My kitty may have Herpes Virus

Been fighting to save my cat Blacks life. Start 2 months ago when he had severe congestion and stopped eating and drinking. He spent many nights at vets and then when home I had to give fluids under skin and give antibiotic. Finally cleared congestion up but then problem started in both eyes. Gooped with pus like stuff. Vet gave me drops to put in but after 2 weeks no better so back to vet. Both eyes have white ulcers on them. Vet is now thinking Herpes Virus. We are trying ointment and special drops(from his blood). But now he is starting to sneeze again. ugh!! So frustrating and I feel helpless. Anybody else have a cat that has this Virus and do you have any advise for me?

I pm'd you back But definately see if you can see a vet opthamologist (if there is one in your area) Instead of leaving it to the last minute as a last resort.

Originally Posted by wskline

Been fighting to save my cat Blacks life. Start 2 months ago when he had severe congestion and stopped eating and drinking. He spent many nights at vets and then when home I had to give fluids under skin and give antibiotic. Finally cleared congestion up but then problem started in both eyes. Gooped with pus like stuff. Vet gave me drops to put in but after 2 weeks no better so back to vet. Both eyes have white ulcers on them. Vet is now thinking Herpes Virus. We are trying ointment and special drops(from his blood). But now he is starting to sneeze again. ugh!! So frustrating and I feel helpless. Anybody else have a cat that has this Virus and do you have any advise for me?

Click to expand...

I'm dealing with an ulcer with one of my cats right now, too. Same as you, he didn't respond to the first drops, so now I'm using serum drops (from his own blood) after one week it does seem to be working but I had a recheck this morning and have to treat this way for one more week. If no improvement in another week I have to go to the ophthalmologist. Definitely VERY frustrating. Have you seen any improvement with the blood serum??

Has your vet recommended L-Lysine? Lysine is an amino acid that works against the Herpes virus, and also is an immune booster. I give it to all 4 of my cats every day. I have one cat that is FHV+, and when she has a flare-up, I double her Lysine dose, which seems to help make the flare ups less frequent and less severe.

It hasnt even been week yet that Ive been using serum. Seems the one eye may be little better but the other is worse. Im also putting an ointment in 15 minutes after the serum. Im going to go ahead and order the Lysine. Sounds like it's good stuff and may help him in getting better. He goes back to vet on Friday for recheck.

Originally Posted by wskline

It hasnt even been week yet that Ive been using serum. Seems the one eye may be little better but the other is worse. Im also putting an ointment in 15 minutes after the serum. Im going to go ahead and order the Lysine. Sounds like it's good stuff and may help him in getting better. He goes back to vet on Friday for recheck.

Click to expand...

The Lysine is definatly a good idea. My Jordan has F.H. in his system. He is 6 & has only had 2 bad flare ups, but it seems like if I catch a flare up before it gets bad the Lysine really helps. It could help your kitty's immune system mount a fight against the virus.

Originally Posted by wskline

It hasnt even been week yet that Ive been using serum. Seems the one eye may be little better but the other is worse. Im also putting an ointment in 15 minutes after the serum. Im going to go ahead and order the Lysine. Sounds like it's good stuff and may help him in getting better. He goes back to vet on Friday for recheck.

Click to expand...

When I started using the blood serum, Nelson's eye looked worse for a day before it started to look better. (and when I say it looked worse, I mean, it looked scary bad, but then it started to improve dramatically) Also, for the first 3 days I had to put it in his eye every 2 hours. How often has your vet told you to administer the drops?

I'm curious, because you're the first person I've been able to chat with that's also using this treatment! (I posted something last week on the forum asking if anyone else had experience and no replies, so sorry for all the ??'s!!)

What's the ointment you're using? I'm also using antibiotic drops 2x a day and Atropine drops once a day for pain relief.

I do think the Lysine will be a big help. The regular maintenance dose is 250mg per day, but during a flare up you can give as much as 1000 mg per day. You can continue to give the maintenance dose every day when he's all better. That should help him fight off future flare-ups.

