where Stanley got a goopy eye; we doubled the dosage and he cleared up in a day or two. I usually buy "twinlab" brand, but my supermarket also carries "full circle" organic brand (it is more expensive, but sometimes they are buy-one-get-one-free). I pay between $5 (on sale) to $7 for a jar of 100 which lasts us a couple of months (1 1/2 actually). I could probably get it cheaper, but I like that these brands have minimal fillers.

I hope Siddha feels better soon

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I REALLY appreciate it! Siddha seems to be doing okay today. His eyes are looking good and he seems to enjoy the Enisyl paste. Bodhi likes it too, and I figure it can't hurt to give him a little when I give some to Siddha. I looked tonight at some caplets of Lysine at Kroger. I think when I run out of the Enisyl I'll get those and keep Siddha on a daily regimen.

THANKS again everyone,
Candace (and Siddha, of course!)

Originally Posted by firedancer722

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I REALLY appreciate it! Siddha seems to be doing okay today. His eyes are looking good and he seems to enjoy the Enisyl paste. Bodhi likes it too, and I figure it can't hurt to give him a little when I give some to Siddha. I looked tonight at some caplets of Lysine at Kroger. I think when I run out of the Enisyl I'll get those and keep Siddha on a daily regimen.

THANKS again everyone,
Candace (and Siddha, of course!)

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I use both enisyl f paste and human capsules ... as 4 out of 5 are herpes cats here 3 take capsules opened on wet food fine the other one needs the paste... I really like the paste as it is tastier than capsule contents

I am also going to buy Enisyl paste from my vet tomorrow... Firedancer: don't be too alarmed about herpes... there are studies that show that as many as 80% of cats are carriers of it in the US... I was taken aback at the possibility of Bugsy having it, when he came up with the URI and goopy eyes, but he got all better so quickly, that I am not scared anymore... I will make sure to to the proper testing before giving him the vaccine this year, and will continue both of them on Enisyl... I do have the pills to crush, but they don't eat wet food, so they won't take it...
Good luck to you!!