Herpesvirus Vaccine

sphynxkitten · May 23, 2006

I'm wondering if the vaccine for herpesvirus stops the virus from infecting a cat/kitten? My kitten "supposedly" had the vaccine, and I can't say for sure she has the virus, but she has been sneezing (already did almost a month of antibiotics) and has had brown discharge from her eyes, that dries all over them, not a huge amount, but enough that I have to clean them daily, for 7 or so weeks. Her eyes are otherwise clear, not cloudy or anything. For those of you with kitties with the herpesvirus, does this sound like she could have it? What does the vet have to do to test for the virus? Is it possible to have gotten the vaccine, and still get this virus?

Thanks in advance for any info, and all replies.

abbycats · May 24, 2006

Frankie has a snotty nose since we got him at 16 weeks old. He is now 16 months old and were still dealing with it. Frankie has combination allergies and herpes virus. He is a regular at the vet! The vet has Frankie take a antihistimine, and from all the good advice I have recieved from this forum, Frankie takes his L-Lysine every day. His eyes are clearing up and he is breathing much better. He does have little bouts from time to time, but the improvement is just remarkable!

sphynxkitten · May 24, 2006

Originally Posted by abbycats

Frankie has a snotty nose since we got him at 16 weeks old. He is now 16 months old and were still dealing with it. Frankie has combination allergies and herpes virus. He is a regular at the vet! The vet has Frankie take a antihistimine, and from all the good advice I have recieved from this forum, Frankie takes his L-Lysine every day. His eyes are clearing up and he is breathing much better. He does have little bouts from time to time, but the improvement is just remarkable!

Thank you so much for your reply. If you don't mind my asking, did Frankie have cloudy eyes at all, or just discharge? What color is the discharge in his eyes? Since we got Lucy, she has been sick with a virus/bacterial infection, and giardia. She still has the discharge from her eyes, but it has gotten better. She is also still sneezing throughout the day, but besides getting sprayed when I'm near her, I don't notice any goop coming out. She used to have the greenish yellow nasal discharge, but that cleared after the antibiotics. I'm just a bit worried because the sneezing and eye discharge has not cleared completely, and she's been this way since we got her April 1st, and who knows how long beforehand. Vet just told me to watch and see if the nasal discharge color changes again. Lucy has been a regular at our vets also, and the poor girls at the front desk know my voice when I call, LOL. Did your Frankie have his rhinotracheitis vaccine, and he still came down with the herpesvirus? Sorry about all the questions. I just hate to be more of a pest by calling the vet again, so I'm trying to get all the info I can before I bug them, LOL.

familytimerags · May 24, 2006

Even if the kitten had the rhino and calici vaccination, it doesn't mean that the herpes virus wouldn't touch the kitten. Unfortunately, the vaccination could have been given after the kitten was exposed to the herpes virus.
It sounds like your Lucy is going to be a high shedder of herpes.
There are a few things you can speak with your vet about.
The L-lysine that was mentioned already is a great OTC product. It is recommended to give 500mg 2x a day. You can mix it in the food. It takes a month or more for symptoms to clear, and after that you can go down to 500 mg.
You can also speak with your vet about a new medicine that is called Enisyl-F, it is a product made with Lysine, and other ingredients to help kittens/cats with severe shedding of the herpes virus. It is a paste that is tuna flavored and easy to give. It is through prescription only.
My Dad has a cat with severe herpes, and the Enisyl-F has worked wonders to help with the cloudy eye and severe sneezing.
Did you get this kitten from a breeder or was this a shelter or rescue kitten?
The herpes virus is very contagious, and if the proper care isn't taken a kitten can be exposed to herpes much earlier than many vaccinate.
If the kitten did come from a breeder, you may let them know that your kitten has severe herpes, and they may want to begin looking into their own cattery program to make changes, for the health of future kittens.
I hope that you and your vet can get Lucy cleared up. Good luck.