I give him serum drops every 4-6 hours. Cant think of what the ointment is. It's in tube and that is put in every 4-6 hours. I started the drops last Friday evening. I would think there would be more of an improvement by now. I need to see what the ointment is and he is also taking a fluid me every other day. It's something that was mixed at pharmacy and I know that they use it for kids when they are ill. Sorry not sure of names of these off hand.

Yes I agree on giving it Lysine. But use it only after it is being recommended by the vet. Other then that you need to take care of her food too. Make sure it is not allergic to something. You can also visit catsdir.com and find relevant information. Hope it helps you.

Originally Posted by wskline

I give him serum drops every 4-6 hours. Cant think of what the ointment is. It's in tube and that is put in every 4-6 hours. I started the drops last Friday evening. I would think there would be more of an improvement by now. I need to see what the ointment is and he is also taking a fluid me every other day. It's something that was mixed at pharmacy and I know that they use it for kids when they are ill. Sorry not sure of names of these off hand.

Click to expand...

I'm guessing the tube is some sort of antibiotic. I'm very curious about the other fluid. If you wouldn't mind, when you have access to them later, could you post the name?

My vet explained to me that the ulcer is supposed to heal itself, and the original drops (the ones that didn't seem to work for my cat) were just antibiotics to keep infection away, which they did. But for whatever reason the eye wasn't healing itself, perhaps not getting enough blood flow to the area. That's the reasoning behind the own blood serum drops are to give him the proteins from his own blood, because his body isn't doing it on it's own. Does that make sense?

If your vet gave a window of 4-6 hours, I'd give them as close to every 4 hours as you can, if your schedule will allow it. (I had to give it every 2 hours to Nelson and was getting up 3 times in the middle of the night to do it!) Like you, I thought I would see more of an improvement after a few days, too, but I'm sure there's a reason your vet gave you a full week before the recheck - probably because that's how long he would expect to see changes. I also have one week before my next recheck. You could always call the vet and tell him your concerns and schedule the appointment sooner if you're uncomfortable, though. I just read that these types of ulcers, (indolent ulcers) if that's what your kitty has, are very slow to heal. Unlike typical ulcers that heal in 5-7 days, these can take weeks to heal.

FYI, I had a recheck this morning with my cat. He appears to be improving with the serum, but I have to keep at it for another week. Next week, if it's not better, I have to go to the ophthalmologist. I asked my vet if I'm risking my cat's vision or risking his chances of a full recovery by trying this for another full week instead of going straight to the ophthalmologist and he said "no". That made me feel a lot better about this very frustrating process of drops and rechecks and guessing and not knowing... because at the end of the day, we just want what's best for our cats, whatever the cost.

My fingers are crossed for your sweet boy! Please keep in touch. I'm curious to hear about his progress.

When I get home this evening I will check the names on the ointment and the med he is getting and will let you know.
That makes sense about the drops from his blood. I wondered why or how they could do that and for what purpose but understand now.
So glad your kitty is improving. That gives me some hope also. I just hope I didnt wait to long getting Black into vet.

The antibiotic he is taking is Azithromycin which is treat bacterial infections.The ointment is Erythromycin.
The ulcers dont look as bad(or is that just me hoping) today but the one eye has cloudy appearance to it.
Guess I just got to take one day at a time here and try to stop worrying so much. Even if he does have Herpes, there is meds that kinda help and it's not like he's going to dye from it.

Originally Posted by wskline

The antibiotic he is taking is Azithromycin which is treat bacterial infections.The ointment is Erythromycin.
The ulcers dont look as bad(or is that just me hoping) today but the one eye has cloudy appearance to it.
Guess I just got to take one day at a time here and try to stop worrying so much. Even if he does have Herpes, there is meds that kinda help and it's not like he's going to dye from it.

Click to expand...

Yep, those are antibiotics probably for his URI and the ointment is to treat or prevent any secondary infection due to the ulcer. The cloudiness is most likely the ulcer you're seeing. Nelson's eye looks cloudy at times, too.

