What do you all use on a cat with the Feline Herpes Virus?

Hi All,

As the title says I would love to know what you all do for a cat that has the feline herpes virus. I have never had a cat that still showed symptoms after Clavamox. Or have had cats that remained asymptomatic after "treatment" maybe better said.

So if any of you could tell me what you used on your cat when the virus "flares" up would be great. Also if any of you use a daily regimen on the virus could you please tell me what it is.

Thank you all for your responses .

500mg each day... up to 2000mg for flare up s

Chicken broth is used also during flare up( Grandma was right about it being = to penicillin).. for extreme issues a nasal gel or drop is used( kinda like human triple antibiotic)

I have some herbals and food based supplements that vary by cat and type....

L-Lysine.
500mg daily maintenance (for life), double during flare.

Originally Posted by Carolina

L-Lysine.
500mg daily maintenance (for life), double during flare.

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The tablets are pretty large, so I have used the powder form and dropped it into their water bowls.

Clavamox is an antibiotic, not an anti-viral, so it doesn't stop the herpes virus, it only is used to stop any opportunistic bacterial infections while their system is under duress.

The vet said today that my cat's eye problems could be caused by herpes, and he agreed about using the Lysine. I give him 500mg each day, as Carolina said. I just crush the tablets between two spoons, and they smash easily into powder. Then I just mix it with his wet food. I got two bottles for the price of one at CVS.

When my cat Church was a kitten he was on 500 mg Lysine per day. However he stopped having any flare-ups at all as he got older and now that he's an adult he no longer has any so I stopped the Lysine. He still tends to squint but no flare-ups. I've heard some cats basically "grow out of it" and that seems to be the case with him as he's 3 now and has not had a flare up since maybe 8-10 months old.
I used Lysine capsules, so I just had to open them up and mix the powder in his food. Eventually he caught on and wouldn't eat the food with Lysine powder in it so I switched to Vetri-Lysine Plus Soft Chews which were like treats and he'd gobble those up.

Double-ditto on the Lysine. My boys get it every day... I had dialed back to 250mg/day once whatever seemed to be bothering them quieted down, but this winter seems to be bad... maybe its the furnace air, don't know...And they are back to the higher dose of 500/day/cat. I also put it in their wet food... no problem with that.

Lysine and feliway help tremendously. I give Hannah 500mg twice a day during a flare up and 250mg twice daily as maintenance. Stress is a big trigger for herpes, so keeping you house as calm as possible is important.

I also give Evening Primrose Oil (1/8 -1/4 t once a day) to help decrease the sneezes when her allergies flare up. EPO helps decrease swelling.

I also use L-Lysine (250mg on good days and 5oomg to 1000mg on flare ups) on 3 of my cats daily but mine's in a paste form that can be applied to the paw or on the roof of the mouth. Mine are too smart for putting it in their food or water.......

Another big fan of the L-Lysine here! A LOT of fosters come here with flare ups, so I always keep it in the food. None of my own babies ever get sick and it usually takes no time at all for the fosters to get over their flare ups.

Originally Posted by kara_leigh

The vet said today that my cat's eye problems could be caused by herpes, and he agreed about using the Lysine. I give him 500mg each day, as Carolina said. I just crush the tablets between two spoons, and they smash easily into powder. Then I just mix it with his wet food. I got two bottles for the price of one at CVS.

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I just wanted to point out the the 500mg/day should be divided up in two doses - 250mg in the morning and 250mg in the evening.

I use the gel for my guys. The brand is Viralys. It's flavored and some cats actually like it. One of my fosters like it so much that I have to keep it away from him to stop him from eating a whole bunch. But then this is a cat that eats broccoli.
The gel is maybe a bit pricey but I like it 'cause it's easy to give. I just draw it up in a syringe and squirt it in their mouths. It's very easy.

It's also very important that your cat eats and drinks enough when he has a flare-up. I would recommend that you give your cat at least 10ml of Nutrical per day when he's sick to get some extra nutrients and calories in him. Cats that have stuffy noses will have trouble smelling their food and when they can't smell their food they won't eat. If that's a problem get some fish flavored canned food and put it in the microwave for a little bit. That makes it more smelly and the cat is more likely to eat.

Another thing I do to help the symptoms, if a cat has nose or throat problems, is to put them in the bathroom or under a table with a vaporizer that you put Vicks vapor drops in. That really helps for breathing problems.
You can also give your cat 12mg of Benadryl (1/2 pill) if he needs it.

Hi All,

I am going to go and buy a bottle of 500 milligram L-Lysine. Starting tomorrow morning I will start giving him a dose twice daily.

