Feline Herpes Virus

You guys are truly an amazing bunch! I have 10 cats and this baby I had to take him home. I had no idea he had FHV *if he does* so I was no where prepared to take care of him although I am going to up until his final days, which I hope will be. a REALLY long time from now, I love him so much!

here's his story:


My boyfriends sister found him and his other siblings (2 girls) they are big and happy now as well. My boyfriend insisted on me coming over to see the "babies" as they were then, and see what I could do. (everyone swears up and down I am the cat whisperer) LOL.

ANYWAYS I went over there and there was this BABY TINY BABY kitten laying on the bathroom floor just barely breathing, I said get me a heating pad and a syringe. I could feel every bone in his body and could reach under his ribs and feel his little lungs try to breathe. I held him in my arms for 2 hours and just cried and told him if he wanted to fight, I was down and ready when he was. SINCE THEN. I have had nothing but a fight, every morning.. IN MY FACE with his toy rat ready to go. I weighed him the first day I had him here and I got NOTHING. And I weighed him today and he's 8.8 pounds and 5 or 6 months old. That fatty :0

Today was kind of a bad day, he was kinda "whistly" when he was breathing. I use the little baby snot suckers to get the excess snot out and he's usually really good after that, I need to be using it myself (recovering from bronchitis) Ugh!

I gave him his L Lysine as usual but today was just one of those days, it's super cold here so I have had the heat cranked and the misters on, so far into the night he has done fine.

I do have a question. It has been bugging me since I made his appt to be "noodled."

Having the breathing issue, does it make it any different on them being noodled? Like keeping their breathing and all stabilized? I don't know what I would do if I lost him now..
Sorry to type a book, I just have a lot of worries/ and I wanted to share his story.

Thanks a lot guys! =)

Im assuming that by "noodled" you mean neutered?

Personally I would advice trying to focus on getting him healthy first. Neutering is important, but its not a life-or-death neccessity.

A vet can probably advice better if its safe or not.. but I never put any of my pets thru a spay or neuter if I did not feel they were healthy enough to do it.

I asked him and he said he would be fine. He is going to do a blood test too to see if he has FHV, just so we can get on the right road to where we are supposed to be.

Originally Posted by nekkiddoglady

I had seen people suggest the test "if you have the extra money" .. so I assumed it was a costly test.

If its not that costly then- should I have all the cats tested? Or would a test only work if the cat is having a flare up?

I may keep them on the l-lysine all year then. Its not that expensive. I think the tub we have cost $15 or $20, and it lasts a long time.

My BF put a little on some tuna and tried to get Tabbi to eat it the nite she was really sick, and she just wasnt interested.. he was going to divide it up to the other pets so it wouldnt go to waste. He asked if it was OK if the dog had it, since it had the powder.. I didnt really know the correct answer to that, so I told him to give it to just the cats, since I know it wont harm them to get the powder.

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This is the one I use - Now Foods L-Lysine - it has 822 doses of 500mg, and the cost, including shipping, is about $15... Cheap cheap... Here in my house it goes in the water fountain, so all kitties are on it; Bugsy gets extra when he has flare ups, but he hasn't had one in a long long time...
But as soon as he starts sneezing, I add another 500mg to his wet food until he stops, plus an extra few days... Then go back to only in the water.

That is cheap.. the container I have is 3.5 oz.

Since it is a nutritional supplement.. is it safe if the dog gets some? I dont intend on actually giving it to him, but such as the case with the leftover tuna, is it ok if he does eat it?

Originally Posted by nekkiddoglady

That is cheap.. the container I have is 3.5 oz.

Since it is a nutritional supplement.. is it safe if the dog gets some? I dont intend on actually giving it to him, but such as the case with the leftover tuna, is it ok if he does eat it?

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Yes... dogs, cats, people... L-Lysine acts against the herpes virus, and is an amino acid that boosts the immune system in general... it is ok... Some dog foods contain L-Lysine. The one I give is meant for humans... I am not sure if there are studies out there as there are about cats, as I haven't looked that much into it, but it is safe.
Yep, that container is a pound... Much more than 3.5 oz for sure

I hope people are still reading this, I am not trying to be a nuisance.

I got so upset today because Scooter is going to be neutered tomorrow. I get upset over my cats anyways when they have to be fixed but he is not them. He has this Virus and I am so worried something is going to happen. I cant take another heartbreak!

Originally Posted by Luvmy10

I hope people are still reading this, I am not trying to be a nuisance.