You're right - take it one day at a time. But, it is SO hard not to worry about our babies!! Just know that you're doing right by him, getting him vet care and doing everything you can. Sending positive vibes to Black! I hope he's feeling better soon.

My Bugsy has it, he is on L-Lysine, 500mg a day, some on water, some on food. All my cats get L-Lysine on their water fountain. When he has an URI I double it to a gram a day.

For eye problems, Terramicyn as needed, as prescribed by the vet... Antibiotics only when he is really bad. But doesn't happen too often at all anymore since he begun L-Lysine.

This is the Lysine I use - it is GREAT as I can mix it both on water AND on food

Hi, Wskline, BrookeSphynx. It's awful you and your kitties are going through this. But good that you found each other for support!

My three siblings Allen, Rachel and Meghan, were diagnosed with Herpes Virus when they were kittens. They had the goopy eyes, too, and I was managing their symptoms with L-Lysine sprinkled over their food every day. They are clear-eyed, healthy, and L-Lysine-free today, so there is hope.

Many vibes for both of you and your kittes!

One of my vets said he wanted me to bring him a cat without the herpes virus ... he thought roughly 90% of cats have it .... 4 of 5 here are documented to have it .... Most vets say about 65% have it ...

flares are no fun.. mine get lysine and "chicken soup"

Originally Posted by sharky

One of my vets said he wanted me to bring him a cat without the herpes virus ... he thought roughly 90% of cats have it .... 4 of 5 here are documented to have it .... Most vets say about 65% have it ...

flares are no fun.. mine get lysine and "chicken soup"

Click to expand...

Yep. I have a study by the University of Florida that says 90% of cats are exposed to the virus at some point in their lives. That's not to say they all are infected or show outward signs of it, but I give all 4 of mine Lysine daily just in case, and it usually keeps the flare-ups at bay.

Thank you all who have posted. Guess it felt like a death sentence to me when vet said he may have herpes virus. Hearing there is so many more cats out there that have it and deal with it helps greatly. Im not alone.
Blacks eyes actually dont seem that bad and seems they are more open now. Before he had them almost closed and you couldnt tell if he was looking at you or not.
He has started sneezing alot AGAIN. Thank goodness he has vet appt Friday.

Tolly has been on l-lysine for over 8 years. His outbreaks were bad enough that at one point I thought he was going to have to have his eyes removed.

I don't understand these vets that mess around with antibiotics and stuff, when once herpes is determined the thing that should be done is to put the cat on a loading dose of 500 mg of l-lysine daily.

And herpes should be the first thing to test for, after FeLV/FIV have been ruled out.

Because of so many vets messing about with ointments and drops and what all, Tolly cannot tolerate anything in his eyes, ever. I finally got a referral to Cornell University Companion Animal Hospital, and he saw a veterinary ophthalmologist and was properly diagnosed.

In earlier years he did have flare ups that went into secondary infection and he would take oral antibiotics, but now he rarely has any flare up at all, let alone infection.

Tolly took L-lysine 500 mg a day for many years, and now is on 500 a day every other day, maintenance. If he shows signs of a flare up I increase to therapeutic dose which is 500 mg a day, until the symptoms subside.

Herpes is not curable. When antibiotics help it is because the flare up has gone into secondary infection. L-lysine, an amino acid supplement, controls the herpes virus, but does not cure it.

We recently had a kitten at the shelter with a corneal ulcer (it was a big one). The vet changed her eye med to Terimyacin & within a week it was looking better. It took a few more weeks, but the cloudyness has gone away completely & she is going great. So the ulcer will heal, it will just take time.

I'm glad you have been able to find others withe the same problems. I consider myself lucky because Jordan only flare ups on rare occasions & has only had 2 bad flareups in his 6 years. My other three have never had a flare up, but have obviously been exposed. It sounds like you are doing the right things, keep up the good work & ask as many questions as you can. The more you know the better you can treat your kitty.

Well, Blacks eyes are little better but still have ways to go. Im continuing with serum eye drops and the ointment. I just purchased bottle of the L-sine. Just got to figure out dosage now. Black has started sneezing pretty regularly but is still eating and drinking.