L-Lysine

My kitty developed an eye infection that I posted about back in June...she was at the vet a couple times for it and got an antibiotic ointment at the first appointment and drops at the second...the vet said that it may be herpes and, with herpes, all you can do is try to reduce stress and control infections when they occur. In the past month and a half, the eye is inconsistent - it looks fine sometimes and then, about once per week, the eye will suddenly be red and there will be a white discharge. The irritation is gone by morning.

In searching this board, it seems like some people with this problem give their cat L-lysine. I ordered some of the Now L-Lysine powder to try. I had a couple questions about it before I give it to her:

-This isn't harmful to anyone's knowledge, right?

-Dosage is 250 mg- that would mean that I would be giving the cat less than 1/8th of a teaspoon, right? (because the serving size on the bottle says 1/4 of a tsp is 552 mg)

-If my other cat who doesn't have eye infection problems eats some of the food mixed with the powder, it won't harm him, right?

-Any other tips/considerations with using L-lysine?

Thanks! The questions might be things I could research on my own, but I am just looking for other opinions along with the research to make sure I am not doing anything harmful. Yearly vet appointment is coming up so we can talk about it then, but I want to see if I can help eliminate weekly flare-ups before then so she is healthy enough to get shots and schedule her teeth cleaning

No, it isn't harmful. In fact, I think there are actual clinical trials where it has been shown to be effective in reducing infections from specifically the herpes virus.

And yes, daily maintenance is 250mg. I always just think of it as 500mg is 1/4 teaspoon, so half that is 1/8 of a teaspoon. That little extra won't hurt.

It's probably good for your other kitty - may help him remain herpes-virus free.

When your kitty does have a flare-up, bump up the L-lysine use to 500mg, just give 1/8 teaspoon in the morning and 1/8 teaspoon at night.

Some people bump it as high as 1000mg when there's a flare-up, but that would depend on the age and size of your kitty. The guidelines given are for a cat that's 7 - 12 pounds, so adjust based on how much your kitty weighs.

It's not a supplement that builds up in their systems or his hard to digest, so you don't need to fret too much if you mess up the amount sometimes. You are not going to poison your kitty with this!!!!!!

Vibes it helps!!!

BTW, if you use the 250 maintenance dose, and it isn't preventing the flare-ups, I'd try going as high as 500mg daily. Again, it won't hurt your baby, and may stop the flare-ups. Start with the smaller dose, and see how it goes.

There's actually a lot you can do to help your kitty if diagnosed with herpes. Lysine is just one of them!

Lysine is not harmful and you pretty much can't give too much. I give Hannah a full 1/4 t scoop twice a day. If Tumbles' eyes are running, I give him half of the 1/4 t scoop. (He doesn't have herpes, but Hannah does.) I would give a full 1/4 t scoop twice a day until the runny eyes are cleared up.

Additionally, if you're not feeding a grain-free diet, you should consider switching to an all grain-free diet since the arginine in the grains promote the replication of the herpes virus.

Also, you might want to look into using Feliway diffusers in your home to help with the stress level. Stress is the number 1 cause of herpes flare ups and break outs.

Thanks, for the information and vibes --very helpful! Christie is 13.5 lbs, so I'll give her a nice heaping dosage.

Didn't know that about grain food replicating the virus--eek...I will look into grain free foods. I am sure their current diet isn't grain-free.

Will look into the feliway too...I do think stress brings on the infections. This is the first time she had really bad flareups, and they started around the time maintenance guys were at my home for several days in a row and she was locked in a room.. However, in the past, I noticed her eye would get runny for a day during the 3 times I have moved to a new apartment.

When my F3 Savannah first came to me he was having a major issue with the Feline Upper respiratory Virus. Some wise people on this form told me to give him L-Lysine.

Well it was given to him twice a day at 500 MG for a month. Today almost a year later it really cleared up any symptoms of the Upper Repository Virus. He now gets 500 MG once or twice a week if he needs it or not .

L-Lysine has been a "herpes" lifesaver for me with Pipsqueak who gets flare-ups now and again. I have heard of some cats getting very loose stools if you go up to 1000 mgs, of course depends on the kitty. I am right now giving Pipsqueak 750 mg. for three days then will go to 500 mg. (1/4 tsp) for four days then to 250 mg. (1/8 tsp.) maintenance for about two - three weeks. There is no bad taste ( ) with Lysine and it is so easy to give in wet food. I buy it online from NOW as suggested from other's on this site. Very reasonable price and works wonders. Hope your kitty feels better very soon

Glad to hear the success stories! I am hopeful.

I buy Now lysine by the pound ... It greatly helps with 4 herpes cats... flare up dose is 1000 mg a day here.... My eat a food with grain as the grain free was a disaster for other reasons ...

Thanks! I put a serving in both cats' food today... they didn't suspect anything was in their food at all (and usually they figure it out if I put meds in their food). When they eat tonight, I will put another dose in my girl's food and see how that goes. Hoping for clear, bright eyes soon!

My sister's cat had corneal ulcers from eye infections...she got lysine from her vet and says the product worked miracles.

I think this is going really well! No sore or watery eye this week since we have been doing 500 mg of lysine per day..she looks like herself again with those big inquisitive eyes; the lining around her eyes isn't pink anymore. (I am just hoping that it really is working and that I don't look at her in an hour and see a sore eye). This is much less stressful for her than putting eye drops in her eye, and much more effective. Thanks everyone!

Knock wood!

Aw that's great news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this keeps up!

Just to add my bit here, I have just started Wellington with 500mg daily of L-lysine because he has had runny brown eye discharge for months and the vet can't seem to do anything for it. After a week, his eyes look much clearer and he is much more active and happy. I have been using 1000mg tablets that I chop in half and he is taking them easily.

Originally Posted by novemberflowers

I think this is going really well! No sore or watery eye this week since we have been doing 500 mg of lysine per day..she looks like herself again with those big inquisitive eyes; the lining around her eyes isn't pink anymore. (I am just hoping that it really is working and that I don't look at her in an hour and see a sore eye). This is much less stressful for her than putting eye drops in her eye, and much more effective. Thanks everyone!

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Hooray! So glad you're already seeing an improvement!

One of our resident shelter cats was extremely ill about a year and a half ago. Antibiotics, eye drops, etc. did no good, and we thought he was on his last legs.

We started treating him with L-Lysine, and within a few days he was up and about and pretty much his old self, although he did lose much of his sight in one eye from the damage from the herpes.