I got so upset today because Scooter is going to be neutered tomorrow. I get upset over my cats anyways when they have to be fixed but he is not them. He has this Virus and I am so worried something is going to happen. I cant take another heartbreak!

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You are worried because the virus might do something to him? My Bugsy also has herpes, he might have surgery tomorrow, will go under anesthesia for sure, and if his gums are fine, he will have several teeth extractions... Herpes is the last worry in my mind right now... If your kitty is not in a flare up (I am not sure, due to your last post last week) your kitty will be fine...
You will see... Once you get used to it, and your kitty gets his immune system under control with Lysine, etc... you will see that Herpes is not that monster... You know that it is estimated that up to 75% of shelter cats can be contaminated with it?

Now, here is the thing, IF he is NOT HEALTHY RIGHT NOW, I would not do it. I would wait. Herpes is largely triggered by stress and the last thing you want is to put kitty under the stress of a surgery, recovery, etc... IMO that is play with fire.

If he is healthy, fine, not to worry... if he is on a flare up, NO, NO SURGERY!

One of the things to know about herpes is that it is a life-long condition and it can't be cured. However, you can do lots of things to keep it under control and managed and your little guy can live a very long and healthy life. Unfortunately, not many vets are "in the know" regarding appropriate treatment and alternative treatments.

You guy will be fine, but know that stressful situations such as a trip to the vet or change in routine has the potential to trigger a flare up. Because herpes kitties already have compromised immune systems, it takes them a bit longer to get over illnesses. So, you might have to do 2 rounds of antibiotics or try a different antibiotic if your guy gets sick.

The big thing to know if you have a herpes kitty is to get the cat as healthy as possible and work on keeping him that way. Then, these other things will not pop up as often.

It'll be okay. As was said, if he's not in the middle of a flare up, go ahead and have it done. Tolly was neutered just fine, and has had three dentals, two of those involving multiple extractions. He does well.

Neutering is a very quick procedure. Ask your vet about it. Ask your vet what kind of anesthesia is used, how long he will be under, and so on. Knowledge can help you cope.

Thanks everyone!

He was healthy and bugsy this morning so we went on and went. My vet told me he would be fine and if I didn't hear from him he was fine. So hopefully the phone does NOT ring.

He is the ONLY kitty I have taken to the vet and had him sitting in his cage, (making bread) on his blanket and purring, so I guess he thought he was going to a party. LOL

I will keep everyone up to speed, as for now, I will post some pictures of him so everyone will know who we are talking about =)

Thanks so much for the reassurement, I cried for hours last night and just snuggled him (for the time he wasn't downstairs playing with the big cats) Lol!

He is home now!! He is doing fine, sleeping it up. =) I am so glad he is okay!

Originally Posted by Luvmy10

He is home now!! He is doing fine, sleeping it up. =) I am so glad he is okay!

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Oh GREAT! Awesome! Here are some vibes for him! and a hug for you

Great news! So glad he's home and did well during his snipping!

Thanks for keeping us up to date on the little guy. Glad he's back home where he belongs, none the worse.

Just another update on the shortcake. He is healing great, no word back on his blood work yet, we have another 2 days tops to wait. I will let everyone know what happens! =)

OK so I realized that I have not been on (sooo much going on around here) All the pets are okay just the people geting out of control now! lol.

He does have FHV and his antibodies are really high the vet says. So now we just live and be happy and try to keep him around for many years! =)

I do have a further question.

I feed him 500 mg of lysine, well I was. The day after he has lysine he gets so "snotty" sounding and it makes me want to heave so I did my own experiment and the days I do not give it to him he sounds better?? SO comfusing! LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well and everyones kit kit eh's are doing well

xoxoxoxo

Originally Posted by Luvmy10

OK so I realized that I have not been on (sooo much going on around here)

All the pets are okay just the people geting out of control now! lol.

He does have FHV and his antibodies are really high the vet says. So now we just live and be happy and try to keep him around for many years! =)

I do have a further question.

I feed him 500 mg of lysine, well I was. The day after he has lysine he gets so "snotty" sounding and it makes me want to heave so I did my own experiment and the days I do not give it to him he sounds better?? SO comfusing! LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well and everyones kit kit eh's are doing well

xoxoxoxo

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Keep him on L-lysine... Your experiment was probably a very odd coincidence. There is nothing that will help more to keep him healthy than Lysine.

Thanks love, I will! =)

What lysine are you using? I ask as some contain things other than just lysine