Cats Living with Herpes, What to Expect??

My cat was diagnosed with herpes after we brought him home from the shelter in March. At that time, he was really sick and needed fluids and a shot to bring down a high fever and eventually eye ointment. He gets Lysine every day.

He got better, but was always stuffy and always sometimes sneezed. Lately, he's seemed stuffier and sneezed more. He had stopped sneezing out things (sorry for TMI) like hardened mucus and thicker mucus for about a month. The other day though, he did this again though and afterward, his nose breathing got a bit less noisy. We thoroughly vacuumed and turned up our air purifier hoping it would help and he has been sneezing a little less now.

The other day, I noticed that he had one eye eeeever so slightly wider open than the other. But, I thought that maybe he was tired or whatever. He has less sneezing since we vacuumed everything, etc and the small amount of what seemed like normal eye discharge but a little more coming from both eyes that he was having when sneezing more has stopped.

This morning, I noticed that the skin around and slightly above that one eye that was a hair less opened the other day is very mildly inflamed. I only noticed it while admiring my cat's beauty up close. 

My question is…are these types of mild, minor flairs to be expected in a cat with herpes? When he shows a slight increase in symptoms, does it mean we need to run off to the vet right away? I have never had a cat with herpes before. Are minor flare ups handled at home? Below is a photo of him that I took today. He was sleeping so thats why his eyes are mostly closed. The eye that you can see more of is the one with the mildly inflamed skin in the corner and above. As you can see, this isn't a major issue right now, but I have no frame of reference to know how to proceed going forward when these types of things happen.

I don't have experience with herpes, but you may find these links helpful:  [article="22329"]Feline Herpes And Rhinotracheitis​[/article]  ; http://www.thecatsite.com/tag/feline-herpes/threads

It is common to have flare ups until you get the virus under control.  There's a lot you can do to help your kitty and decrease the number of flare ups.  My girl had her first flare up in 8 years a few months ago. 

First, if your kitty isn't on a grain-free diet, that will help tremendously.  The arginine in grains causes the herpes virus to replicate.  There are many high-quality grain free foods out there.  We feed EVO canned and Taste of the Wild dry.  In the past, we've fed Wellness CORE and Wellness grain-free, but one of my kitties has a sensitive tummy and those really messed up his digestive system.

Secondly, add L-Lysine to your kitty's diet.  That helps stop the replication of the virus and boosts the immune system.  We use the powdered variety that comes in a 1 pound jar.  I buy mine at VitaCost and it's usually less than $10 for one jar.  Maintenance dose is 500 mg daily, divided into 2 doses.  The flare-up dose is 1000mg a day, divided in 2 doses.  Lysine is an amino acid that is secreted out of the body as the kitty urinates, so that's why you need the twice daily dosing.  For it to be effective, it has to stay in the system.

Third, work on your kitty's overall health.  If your kitty is at optimal health and well being, then his body will be better able to fight off the flare ups.  For us, we added Missing Link to our kitty's diet to be sure she's getting all the vitamins and nutrients she needs.  There are many other excellent probiotics that will work just as well. 

Fourth, keep the stress in your home to a minimum.  Keep to a routine as kitties thrive on routine.  If you have a lot of traffic your home, you have a noisy, bustling home, or you have an irregular schedule, consider calming agents such as Feliway diffusers or Spirit Essences from Jackson Galaxy.  When our Feliway diffuser is running out, our girl starts sneezing more.

Lastly, if your kitty has any discolored discharge, have it sent off to be cultured and a sensitivity test run on it to determine if there is an underlying infection going on and which med will best treat it. 

My kitty was diagnosed just about 8 years ago and she's now almost 10.  She's had a very normal, active kitty, fun-filled life.

Thank you so much for your help guys <3