He sure will like this. I am not being sarcastic either cause my Loki likes pills. He will eat anything. Plus I give him a tiny piece of cheese or meat after he inhales his pill .

That seems to be the one plus of the Savannah. He always eats and drinks.

Also like Kailie I have never had any of my personal cats have an issue with Feline Herpes. But there seems to be a first time for everything .

Also how long until there will be a noticeable improvement from the L-Lysine?

I also use Lysine and recommend it. We paid $13 for a bottle at the eye vet but found out you can just buy them in the vitamin section at any store for half the price. Just be careful about how much you give though because it can cause crystals in cats bladders which is very dangerous. I only use it when my cat starts squinting or once every few months just as a preventative measure. We also have some amazing eye drops the eye specialist gave us for our cat when it's a really bad case. I don't remember what it's called but if the Lysine doesn't work I can go look it up for you. Our regular vet (not the specialist who has helped us the most with her eyes) gave us these awful eye drops that stung my cats eyes so bad! The eye specialist said people can't tolerate those drops so he can imagine how horrible it is for a pet so he doesn't use them very often. I don't think you need to use the drops that sting when there are alternatives. Good luck!

Originally Posted by CrazyCatLady8

Our regular vet (not the specialist who has helped us the most with her eyes) gave us these awful eye drops that stung my cats eyes so bad! The eye specialist said people can't tolerate those drops so he can imagine how horrible it is for a pet so he doesn't use them very often. I don't think you need to use the drops that sting when there are alternatives.

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Do you happen to know what the name of those drops were? The vet gave me some drops for Walter and they seem to just make his eyes WORSE. His eyes seem to be better (they were pretty much better by the time he gave me the drops) but after I put the drops in his eyes get really red and almost swollen, and he starts to squint even with the eye that wasn't infected. I'm tempted to stop using them altogether b/c of that. They seem like they hurt his eyes.

Hi All,

It has nothing to do with my cats eyes. It is all in his nasal cavity.

Thank you very much for the information on the crystals in the bladder. Once he is "over the flare up" I will stop the dosages. Or lower the amount of Lysine for sure.

Has anyone had a problem with Lysine and bladder crystals? Does anyone know how to prevent urine crystals that are brought on by Lysine?

I have two UTI and crystal prone cats and have had NO issues with flare up doses of 2000mg and 500 daily doses ... Lysine is an amino acid ie it is protein block thus doses over the needed amounts are excreted in the urine normally... very few side effects are found and crystals are not one of them

At one point someone told us the Lysine was contributing to my cat's bladder problems so we cut back. I hope we received bad information and don't need to worry about giving her Lysine. I'll have to look into it more.

kara_leigh, the bad eye drops that stung really bad (and did nothing for my cat) are called Trifluridine. The stuff is HORRIBLE! My cat ran from us whenever she saw us coming with the bottle. When we found out how much it hurt her we felt just terrible for forcing it into her eyes. I can't believe vets even prescribe this! Is that what you've been giving your cat?

When her condition is really bad (cloudy eyes, squinting, discharge) we give her eye drops called Interferon. The only place I've been able to purchase them is from the eye specialist. None of the pharmacies in my area carry it. It is the only medication we've found that gets rid of of all of my cat's herpes-related ailments. They are miracle drops and we love them! Good luck!

Cat Person, I had a cat with a nasal squamous cell carcinoma (tumor in her nose). As a result she was stuffy a lot had a ton of nasal discharge. One thing the vet recommended was to put her in the bathroom when I showered so the steam could clear her head. Perhaps that would help your kitty.

Originally Posted by CrazyCatLady8

At one point someone told us the Lysine was contributing to my cat's bladder problems so we cut back. I hope we received bad information and don't need to worry about giving her Lysine. I'll have to look into it more.

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I am pretty sure you received bad information - Lysine doesn't cause bladder problems and is actually often found in supplements for bladder or general inflammatory problems such as in this case

Hi Sharky,

Thank you so much for the information about the urine and the crystals that can form can form from Lysine. Also thank you for being helpful to all of us in general.


Hi CrazyCatLady8,

Thank you for the information I will keep it in mind.

Originally Posted by CrazyCatLady8

When her condition is really bad (cloudy eyes, squinting, discharge) we give her eye drops called Interferon. The only place I've been able to purchase them is from the eye specialist. None of the pharmacies in my area carry it. It is the only medication we've found that gets rid of of all of my cat's herpes-related ailments. They are miracle drops and we love them!

Good luck!

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We use l-lysine for maintenance with Carly, but when she has a really bad flare-up like when she was totally miserable, eyes watery and almost shut, Interferon worked wonders. I think she cleared up in three days. We have a bottle in the freezer for just those occasions.