L-Lysine

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riley

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Hi All,

I came here several weeks ago looking for help with my sneezey FHV kitty. I saw a thread with the same questions and found that y'all recommended L-Lysine. I rushed over to Amazon and bought it. I've been using it daily and have still not seen any improvement. My two cats (brother and sister) have had it in their water fountain since the day it came in. He is still sneezing all the time, and she has actually started sneezing in the last week or so! She has never shown any symptoms of FHV, and she wasn't tested. The vet said she is probably FHV positive but asymptomatic and would pass it on if she had kittens (she is spayed so not really an issue). I remember y'all saying it might take a month to show improvement, but so far I've seen nothing. I was really hoping that this would work...
 
carolina

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Originally Posted by Riley

Hi All,

I came here several weeks ago looking for help with my sneezey FHV kitty. I saw a thread with the same questions and found that y'all recommended L-Lysine. I rushed over to Amazon and bought it. I've been using it daily and have still not seen any improvement. My two cats (brother and sister) have had it in their water fountain since the day it came in. He is still sneezing all the time, and she has actually started sneezing in the last week or so! She has never shown any symptoms of FHV, and she wasn't tested. The vet said she is probably FHV positive but asymptomatic and would pass it on if she had kittens (she is spayed so not really an issue). I remember y'all saying it might take a month to show improvement, but so far I've seen nothing. I was really hoping that this would work...
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How much are you putting on the water fountain? If they are on a flare up, give it on the food as well. 1/4 tsp a day on their wet food, after he stops sneezing, then you leave on the water fountain only as maintenance.
 
addiebee

addiebee

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Yes - you cannot trust that kitty is taking in enough of this through the water fountain. I gave up on that and mix the proper dose into favorite wet food.

Some of the sneezing can also be allergic. This season has been particularly bad.
 
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riley

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Well, I'm using the mix as explained in the post where I found out about it. So it won't hurt him to add it to wet food as well as keeping it in the water? I just don't want to over do it. I'm using the petmate fountain. Any tips on how to mix it in there? I think I might be doing that wrong. I'm adding it to the little blue reservoir when I fill it up. If I remember correctly it's 1/4 tsp for every cup of water?

Sorry for all the questions guys, this is just very frustrating. Oh... and I'm in Texas, and the pollen is very very high here. So maybe some of it is allergies.
 
carolina

carolina

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Originally Posted by Riley

Well, I'm using the mix as explained in the post where I found out about it. So it won't hurt him to add it to wet food as well as keeping it in the water? I just don't want to over do it. I'm using the petmate fountain. Any tips on how to mix it in there? I think I might be doing that wrong. I'm adding it to the little blue reservoir when I fill it up. If I remember correctly it's 1/4 tsp for every cup of water?

Sorry for all the questions guys, this is just very frustrating. Oh... and I'm in Texas, and the pollen is very very high here. So maybe some of it is allergies.
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I don't mix it by cup, I mix it by cup of coffee pot, which is roughly 5 oz of water, about what a cat will drink a day in average. A regular cup is 8 oz.

So, what I do, is I get one of those coffee carafes from my coffee maker, and for each marked "cup", I put a 1/4 tsp. Then I fill my fountain with the mixture.

That is for maintenance... for life. If one of my kitties get a flare up, meaning, start sneezing, get runny eyes, etc, then I double the dose by adding 1/4 tsp into their wet food.
You are not going to be overdoing it.

IMO you do not need to buy the gel... Way too expensive.... The powder is an amazing value, just go ahead and mix it on the food whenever they have a flare up.
 
sweetpea24

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Correct me if I'm wrong but Lysine is just an amino acid which is supposed to boost the immune system. I would think that your cat would need an anti-biotic or just cage rest if it's viral. But again, I could be wrong. I know that when the clinic had upper respiratory infected cats, we gave them lysine plus clavamox. We also had a nebulizer in the room (vaporizer).

You could also try giving some Vitamin C (sodium ascorbate -more absorbable than ascorbic acid or calcium ascorbate) as well as a vitamin B complex vitamin. Continue with vitamin C for a few days after he recovers as well.
 
carolina

carolina

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Originally Posted by SweetPea24

Correct me if I'm wrong but Lysine is just an amino acid which is supposed to boost the immune system. I would think that your cat would need an anti-biotic or just cage rest if it's viral. But again, I could be wrong. I know that when the clinic had upper respiratory infected cats, we gave them lysine plus clavamox. We also had a nebulizer in the room (vaporizer).

You could also try giving some Vitamin C (sodium ascorbate -more absorbable than ascorbic acid or calcium ascorbate) as well as a vitamin B complex vitamin. Continue with vitamin C for a few days after he recovers as well.
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Antibiotics don't kill viruses, only bacteria... They are used in case of opportunistic bacterial infection, and in the great majority of cases they are not necessary. They are used more in kittens or in cats with compromised immune system.
A simple way to check if there is a bacterial infection is to keep checking the snot - if it is clear, kitty should be fine. Green, dark yellow or brown, then yes, time to go to the vet.
IMO cage rest is a no no... too stressful for the kitty, and the herpes virus get worst with stress. Vaporizer is great if the kitty is congested, or spending some time in a steam filled bathroom....
 
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brookesphynx

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Originally Posted by Riley

Well, I'm using the mix as explained in the post where I found out about it. So it won't hurt him to add it to wet food as well as keeping it in the water? I just don't want to over do it. I'm using the petmate fountain. Any tips on how to mix it in there? I think I might be doing that wrong. I'm adding it to the little blue reservoir when I fill it up. If I remember correctly it's 1/4 tsp for every cup of water?

Sorry for all the questions guys, this is just very frustrating. Oh... and I'm in Texas, and the pollen is very very high here. So maybe some of it is allergies.
Click to expand...
Don't worry about overdoing it - Lysine is an amino acid and is very hard to overdose. Any excess that isn't used just comes out in their urine. This is why it's a good idea if you're going to give the Lysine in their food to split the dose up into two daily doses instead of just one big dose. Right now I've got my four cats on 500mg twice a day.

Even on that higher than average dose of Lysine, I've got two that are sneezing and have runny eyes right now. But, here in Florida the pollen has been terrible. Like Carolina mentioned, as long as the discharge is clear, and they are otherwise eating and behaving normally, I am chalking it up to seasonal allergies and hoping it will pass soon.

Best of luck! I hope your boy is feeling better soon.
 
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