Kitty herpes virus?!

Hi, I am brand new to this site and found it while trying to do some research on some issues that have been bothering my kitty. I have 3 cats, one a stray I took in 4 years ago, 2 adopted at separate times in the last 4 months from my local SPCA. The kitty I am most concerned about is my 12 month old female, Midnight. When we brought Midnight home we immediately noticed she was "sneezey ". She had no discharge from eyes or nose and we wondered if she might be allergic to something in our home. I gave it a couple days to see if it would settle and it did. When we brought home another kitty about 2 months later, he was also sneezey and midnight symptoms flared again. I brought both of them to my vet. They both checked out great but we were told they likely had been exposed to the herpes virus at the shelter. They seen the vet in August. Today I brought Midnight back because she was " winking". She has a little discharge from one eye and isn't pawing at it. The vet did a "stain" and prescribed a ointment for 8 days, then we will go for a re check exam. She did mention that if her symptoms re occur often we might want to give her a supplement. My previous cats were not shelter cats and seemed perfectly healthy for 12 years. One was literally lost, escaped through a door and likely met a coyote The other developed cancer and we put him to sleep with much much grief in May. It was quite advanced when it was discovered what I am wondering is, should we supplement? Should I be following a certain diet for her? Right now she eats Iams. I tried her with Blue Buffalo and she wouldn't eat it!! I also give a small can of wet food each day and of course, lots of water. I have never dealt with this before and just want to give her the best life I can! She is pretty awesome Poor little thing has been glued to me since I picked her up from the vets. Thank you in advance for any advice.

You're vet was probably talking about L-lysine.  It's an amino acid that helps the immune system.  You can get it in powder form that can be added to food and the usual dose is 500 mg a day to help keep the virus in check.  It can be upped to 1000 mg during a flare.  There are l-lysine treats available now.  I think they are sold at Petsmart and Petco but I don't know anything about the dosage in those or the quality of the supplement.

Welcome to TCS!  We're glad you're here.  Many of us here have kitties who have Feline Herpes and  others whose kitties haven't been formally diagnosed (via the PCR URD test), but have all the symptoms and are treated like they have the virus. 

There are many things you can do to help all your kitties, but especially those who are exhibiting the herpes symptoms.  First, add L-Lysine to their diet.  During a flare up, give 1000mg a day (break it into 2 doses).  It's important for the lysine to stay in their system as it's passed out when your kitty urinates.  I use a powdered form of Lysine.  This is the one I buy:    Five hundred mg = 1/4 t so I give 1/4 teaspoon two times daily in their wet food.  You can also get 500mg tablets at the health food store or in the supplement section of the pharmacy or Wal-Mart and crush between two spoons.  Mix into wet food with a bit of water so that it dissolves and then serve.

Switching to a grain free diet will also help.  The arginine in the grains contributes to helping the virus replicate.  The lysine helps stop the replication, but cutting out grains will help, too.  I feed Innova EVO canned, but have fed Wellness grain free in the past.  For dry food, I feed Taste of the Wild.  I have fed Blue Buffalo and Wellness CORE previously as well.

Lastly, keeping a routine and possibly running Feliway or Comfort Zone 24/7 will also help with the stress level.  The virus will flare up when your kitty is stressed so doing whatever you can to keep stress to a minimum will help.

Hi, thank you for the responses. I'm definitely going to look into the L-lysine. Seems to be a good and certainly affordable option. I had never heard of the pheromone spray, going to look into that as well. My household is probably somewhat stressful. I do child care so it can be loud at times. For the most part, my cats enjoy the children but do often like to off to one of our bedrooms for a cozy cat nap the shelter was probably quite stressful for her and the introduction of a new kitty was for.sure. I'm not sure what triggered this flare. The vet said she has the virus and was fighting it when this "jumped on board". The antibiotic ointment will hopefully take care of it. She doesn't love having me apply it, but she allows it.
I find she is a different cat for me. She has a different personality then I've ever experienced in a cat and maybe the most odd thing is that she is "stiff". She looks awkward when she walks. She can run, jump very high, play like a lunatic...lol. But people comment that she carries herself strange. She has been seen by a couple different vets without comment so I assume it's ok!
Thanks again for the advice! I'm going off to explore the rest of this site

My poor girl is not showing much improvement with the ointment.  She is eating well, grooming like normal, following me everywhere like normal, and god bless her , she allows me to put in the ointment with no issues!   But she is still "squinty". I did the first dose on Wednesday afternoon, and have been giving it to her approx every 8 hours( 3x/day). I absolutely hate to see her looking so uncomfortable.The ointment is Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates, Bacitracin Zinc, and Hydrocortisone Opthalmic Ointment. 

