Mandarin's Herpes - Suggestions on Management?

So we're taking Mandarin in for his yearly. I have been trying the last few months to get him to take l-lysine. No success. There is not a way I can get it in him without him and I completely stressed. And here I thought I was such a good caretaker and he proves me wrong! I'm scared to push the issue with the l-lysine anyways, because it might make him flare up more? Not really sure what I'm doing with this whole herpes thing. Thought I had it under control. He used to just have one to two flareups a year, where the discharge would turn green, his eye would get irritated, and that was it. Get him some neo polydex and he was all good in about two weeks.

Any questions I should ask the vet on other options to try and get his flare-ups under control? The last four months have been rough. Just when it gets bad enough and I'm going to take him into the vet, it clears up. The discharge hasn't turned green, he doesn't sneeze or cough or have trouble breathing. I just really don't know what to do to keep it away so he's not blinky. There are no new stresses, and it's surprising but I thought for sure when I brought home Majel or when Linus passed away he would flare up, but no flare-ups then. But now the last few months when things have perhaps been more stressful for us but not for him - him no changes - he's having more flare-ups.

Boo cat fancy. My subscription and your particular article did not fill me with hope. It did scare me badly enough about future possible complications from herpes though. Like scarred tear ducts and perhaps also getting ulcers in his mouth like my Kazi. Shouldn't have checked the mail I guess, but maybe it's better to be prepared? Maybe not. I'm such a worrier.

I just wubba him so much, even if he has only really loved me the last two months.

I have the goo form of l-lysine. I tried just offering it to him. He's not interested. I've tried shooting it down his mouth with no success. It does not end up in his mouth no matter how I tried, so I tried mixing it with food. No success. Are there any eye-drop forms of l-lysine? Because for some reason he does well with eye drops. Not his favorite but after the first like two days when his eye's really irritated then after he's like "oh wait, this makes me feel better".

Sorry, not to be rude, I'm just wanting to understand and do the ring thing. How is force-feeding him his meds every day really going to break the cycle of his herpes if I keep stressing him?

As for treating him, he's a chomper and a scratcher and I've tried towelling him, I've tried hubby helping him, I've tried in the floor stuff and I end up with more on the floor and myself then I do anywhere near the cat. I've never had such a difficult patient! Why should I call him a patient? He makes me lose mine and he's NOT patient. Bleh... The goo I have is a thinner consistency than the hairball medicine. The hairbally medicine I just rub on him and he eats it eventually when he washes himself. This stuff just isn't sticky enough and runs off onto the floor. Unless, could I add it to something to make it sticky enough to stick to his fur so then he HAS to eat it? Just a thought. Brainstorming as I type.

I guess I really just don't want to mess up all the brownie points I've received the last 2 months since he's finally accepted me with something that I'm not closer to sure will work. Mandarin wanted NOTHING to do with me since I brought him home from the shelter 6 years ago. It has been "Daddy Daddy Daddy LeAnn LeAnn LeAnn and Linus Linus Linus" until the last two months. But as selfishly as I want him to be my friend, I honestly want him healthier first. The L-lysine said it's supposed to be flavorless that I have, but since he wouldn't eat it, I'm like, "well why would I eat flavorless goo? Better add it to something yummy." So maybe try the powder? Not really sure. I'm just sick of him winking at me and looking at me like, "mommy I don't feel good." I wouldn't my eye being inflamed like his.

He doesn't eat wet food without barfing.
He likes pudding but milk on a regular basis + kitty tummy = barf. He can tolerate some tuna juice, and so I tried it in that. Nope.
I tried it in clam juice since it's SUPER cheap and I thought if he liked that I could live with that. Nope, doesn't even like the clam juice so now I have clam juice hanging out in my cupboard for nothing cuz there's nothing I know to cook with that.
He likes tomato soup but I'm not sure how good that is for him to have daily so I didn't try that. And venison well he loves venison but it's hard to get venison meat unless it's around hunting season, and my husband would throw an absolute fit if I brought home a whole freezer full of deer meat to try and get him to eat his medicine. I'm sure eventually he would be okay with it, but if Mandarin didn't go for it, then we're stuck with a whole freezer full of venison to eat which I'm not the biggest on and Wally gets sick of very quickly. Like he can eat it twice a year and that's good enough. He doesn't like the gritty texture.

Why does everything have to be so complicated?!?!?!?!?!

