Immune system help...

Hey everybody..it has been a while since I've been on here, and I am again reminded WHY I should keep up with it!

I've got two immunocompromised cats, Noble and Edgar. Noble does pretty well, all things considered, with a chronic URI. He is generally very healthy, and only occasionally has a "snot ball" (sorry, gross).

Edgar, on the other hand, is having issues! He has been on two rounds of Clindamycin, and while he is better, he is not completed cleared up. Again, a chronic URI kitty. I am giving him lysine, which seems to help, but I don't know what else I could be doing to help him stay as healthy as possible. He also is having trouble with feline acne.
Does anyone have any ideas about what I could do? I feel powerless to help him!

Also: he has been immunocompromised for most of his life. He was sick when I got him at 6wks, and he's never been "quite right" and frequently gets sniffly.

I appreciate any help!!

I'm sorry your kitties are sick, I can help with the kitty acne. Jazz had it and I switched her bowl to a stainless steel one (the previous bowl was plastic which breeds bacteria) Her acne cleared up in a week or 2 on its own.
Hope this helps. WIll send good health vibes to your kitteis.

You can also give cats Vitamin C. I'm not sure of the doses, though. I DO know that there are members here that would and I'm sure they'll be along shortly.

Do you know if you cats have FHV (Feline Herpes Virus)? In tha t case, being as how I have 2 FHV cats living with me, I can give you a few suggestions.
-First, I up the dose of L-Lysine to 1000mg a day when they have FHV re-activation episodes (that is, when they show URI symptoms). Now, L-Lysine won't kill an existing viral infections, but it WILL halt future infections and viral replication.

-Second, I make sure I always have a fresh Feliway diffuser plugged in to prevent stress.

-Third, my cats are fed a top-quality diet. I feed Felidae dry and Evanger's or Wellness or Merrick wet. Other good brands include Wysong, Nature's Variety Prairie, Innova, Califonia Natural, Azmira, BrightLife...that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Other members here like Royal Canin and Nutro, but in my opinion, the other foods tend to have superior ingredients (especially compared to RC...Nutro is better than RC).

-Fourth- Azmira has a product called Immunostimulator that I have heard good things about, but I've never used it. You can also use flower essences to keep stress low, etc.

-If things are really bad and you need an extreme solution...a lot of seriously immune compromised kitties are helped by injections of drugs like AZT, Interferon-Alpha and Immunoregulin. I have no idea if this is appropriate for FHV...my guess would be that there's not reason you would need it unless your cat had FIV, FeLV or was getting over chemo (they're also not cheap), but you can bring it up with your vet. I've found with my cats that a good diet, excercise and low-stress environment keeps their FHV totally under control.

Lioness and jamasmom -
Thank you so much for your advice! I had no idea about FHV until you suggested it, and when I looked it up - it sounds like the two of them! I have never heard of this before, and I will try some of the things you mentioned. I am looking into a olive-leaf extract product, which is apparently anti-microbial and safe.

We are managing the feline acne with washings with anti-bac soap and peroxide for now. The problem with six is that is one gets it, they all get it.

Any opinions on my original problem, or about this olive-leaf extract(I believe it is marketed by US Animal Nutritionals of Vermont, a company I am not familiar with)?


Thanks again!!!

Originally Posted by blueberrybeth

Lioness and jamasmom -
Thank you so much for your advice! I had no idea about FHV until you suggested it, and when I looked it up - it sounds like the two of them! I have never heard of this before, and I will try some of the things you mentioned. I am looking into a olive-leaf extract product, which is apparently anti-microbial and safe.

We are managing the feline acne with washings with anti-bac soap and peroxide for now. The problem with six is that is one gets it, they all get it.

Any opinions on my original problem, or about this olive-leaf extract(I believe it is marketed by US Animal Nutritionals of Vermont, a company I am not familiar with)?


Thanks again!!!

Click to expand...

Definitely get a vet to diagnose that FHV exposure with a full exam and blood test. They'll be able to help you more than I can, because they can determine the type of medications other than supplements to put your cats on. Leo needed eye meds once and we've never had any flare ups that have affected his eyes significantly since we started with the Lysine routine and Gracie is new around here, so we've never had any eye issues with her. It's usually just sniffles the occassional sneeze and some minor discharge from the eyes. It's a really easy disease to manage once you've got the diagnosis straight and the vet is working with you.