I also bought  Blue Buffalo Wilderness grain free food and have started introducing that. They all seem to like it. I am going to ask my vet which L Lysine she recommends on Friday.I just wish there was some way I could make her feel better. I've read that sometimes the Herpes virus stops causing so many issues after 1.5 years of age? Has anyone else found this to be true?

Oh, I am also going to try the plug in Feliway. There were only refills left. I'll check again this weekend.

You could try Eye See Clearly drops, a holistic remedy.  I've known people who have had good success with it.  http://www.allergicpet.com/products/eye_see_clearly.html

Hi. Keep giving the antibiotic the vet prescribed until the end of the prescription, you may not see an improvement until it is pretty much finished anyway however if you stop it the infection could come back more strongly. It could be that Midnight's eye is still sore due to the little ulcers that the herpes causes even though the ointment has hydrocortisone in it.  Mouse's runny eyes always seem to resolve in their own time rather than in any pattern from when he starts to get any antibiotic for secondary infections when they're present.  He also hates me putting in the eye ointments so I can empathize with you having to administer them.

I have been using L Lysine with Mouse for just over a month now, having followed advice from Stephanietx and others.  I do think it has made a difference to how Mouse is holding back the virus, he's sneezing less, he had a slight runny eye one day and it was cleared up within 24 hours, and he is more playful again after a few months of being rather run down.

I am limited in what changes I can make with his diet but all the advice you are being offered sounds very sensible and if I could I would be making these changes too.  I couldn't find a way to get him to take the L Lysine in powder or tablet form but have success with gel I get from my vet.  It's L Lysine suspended in fish oil and I can either squirt it directly in to his mouth or on to his paw to lick off. So far I've just squirted it in his mouth and had no problems.  Would work well if you're feeding multiple cats and only administering supplement to one.  If anything it works out cheaper than the tablet I had to start with!  (and if it cuts back on the outbreaks and prescription of anti viral drugs it is a huge saving as they are really expensive).

Mouse was not a rescue cat but is just unlucky not to have a strong immune system to keep the virus in check. Apparently a very large % of cats have the virus but never show any symptoms. My boy obviously had contact with another cat who had an active episode of the virus and picked it up, just pure bad luck for a little cat that has had minimal contact with others of his species.  

I like the idea of the gel since I will probably only supplement her, unless my vet recommends otherwise. She is a very easy going cat. They are all eating the grain free now, no tummy issues so far. I would never stop a prescribed medication without being told to do so by my vet. I appreciate all the advice. It's wonderful so have so many knowledgeable cat owners who understand the concerns I've been having. I just want my girl happy and healthy.

The gel I've had prescribed from Mouse's vet is:  Enisyl F paste by Vetoquinol.   The ingredients are L Lysine Monohydrochloride, fish oil and soya oil.  Each pump action gives a 250 mg dose of L Lysine so it's really easy to measure and give the right dose whether maintenance or for a flare up.    May well be a different brands used in Canada though.

Had both cats checked out today. Fini and his teeth gums are of no concern now, we will re check them in two months. Since right now he is actively losing and growing teeth, the little bit of red on the gums could be from that. She wasn't concerned about his breath, which actually has got a little better.
Midnight is still a little wink but the bacteria infection part is gone. I asked for the lysine and get a gel pump. Supper easy and she LOVES it Hopefully that will help control these repeat episodes. So I guess everything looks pretty good They didn't charge for Fini's appointment, which was great

Long may this continue!  Excellent news, and your vet was kind to your purse!     And get to work L Lysine, very happy she likes it!    