I was using feliways for a while when Majel and him were having problems adjusting. Perhaps I should go back to getting them for a while.

Say ya to da U P, eh?

I used to feed Mandarin Iams dry food because it was the ONLY thing that wouldn't make him barf. I made the switch this year to Purina Natural because it has MUCH more protein and more protein as my understanding is MUCH better for kitties. Can't quite get him to get down any wet food without barfing and he's one of those PICKY cats who barely eats anything other than the dry food. If only I could get him to take his medicine off of saltines.. or pringles.. Hmmmmm...

And from what I'm understanding you're telling me he should not get his vaccinations tomorrow as he is scheduled? And what does that mean to my life then? Does this mean I can't go volunteer at the animal shelter anymore for fear I may bring back some disease? I used to work at the vet's office and she said if I do volunteer work or work at the vet's office I should probably get my cats their shots twice a year until I diminish my contact with extraneous critters. So now I'm down to once a year because I really try to limit my contact with other animals as I don't want to bring any extra "bugs" home.

I have now joined the yahoo group and will work on getting more plug-ins.

And as for boarding, how am I supposed to board him if something comes up without him having any shots?

*brain overload*

I unfortunately with Linus's advanced tooth resorption during his last year tried basically every single canned food, every single pouched food, every form of cat milk, etc.,. to keep Linus eating. Anything Mandarin tried to share with Linus he would throw up.

P.S. No way! Iron Mountain? I live in the sister city of Kingsford!!!!!!!!!! Wowza!

Although I must mention that Mandarin DID like smart water - which is just regular water with some electrolytes. It's meant to be for humans but it gave Linus and Mandarin some extra energy during Linus's rough times.

So I can still bring him in his for yearly but wait until he's flared down for his shots?

I must confess that he usually would flare up after he got his shots, so this does make sense.

Yeah, I'm pretty strict about my precautions almost always - paranoia after so many puppies and kitties lost at the shelter in Mississippi I volunteered at for 2 years - but I'm sure I can buckle down.

So tomorrow should just be a kitty get better visit? Is that what everyone's thinking?

I really appreciate you guys taking time to help me with this.

And no, Mandarin never makes anything quite easy, but I still love him anyways. He's such a clown. He always makes me laugh, except when I know he's uncomfortable.

I worry so much about him. Especially after what I went through with Linus. Statistics point to much more cats with herpes getting the disease of tooth resorption than cats who don't. I just want him happy and healthy.

I have NOT tried those. Those are a good idea! I guess I have lots of stuff to talk to the vet about tomorrow. My husband will probably groan and moan. He just thought we were going in for a checkup possibly some drops and some shots. Heehee.. little does HE know. He just doesn't have a lot of patience for medical stuff. He doesn't get it as much as I do, and he's kinda like, "why am I sitting here listening to a foreign language?"

Mandarin is not impressed that the cat carrier is INSIDE the apartment. He knows he's going to the vet's tomorrow and is giving me nasty looks.

As for feline acne, Mandarin used to get that really bad until I switched over to all crystal bowls - I got them for a quarter a piece at the local St. Vincent de Paul's - and now he doesn't have any of THOSE breakouts. Yay for brains and accomplishments! I'm so glad to hear your Hannah is doing better. I never knew when I brought Mandarin home that he would be such a project.

Is there such thing as a "normal" cat? LOL

Brain going to stop working soon.. must get sleep but must keep posting...

How do I insure that Mandarin is getting enough of the powder a day if I put it in the watering hole? He shares two water bowls with his sister Majel. Will it bother her to be on it as well?

Does the stuff go bad if I leave it in the water bowl? I try to clean them out every day but sometimes I forget, and then other times it's getting cleaned out like 5 times a day because sometimes they like to wash their paws in the water...

You guys are really angels to help out so much. Not much proper herpes education. When I worked at the vet's office down south, they never made a big deal about herpes at ALL. But when I worked at the shelters they were FANATICS about cleanliness and not spreading diseases. It seemed that when I worked at the vet's office in Mississippi the dogs were thought of much more highly than cats. Cats were much more disposable. Well I'm sorry but I like my cats and I will always like my cats, and they are not disposable. The vet's office ended up feeling much more like an afterhours clinic type thing: just vaccinations, testing for worms, flea/mange treatment, spays, neuters, docking ears and tails - DISGUSTING. I don't know if I'm explaining right. Brain tired. Gonna go take a shower and hope in bed.

Thanks again for all the help, angels.