sphynxkitten · May 24, 2006

Originally Posted by FamilytimeRags

Even if the kitten had the rhino and calici vaccination, it doesn't mean that the herpes virus wouldn't touch the kitten. Unfortunately, the vaccination could have been given after the kitten was exposed to the herpes virus.
It sounds like your Lucy is going to be a high shedder of herpes.
There are a few things you can speak with your vet about.
The L-lysine that was mentioned already is a great OTC product. It is recommended to give 500mg 2x a day. You can mix it in the food. It takes a month or more for symptoms to clear, and after that you can go down to 500 mg.
You can also speak with your vet about a new medicine that is called Enisyl-F, it is a product made with Lysine, and other ingredients to help kittens/cats with severe shedding of the herpes virus. It is a paste that is tuna flavored and easy to give. It is through prescription only.
My Dad has a cat with severe herpes, and the Enisyl-F has worked wonders to help with the cloudy eye and severe sneezing.
Did you get this kitten from a breeder or was this a shelter or rescue kitten?
The herpes virus is very contagious, and if the proper care isn't taken a kitten can be exposed to herpes much earlier than many vaccinate.
If the kitten did come from a breeder, you may let them know that your kitten has severe herpes, and they may want to begin looking into their own cattery program to make changes, for the health of future kittens.
I hope that you and your vet can get Lucy cleared up. Good luck.

Thank you so much for all the information. Thankfully she is my only kitten so there is no risk to other kitties, I just wanted to get info, to see if her symptoms sounded like she did have the virus. She has not had cloudy eyes at all, just the discharge. Do all kittens/cats that have the virus get cloudy eyes. Seems like everywhere I read about it on the net, it mentions cloudy eyes, or spots on the eyes, along with the discharge?

I did adopt Lucy from a breeder, but since she is the one that shipped her to me in this condition (virus/bacterial infection, giardia) and we had "words" about it, I doubt she will do anything to better the health of her kittens, and rather keep selling them to unsuspecting owners.

In all fairness (although the breeder has done nothing to resolve this with me, and refuses to answer my e-mails) I will have to take Lucy to the vet, yet again, to see if he believes she has the virus.

Thanks again for your help, and all the info.

One more thing, how do vets know that it is herpesvirus, by symptoms alone, or is there a test they do that diagnoses it?

familytimerags · May 24, 2006

I am sorry that your experience adopting a kitten from a breeder hasn't been a good one.
It could still be herpes virus, even though there is no discharge from the eye. I am assuming there is also no tearing? The vet may want to put a dye in her affected eye to see if she has any scarring or scratches on her eye, which could be treated with medicated eye drops. Your vet will have to look over Lucy and with her past history determine what he believes.

Here is a great article that explains things very well.
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/heal...racheitis.html

I hope that Lucy feels better soon.

sphynxkitten · May 24, 2006

Originally Posted by FamilytimeRags

I am sorry that your experience adopting a kitten from a breeder hasn't been a good one.
It could still be herpes virus, even though there is no discharge from the eye. I am assuming there is also no tearing? The vet may want to put a dye in her affected eye to see if she has any scarring or scratches on her eye, which could be treated with medicated eye drops. Your vet will have to look over Lucy and with her past history determine what he believes.

Here is a great article that explains things very well.
http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/heal...racheitis.html

I hope that Lucy feels better soon.

Lucy does have discharge coming from both her eyes. When it dries, it is a brown crust (not the red that I read about) that is not only in the coners of her eyes, but also where a woman would put on eyeliner, but it's smaller crusted dots in those areas. She just does not have the "clouding" cataract look that I keep reading about in websites.

When Lucy was being seen for the virus/bacterial infection, the vet did mention that this could be something she carries with her throughout her lifetime, but didn't mention herpesvirus. I wish they would expalin things to me, being a new kitten owner, like I'm a 2 year old, LOL.

