rescue cat with herpes

I know there is a lot about herpes on this site...but I need some opinions.

Tallie's story:

Tallie is a  about 7 years old Maine Coon. She was bottle fed  and strictly indoors for 6 years of her life. Her front paws are declawed . She was rehomed due to dogs in the household bothering her and moving. My neighbor decided to adopt her. It didn't go well. Tallie was terrified, hiding and hissing. I told her she needs more time and to leave her alone. But my neighbor wasn't patient and one day she wanted to move her to another bedroom and Tallie started hissing and growling. The husband got mad and threw her outside .  She was scared, hiding somewhere and coming to the porch to eat at night. I saw her only a few times running from me during 5 months. Finally it got cold and she was desperate to get inside and decided to trust me. She was just crying for help. My neighbor didn't care. So, I took her to one of the bedrooms. I have other cats and dogs. She was sick, starved, had discharge from her nose and eyes and sneezing. I contacted her ex owner and found out that she was born with herpes and it should clear up in a week or two. It didn't. It got better but she still had brownish discharge from her eyes. A week ago I put her on L-lysine powder (Vetoquinol). She still has it. (By the way, she has collapsed one nostril probably because of herpes and that's old and small grey spot on her cornea which must have developed during those 5 months outside)

 I'm trying to find her a home but so far no results. It's hard to rehome cats where I live. (And I won't give her to anybody.)

  I'm afraid for my 3 cats. She is still isolated but I can't keep her like that forever. My cats are over 3 years old and they were not current on vacs when I brought Tallie because they are strictly indoors. So, I vaccinated them a week ago. But I know the vaccine doesn't protect 100 %.

So, I need opinions on introducing her to my cats and if I should?

and how long
 it takes for L-lysine to stop the virus? I give her 500 mg twice a day.

Hey there,

I'm not sure exactly but I've heard it can take a month or so to be effective and it won't necessarily stop the virus but make it less frequent and less severe.

And what a cutie she is!

Hi 

Firstly, thank you so much for helping this cat.

I personally probably would not introduce her to my residents if I was certain I was going to rehome her, for a variety of reasons, not just the health concerns.  However, if you really want to introduce them I think it would be safest to call your vet ans ask his or her opinion about when and whether that would be safe.  Since you just went in for vaccines, they should be willing to answer this for free in a phone call.

Good luck and again thanks so much for helping her!

I didn't want to introduce her to my cats. I thought I will find her a home but this is not easy. She is here over a month and I don't know how much longer...she should go to quiet home, no cats, maybe calm dog, no kids...she is not playful. Actually, she was afraid of toys...so, this kind of limits her chances to be adopted. At least in my area...I don't want to keep her in this one room forever.

Bless you for taking her in!  Work with your vet to find out when she's no longer contagious. Once the vet gives the okay, then you can gradually introduce her to your other kitties.  Most kitties have been exposed to herpes at some point in their lives yet show no signs of the virus.  Sometimes stress can trigger a flare up of it long dormant in their systems.  So, keep your home as stress-free as possible.  Use Feliway diffusers to help all the kitties feel less stressed.  Keep to a regular routine and schedule.  Read the introductions thread in the behavior forum on proper introductions.  Let the kitties get used to each other at their own speed, but be there to run interference when needed.  I have a herpes kitty and 2 non herpes kitties all living together.  I've had the herpes kitty (Hannah) the longest and the others have been added over the years.  The 2 newest haven't contracted the virus as it normally attacks kitties whose immune systems are already weakened and who are malnourished.

We kept Hannah separated for almost a month after bringing her home because she was so ill.  Then, we worked to introduce her to our resident kitty.  That process took about 2 weeks. 

During a flare up of Herpes it can take several weeks for the virus to clear up.  My herpes kitty usually has a brownish discharge from her eyes, when she has flare ups it is more pronounced and her eyes are more squinty.  As for introducing her to your kitties, it really depends on their immune systems as to whether or not they will catch it.  Out of 5 kitties I have 2 that have Herpes. 

In cat vaccines, it is the FVRCP.  The "R" is for rhinotracheitis, which is herpevirus.

A week after giving this vaccine, it is through their system and they are considered protected against the virus, even during contagious times for the majority of cats.

Once vaccinated it is quite unlikely your cat will contract this virus, as he or she will already have developed antibodies against the disease.

However, if your vaccinated cat does happen to contract it,  the severity of the virus is drastically reduced, nearly no or minimal symptoms will occur.

Maybe watering eyes for a couple/few days. Very mild symptoms.

If your kitties have been vaccinated, they should be fine to be exposed to her.  She probably shouldn't have the "R" part of the vaccine again as it will most likely cause a flare up.

Oh that poor baby.  And good for you for helping.  The one that stay with me are on a diet of Blue Buffalo and I'm no advertising here.  Cats are too fussy for that.  I use that because I was standing in the cat food aisle one day next to another shopper and said I had a cat who had a weak stomach and didn't tolerate much.  He pointed to Blue and said that was all he fed his.  I check the label and found it contained the L-Lysine I was paying a fortune for.  Since the cats I care for mostly come from the same feral colony, they have the herpes exposure so I have to watch them. And Foxy, my indoor fella, has a problem with it.  I dropped the L-Lysine purchases and bought the expensive Blue for everyone who eats indoors and throw generous amounts into the container that I give that outdoor guys.  That way I have a pretty good idea everyone is getting a dose of the stuff.  Mixing in the wet food - well - I wasn't sure.  Knock on wood, it has seemed to helped.  I've checked numerous bags of cat food and Blue is the only one I can find that has L-Lysine added.  I don't know why since it is very important to their diet.