Good luck with the teeth n gums thing.  It sounds like it might be nothing more that a bit of irritation with teething, and your kitten is real lucky that you know how important it is to look after his fangs.   

oh my goodness!I just re read my most recent post!! Holy typos!!! I was on my phone and was with 5 kids....lol...that is my excuse At least you understood me And I am so happy that my vet didn't seem as concerned as me. Midnight has a bit of sneezing, but is her energetic little self and is eating great. Me and her had a nice steamy bath this morning, we will keep that up all weekend, I read my book and she sits on the edge of the tub! Its a win win

oh and Although Midnight only gained .10 of a kg since August 18th, Fini gained 1.6 kgs in the same time!!!He is a growing boy

Update:
Both cats are doing great!! Doing great eating, L- Lysine is a hit. They love it. All signs of the virus are gone now in Midnight. Her eyes are clean and clear, no sneezing and no nasal discharge. Her coat is looking fabulous, she is so glossy!!

I just gave my Kiki 500 mg of Lysine today. She is suffering really bad from a URI and has been on antibiotic for 5 days now.

I hope the Lysine gives her some extra help.

EmilyD1970 said:

 
I just gave my Kiki 500 mg of Lysine today. She is suffering really bad from a URI and has been on antibiotic for 5 days now.

I hope the Lysine gives her some extra help.

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   Like Stephanietx says above, you could try upping the L Lysine up to 1000mg a day, 500 am  500 pm while the virus is active. It might help her get on top of things?  My vet would drop it back down again once the cat is well but I think others keep it up high, I think it probably depends how badly your cat is affected.   Hope she feels better soon. 

I've found it helps and it looks like MichelleMurphy is seeing really great improvements for her kitties. 

 

Long may it last!!!

did they offer a herpes test? my vet did i turned it down due to money problems

My cat Sylvia witch is all black has sneezing every once in awhile she just got over a big eye issue her eyes are fin now my vet said she might have herpes i give her L-Lysine once awhile to help her since i started the L-Lysine she been getting better

Just a shameless brag picture of two of my kitties, Midnight and Fini. They both look great now

Mewlittle said:

Just a shameless brag picture of two of my kitties, Midnight and Fini. They both look great now

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Feel free to post, It is your thread, and OMG your cats do look awesome!  Shiny black kitty coats and lovely bright eyes!  I always wanted a black cat with white paws coz think they look so cute when they play and all you see is the little white paws flying about! 

 

MServant said:

 
Mewlittle, my vets said they didn't think it was necessary for Mouse to get tested as thought it was clear enough from his history and how his eyes looked with tiny little ulcers on them when they were runny.  They prescribed antiviral medication to clear his eyes, then L Lysine to block the virus and try to stop him getting more outbreaks.  If you think the L Lysine is helping it is probably best to give it regularly 2 x daily so it can have a consistent chance to hold back the virus.  Maintenance dose is usually 250 mg AM then again PM.

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My cat sylvia didnt have any signs of ulcers on her eyes but her eyes was runny and crusty

the reasons why i haven't up the L-Lysine 1 she is 4mos old dont know how she'll act with 500mg aday and 2 i dont really know if she has it i give her 250mg about every day or so

I'm with you on being cautious as there is some veterinary research that looks at liver damage for long term use and high doses for cats who do not have FHV1.  My vets pointed me to reading it when we first discussed adding in the L Lysine - I'm really lucky to have good vets who will have open discussions about treatment even over the phone when we're trying things out.  For kitties who do have the virus L Lysine seems to be a real life saver and prevents so much pain and secondary infection.

The ulcers on Mouse's eyes were only visible to the vet when he was examining the eyes, I couldn't see them: I had taken Mouse in because his eyes were runny but the liquid was clear and it was the second time he'd had the runny eyes in a short space of time.  On that occasion I was told off by the vet on duty as he thought Mouse's eyes must have been runny for several days and I'd not gone to the vet soon enough. He prescribed antibiotics. The next time I went one of the other vets looked at the history and made the diagnosis, and subsequently talked to their ophthalmologist to second the treatment approach I mentioned in my post above.  Mouse was about 18 months by then and much bigger than Sylvia.  His main problems as a kitten were with his mouth and the vets now think the mouth problems are related to the FHV.