Treating Feline Herpes Chest Congestion with Clavamox..Is this a good antibiotic?

Hi All,

I'm totally new here so sorry if I ask questions that have already been well covered.  My cat has a Upper Respiratory Virus..or Feline Herpes as some call it and she has chronic flareups.  She doesn't get it in the eyes like some cat do. For her it's all in the nose/nasal passages and she has lots of sneezing.  This past winter was particularly bad for her (the flareups always seem to get worse in winter) and she started having coughing fits in addition to the nasal congestion.  To make a long story short, nose has been pretty clear these past few monthsand less sneezing but there's been a rattling in her chest and she still coughs, a productive cough, I can tell she's bringing up stuff.  Her breathing was starting to get labored so I brought her to the vet 2 days ago to get her checked out. She has no fever and has been eating and drinking so all good signs and vet didn't seem overly concerned, and prescribed her Clavamox to hopefully clear up the chest congestion.  Has anyone had good experience with Clavamox?  Anyone with a Feline Herpes cat that's used Clavamox to help with symptoms or secondary infections?   I've had Twinkle for 4 years and she's been dealing with this illness since the day I got her.  The chest congestion/rattling was a new development for her as she hadn't had that symptom before.  This is now her third day of being on the antibiotic.  Hope to see positive results soon. I still hear/feel rattling in the chest and she's still coughing but I do notice her coughing fits are shorter in duration and don't seem to be as intense so I'm hoping that's a sign that the Clavamox is starting to work.  Thanks for any input.

I have used Clavamox successfully with my herpes kitty.  One thing you might want to do once this is cleared up is look at strengthening her nutrition to keep her as healthy as possible and prevent these flare ups from happening.  We put our girl on a grain free diet, give her Lysine daily, and keep our home as stress free as possible.

Thanks for the reply.  I have 2 cats and have never used Clavamox for either one of them before so just curious about the effectiveness of it and whether it's often prescribed for herpes cats (my other cat btw does not have the illness, just Twinkle)  Twinkle has received injections of Convenia two times in the past which seemed to help her symptoms and give her more energy but it was always a temporary fix.  Overall, I really don't like using antibiotics unless it's really necessary.

I've just picked up a bottle of Lysine tablets today at the grocery store and plan to crush them and mix them into her food.  I had tried using Lysine in the beginning but had trouble getting enough daily dosage into her because she's not a big wet food eater, preferring mostly dry, and even though I know they make the Lysine in treat form, Twinkle doesn't like any kind of cat treats (yeah, my cat's a weirdo, lol) so I already know the treat option is not going to work for her,   I've been working on getting her more used to the canned stuff, and little by little she's been testing it out more.  She likes the juices best and I often add a little extra water to make it more soupy for her.  This is how I've been giving her the Clavamox, by mixing it into canned food juice and she's been doing a pretty good job at lapping her plate clean.  Once she's done with the antibiotics I'll try working the lysine into her food.  If that doesn't go over well, my next step will be to try the paste form.  Fingers crossed.

Oh yeah, regarding the grain free diet, I did start her on a mostly grain free dry food about a year ago which she adapted to pretty well.  She's a big time shedder but I've noticed since switching to the grain-free her coat has been looking healthier and she doesn't shed quite as much.

Clavamox worked for me when I first got my shelter kitty and he broke out with a URI/feline herpes. When he gets stressed (on long car trips or when we move) sometimes he breaks out in symptons (the brown crusties around nostrils) and the vet always gives him clavamox coupled with the veralys treats to help boost immune strength. My cat was sorry to see the veralys treats disappear, which I kept giving him on recommendation even after he was better. And just for interests point, there is a human variety of the antibiotic clavamox called amoxacillian and clavamox is just amoxacillian with clavulanic acid (which basically adds a kick in case of resistant strains). They're both pretty safe, be it the people or pet variety. But I fully support your hesitation with antibiotics, sometimes they make you wonder what kind of superbug you're building!!

Good luck!