Managing FHV

As many of you know, 3 weeks ago we adopted a 3 y/o tuxedo named Squeak from a local shelter. She had lived there for over a year.

A week or so ago, I noticed her left eye was a little watery (but clear). I wiped it and determined to keep an eye (no pun intended) on it. Today, I noticed it was watery again and was beginning to crust very mildly. In hindsight, it occurs to me she has sneezed occasionally and before I noticed the watering I thought I saw tear stains. Her breathing and energy level seem normal, and she is eating, drinking, eliminating, and playing normally. She has no mouth ulcers. Her eyes appear clear with no redness and no third eye visible.

Based on the apparent mildness of her symptoms and her long shelter stay, in guessing she's a carrier of the feline herpes virus and is having a flare-up. She is certainly under stress right now, which I know an trigger a flare up, as she is still adjusting to her new home and new people, spending most of her time still in her "safe room" bc intros are going slowly (though we try to give her a few hours each day to roam around the house), etc. We've only just put a stop to our resident cat Gracie shoving her paws under the door, as it makes Squeak very upset in a growling and hissing way and that is not currently letting up. I figure this has also been stressing her out. We're also already working on reducing her stress levels, since that seems to be an important piece of making cat intros work.

So I was planning to start adding L-Lysins to her food.

Does this diagnosis seem sound? And is my management plan reasonable? I'd take her to the vet, but a) her symptoms are mild, b) money is tight and c) it seems like they'll be unable to definitively diagnose her anyway. Obviously, I WILL take her if symptoms worsen or if they continue for an extended period of time on the L-Lysine.

I was also thinking of adding the L-Lysine to Gracie's food just in case?

What form of l-Lysins would you recommend? Powdered for their wet food? L-Lysine treats?

Any insight and advice would be appreciated. I'm a new cat owner, so this is very new to me!!!!

I would certainly try the l-lysine. My cats love the enisyl lysine treats.

Lysine won't hurt, but it is possible she just has the common shelter cat URI or is just a watery eyed cat.  So long as the eye discharge isn't yellow or green I wouldn't worry about that, I have two cats that always have crud in the corner of their eyes, it is just who they are.  If the sneezing gets worse or she starts producing mucus when she sneezes I'd be a little more concerned and start considering a vet visit.  You don't want to wait until her appetite slacks off to see the doctor. 

Sometimes herpes flare-ups progress to secondary bacterial infections that require antibiotics, so keep a close eye on her.  What you're describing doesn't concern me much, sounds like you're doing the right things.  Honestly if all she does is occasionally sneeze (once a day or less) and has clear watery eye discharge that dries out to a reddish-brown I don't think I would take her into the vet's at all.  Some cats are like that due to blocked nasolacrimal ducts and no matter how often you flush them they re-block and get watery eyes again (Persians are the worst for this!)

If the lysine makes difference after 2 weeks I'd discontinue it.

I use the NOW brand powdered Lysine.  I order it in the 1-lb container from Amazon.  We've also used VitaCost brand.  I would also encourage you to change to a grain-free diet if at all possible.  That will also help.  Since herpes is an immune system disease, the best way to manage it is by boosting nutrition and getting your kitty as healthy as possible. 
 

Thanks for the advice (and reassurance)!

I'm going to try the treats, I think, cause my kitties aren't eating enough of their wet food as it is at the moment.

Stephanietx, I am in the process of transitioning them to a primarily wet food, low carbohydrate, high-protein diet. Squeak especially I think needs very good nutrition, since she's obese, has dry skin, possible herpes, etc. Poor dear, being in the shelter for a whole 13 months!