Poor boy Nacho was diagnosed with Calici virus today

After many many vet appointments and lots of testing, he was finally diagnosed with calicivirus, and the vet is pretty adamant that his strain is one that he probably has for life!

His only symptoms are to do with his oral health - tartar, plaque, swollen and really red/inflamed gums, ulcers and terrible breath. His treatment plan as of today is 5mL of Aquadent in his water every day and oral gel to put on his teeth every day too  for 2 weeks, which we'll see how treatment is going and possibly put him on cortisone and a different kind of antibiotic treatment (as in, on antibiotics for 3 days, then off them for 4 days, repeat)

Does anyone else know much about this? I'm in over my head here! I'm also very upset at the cat rescue I got him from - she told me he was perfectly healthy, even when she took him to the vet for me with severe symptoms of the above (which she told me was just "teething")  - and apparently I'm not the only one unhappy with the rescues from there. 

I absolutely love my cat, he's my little baby and I'd do anything for him, but it's a bit to take in to finally have a diagnosis!

Here's some pictures of my little man (who is nearly 1 year old!)

Aw, what a sweet boy! There is a specific test for calicivirus. Is this what came back positive for Nacho?

L-lysine will be your best friend for the rest of Nacho's life. It helps keep calicivirus flares under control. My three cats have calicivirus (it is very contagious from cat to cat) and they get l-lysine powder mixed with their wet food - 500 mg daily for maintenance divided between AM and PM, 1,000 mg daily during flare-ups divided between AM and PM. My 13 yo Boo gets the worst symptoms. He gets ulcers on his tongue, and it was bad enough one time, that I had to take him in for an anti-inflammatory shot and pain patch because he wouldn't eat. If it ever gets this bad for Nacho, please take him to the vet. Not eating is very dangerous and cats can develop hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) within 48 hours of not eating.

You may find later down the road that he'll develop FORLs (feline odontoclastic resportive lesions) on his teeth that are very painful. The only way to treat it is to have the affected teeth extracted. Boo had three teeth extracted and Sebastian has six teeth extracted from FORLs. Calicivirus and FORLs aren't necessarily related in all cases. I did read a study once that said cats with calicivirus and feline herpes virus could be more prone to FORLs. 

Thank you for that, I'll look into getting some asap!

They tested for many many  things - they took a throat swab and an eyelid swab, and some blood. I'm pretty certain calicivirus was the first thing they looked at!

Did they do a PCR test?  That's the one that tests for the calci virus.  http://www.idexx.com//view/xhtml/en...menu/innovative-tests/real-pcr.jsf?SSOTOKEN=0

I know you may feel upset with the shelter, but know that Calicivirus cannot be diagnosed without a blood test for that specific virus. Most rescues only see Calici when it is an extremely severe form of URI (upper respiratory infection) and the cat is near death. It is possible your kitty never even evidenced the respiratory infection or when he did, and recovered, they believed he would be fine moving forward.

A very large number of cats from rescues carry some form of Calici or more often, Herpes virus, as cats who have had it as an upper respiratory infection will "silently shed" the virus from their fur periodically for the rest of their lives. Not all cats react with the sensitivity that your cat is experiencing, and so the rescue very likely simply did not know. But they took the initiative to go to the vet with you which shows their good will.

Also, most rescue workers are volunteers donating their time and doing their best with very little. It would be hard even for a veterinarian to diagnose the symptoms you are describing as Calici. While it does present that way, it is usually accompanied by the full blown URI and most vets will treat the symptoms.

L-lysine, as GoHolistic has said, is very good for your kitty because it can interrupt the activity of virus. You can also ask the vet about giving a small dose of buffered vitamin c powder. I use that for my cats that have the feline version of aids, as it helps combat the virus. You can look up vitamins for cats on the internet, there are flavored antioxidant capsules that can be sprinkled on food and stuff like that. Always check with your vet first or do your own research in treating ongoing calici flare-ups. I have not actually heard much about this either, most kitties evidence ongoing symptoms from the Herpes URI.

You may have already done this, but to read more about it if you are interested, you can google "different strains of URI in Felines" or words to that effect as well as "cats shedding virus" etc. It will tell you a lot if you want to know more :-). Your sweet boy looks absolutely gorgeous btw and I think he will be fine. Many cats only show these kinds of symptoms or illness breakout when they are under stress, i.e. transitioning to their new home, new food, new hours and structure compared to where they were. In your house moving forward the same will apply- adding family members or roommates, moving, all these things will cause some stress to your pet. Cats are creatures of routine and they feel most secure when each day has its structure, food at x time, play at x time, bedtime, special sleeping spots, cat trees to be safe from tiny tots or visiting other pets, and to get a view of mom cooking lol. Enjoy your beautiful Nacho :-) and I hope he does not see a return of his symptoms as he lives out life with his new forever home and loving kitty parents :-)

Thank you everyone I've had him for about 7 months now and I can't imagine life without him, he's the most talkative cat and the biggest sook - can't stand to be far from me, always has to be by my side or ON me  

Do you guys think his breath/ulcers would benefit from these vitamins? I love cuddling him but jeez he has death breath!

You could try Evening Primrose Oil for the ulcers.  Get pure evening primrose oil and give 1/8 t to 1/4 t once a day.