As for the acne, it should clear up pretty quick if you change their food and water bowls (ceramic and stainless steel are best) and wash the area with benzoyl peroxide for a few days. It's quite common with big males in multi-cat households and is generally not anything major.

I know these problems are very severe but I thought I'd just add - in humans and in animals bee pollen helps boost the immune system. It sure wouldn't hurt an animal with a compromised immune system because its full of nutrients anyway. Along with vitamin C. Have you ever looked into colloidal silver? This was recommended to me with a small URI onset in a kitten and to use it as eye drops as its natures natural antibiotic. In less than 24 hours that kittens eyes cleared completely. It can also be taken internally but research would need to be done on dosage in animals (there are web sites that discuss colloidal silver and animals). In small amounts its like an additional fighter to those nasties.

All of these things are used in humans but in minimal doses can be used in animals (even in large doses they shouldn't hurt an animal but don't quote me on that as its been a while since I've done the research). They can all be picked up in the health food store but bee pollen for pets you can get online in a powdered form that makes it easier to mix with the food. Colloidal silver is a liquid and can be added to water, food, or directly.

Not too sure it will work on yours but tried it on Herms and Hera. Please refer to my other post for TF. I sincerely hope that Noble and Edgar will be alright soon.

Originally Posted by blueberrybeth

Hey everybody..it has been a while since I've been on here, and I am again reminded WHY I should keep up with it!

I've got two immunocompromised cats, Noble and Edgar. Noble does pretty well, all things considered, with a chronic URI. He is generally very healthy, and only occasionally has a "snot ball" (sorry, gross).

Edgar, on the other hand, is having issues! He has been on two rounds of Clindamycin, and while he is better, he is not completed cleared up. Again, a chronic URI kitty. I am giving him lysine, which seems to help, but I don't know what else I could be doing to help him stay as healthy as possible. He also is having trouble with feline acne.
Does anyone have any ideas about what I could do? I feel powerless to help him!

Also: he has been immunocompromised for most of his life. He was sick when I got him at 6wks, and he's never been "quite right" and frequently gets sniffly.

I appreciate any help!!

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

I know these problems are very severe but I thought I'd just add - in humans and in animals bee pollen helps boost the immune system. It sure wouldn't hurt an animal with a compromised immune system because its full of nutrients anyway. Along with vitamin C. Have you ever looked into colloidal silver? This was recommended to me with a small URI onset in a kitten and to use it as eye drops as its natures natural antibiotic. In less than 24 hours that kittens eyes cleared completely. It can also be taken internally but research would need to be done on dosage in animals (there are web sites that discuss colloidal silver and animals). In small amounts its like an additional fighter to those nasties.

Click to expand...

Yup, those all work in cats, too, but I am unsure of teh dosage (since I don't use them) so I didn't want to hand out advice that I had no idea how to use practically! Those were all reccommended for my late FeLV+ kitty, except she didn't make it through the initial interferon injections so we never had to supplement But yeah, I've heard good things about bee pollen and colloidal silver from my FeLV list, so they would be something to look into.

Originally Posted by blueberrybeth

Hey everybody..it has been a while since I've been on here, and I am again reminded WHY I should keep up with it!

I've got two immunocompromised cats, Noble and Edgar. Noble does pretty well, all things considered, with a chronic URI. He is generally very healthy, and only occasionally has a "snot ball" (sorry, gross).

Edgar, on the other hand, is having issues! He has been on two rounds of Clindamycin, and while he is better, he is not completed cleared up. Again, a chronic URI kitty. I am giving him lysine, which seems to help, but I don't know what else I could be doing to help him stay as healthy as possible. He also is having trouble with feline acne.
Does anyone have any ideas about what I could do? I feel powerless to help him!

Also: he has been immunocompromised for most of his life. He was sick when I got him at 6wks, and he's never been "quite right" and frequently gets sniffly.

I appreciate any help!!

Click to expand...

Sounds familiar - we're going to find out if my chronic URI cat Teddy is a Herpes kitty too. He had been a giant snotball for the past month - thankfully it was only occasional until now.

Anyway, Teddy took 2 weeks worth of Zithromax and it cleared him up. That might be worth asking about - we're going to try the lysine next as well. He's still sniffly, but has stopped having crazy daily sneezing fits.