Thank you for the well wishes, and the link to the article. I'll go read it now.

familytimerags · May 24, 2006

The brown discharge coming from the eyes can be a sign of herpes. The surrounding of the eye, may be red and swollen. I would advise going back to the vet to see if they can give anything more to treat the eyes, as ulcers can begin to form on the infected eyes.
How is her appetite? That is something I would continue to watch, if she gets too much nasal discharge, she may want to refuse food and water.
When you go back to your vet, have a list of questions that you would like answered, and explain to him/her that you would like as much information as possible, as well as what to expect in the future.
Depending on the diagnosis, and if this is indeed herpes, there are treatments that can be done to help Lucy become healthier. As she gets older and her immune system becomes stronger, you may find that your vet visits become less frequent.
As well, if it is herpes, and he feels that ongoing medication is needed, such as the Enisyl-F, there are online stores that may sell it for less than your vet does. It is worth checking into.
I didn't think to ask if she had fever, or a cough, (if the illness was in her lungs or chest). If those symptoms are added on top of what you have already listed, you could be dealing with Feline Chlamydia.
In my opinion, going back to your vet to get her evaluated again, is the best advice I can give.

frank black · May 25, 2006

I heard that there is no effective and reasonabbly priced test to verify a cat actually has Herpes. Is this correct?

I am close to adopting a kitten that is coming off of a cold. Can a cold with sneezing and running eye be something other than herpes. The kitten has received her first two 4 in 1 shots and them came down with a cold.

sphynxkitten · May 25, 2006

Originally Posted by Frank Black

I heard that there is no effective and reasonabbly priced test to verify a cat actually has Herpes. Is this correct?

I am close to adopting a kitten that is coming off of a cold. Can a cold with sneezing and running eye be something other than herpes. The kitten has received her first two 4 in 1 shots and them came down with a cold.

Check out the previous post from FamilyTimeRags. There is a link to an article about the herpesvirus, and towards the bottom (I think) of the article it mentions a test where the vet swabs the throat, and has it sent out to test. Doesn't mention cost though. Also there is a link on that page that you can click on to find other articles about the different cold like viruses, along with other diseases found in kittens/cats.

JMO, but I would wait until the kitten is completely rid of the "cold" it has before I adopted it, and even then you can't be sure the "cold" wouldn't return, if it turns out to be something like the herpesvirus. Since you are aware of this you can make the decision to adopt the kitten, whether it have ongoing illnesses or not. I unfortunately did not have that choice.

sphynxkitten · May 25, 2006

Originally Posted by FamilytimeRags

The brown discharge coming from the eyes can be a sign of herpes. The surrounding of the eye, may be red and swollen. I would advise going back to the vet to see if they can give anything more to treat the eyes, as ulcers can begin to form on the infected eyes.
How is her appetite? That is something I would continue to watch, if she gets too much nasal discharge, she may want to refuse food and water.
When you go back to your vet, have a list of questions that you would like answered, and explain to him/her that you would like as much information as possible, as well as what to expect in the future.
Depending on the diagnosis, and if this is indeed herpes, there are treatments that can be done to help Lucy become healthier. As she gets older and her immune system becomes stronger, you may find that your vet visits become less frequent.
As well, if it is herpes, and he feels that ongoing medication is needed, such as the Enisyl-F, there are online stores that may sell it for less than your vet does. It is worth checking into.
I didn't think to ask if she had fever, or a cough, (if the illness was in her lungs or chest). If those symptoms are added on top of what you have already listed, you could be dealing with Feline Chlamydia.
In my opinion, going back to your vet to get her evaluated again, is the best advice I can give.

Lucy eats like a piggy, so no problems there. At her checkup her temp was actaully low, most likely because right before we walked out the door she managed to step in her poo, had it all over her tail, feet, inside of her leg etc...and so I had to bathe her before we left. I wrapped her in a towel, but she would not stay that way in the crate. When I got her she was wheezing a bit, but that cleared up before I got the antibiotics. And no coughing, so I think it's safe to say it isn't Chlamydia, but I'll talk to the vet about that also.

Thank you for all the help, and advice, it's very much appreciated!

Herpesvirus Vaccine

sphynxkitten

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abbycats

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