Cat with Sniffles

I have a cat - well, actually, I have four cats but one of my cats came from a shelter.  He caught what is referred to as the dread "shelter cold" and was on the euth list when I adopted him 2-1/2 years ago.  He had a case of the sniffles which soon cleared up on its own.  Since then, he's had recurrent bouts of what looks to be a URI.  Last summer, he had green discharge coming from his nose.  I took him to the vet.  She extracted some teeth which she thought might be contributing to the problem and gave him an injection of antibiotics.  His symptoms cleared up for a few months.  Then again, he got the sniffles last winter, although minus the green snot.  I took him to the vet again and she gave him an antibiotic shot.  Symptoms went away in about a week.  Now he's got it again!  I give him lysine treats but they don't seem to help much.  Whatever he has must not be contagious because the other cats don't have it.  

I feel like another vet visit is probably in order but before I do that, does anybody have any advice?  He is about 10 years old, has an excellent appetite and no intestinal problems other than the occasional hairball.  Is this the feline herpes virus?  

Hi 

Other than the sniffles does he have any other symptoms? You say his appetite is good.  Is he using the litterbox and playing as normal?

The best person to ask for a diagnosis (like feline herpes which you mention) is always your vet.  

Keep going with the Lysine if your vet says it's cool to do so. You might not notice any change with the Lysine immediately. But if it works, It will reduce the frequency of the URI long term. It could mean 2 flare ups in a year as compared to 4. Some cats (like your other two) can be infected as well, but never ever show a thing...they never sneeze, get runny eyes or anything else.

k

No other symptoms.  He uses the litterbox fine.  He doesn't really play much as he's an older cat.  

I like your kitties' names!

If it is feline herpes, there is a test for that and it's very accurate.  It's the Real PCR-URD test and your vet can run it if you'd like to be 100% sure, or you can just treat him like he has it.  I have a herpes kitty and she's forever sniffing and sneezing, but thankfully, the mucous is clear and not colored!  When you give Lysine, be sure you're giving it twice a day as it's flushed out of the body when the kitty urinates.  For lysine to be effective, it needs to stay in the cat's system, hence the twice a day dose.  Most of us here who give Lysine daily, use the powdered NOW or VitaCost brand.  Just a heaping 1/4 teaspoon equals 500 mg.  The normal dose is 500 mg daily during times of no flare ups, and 1000mg daily during an active flare up. 

Looking at the timing of the sniffles, I'm wondering if they're not triggered by seasonal changes.  It's very possible that it's triggered by allergies or just the change from a more humid time of the year (spring/summer) to a drier time of the year (fall/winter).  If that's the case, you can talk to your vet about a daily antihistamine.  My vet recommended a generic over the counter antihistamine (Claritin) and it really helps curb my girl's sneezing.  It doesn't completely eliminate them, but it does drastically cut down on them. 

Thank you!  I am going to order some powdered Lysine. I'm giving him the Lysine treats now but it's not enough.  I will step it up with the treats till I get the powdered stuff.  One problem with the powdered Lysine is that we have four cats who tend to graze from dish to dish, but our sneezy guy is a very enthusiastic eater and usually the other cats defer to him, so I think he will be able to defend his food dish.  If there's a problem, I can always intervene.

I'm also going to keep in mind what you said about the seasonal changes.  I was wondering if the bad cold he caught last summer (and it really seemed like a cold because of the yellow discharge) was due to air conditioning.  He obviously has a chronic issue, though, and I'm going to call my vet about the herpes test.  They took blood samples when I brought him in last August, so maybe they tested for herpes as well.

All kitties can have it with no ill effects, so just put it in all of their food OR give him a special little treat of some plain meat baby food with a touch of water and the lysine.  If he likes plain yogurt, you could use that as a treat as well.