Hi everyone, I previously posted a thread about our cat Finley, who has experienced various eye problems since we first got him as a kitten. After up and down eye problems over 2 years, we decided to do a panel test, and we found out he has mycoplasma felis. We had been treating him for herpes, but he tested negative for herpes. After taking him to a specialist, who confirmed that he had an ulcer but that his eyes were otherwise in good health, we started him on a round of doxycycline and collyrium eye drops. These helped quite a bit, and within 2 weeks he was looking better. His ulcer went away very quickly. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication and we finished the medication without taking him for a check-up at the vet...he went for about 3 days without medication, and during that time he developed very swollen, red eyelids.
We took him back to the vet, who suggested that he might have herpes, and the test might have been a false negative, which is quite common. The vet suggested we keep him on the doxycycline and collyrium, but we also added an anti-viral, famciclovir. When we first started him on the famciclovir, the difference was exciting: his eyes started doing so much better. Since then it's been up and down. On Sunday, after reading through this forum, we started him on (bovine) Lactoferrin, 125 mg in the morning and at night mixed into his food. This also seemed to help a lot, but somehow we just can't kick this flare-up! Fortunately he also had bloodwork done, and it was very good, all his red and white blood cell counts were in very normal range. So that was a relief.
The reason I'm asking for advice is because his eyes seem to be especially worst when he rubs them. We've had him in a cone since October (poor thing), because ever since those 3 days when we took him off his medication and his eyes got worse, rubbing them seems to cause a lot of swelling and redness.
**To clarify: before, the swelling didn't really seem related to anything. Now, when he cleans his eyes, the eyelids flare up and they become very red and irritated. There have been times when he's managed to get his cone off, and when he does, we've come home to a kitty with very swollen, painful eyes. Once we get the cone on, the swelling goes down within a few hours. Since he's been in the cone for so long, he's also found ways of grooming his eyes, even with the cone on.
Has anyone had experience with a cat whose eye symptoms are made worst when they groom? He HAS had some improvement with the anti-viral and the Lactoferrin, but really swells up when he manages to groom. His eyelids also get swollen when we wipe them with a tissue or warm cloth. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Here is a photo of him when we got home from work and realized he had taken his cone off. This was taken right after we got it back on:
This was taken just about 24 hours after the first photo, you can see the big difference:
We took him back to the vet, who suggested that he might have herpes, and the test might have been a false negative, which is quite common. The vet suggested we keep him on the doxycycline and collyrium, but we also added an anti-viral, famciclovir. When we first started him on the famciclovir, the difference was exciting: his eyes started doing so much better. Since then it's been up and down. On Sunday, after reading through this forum, we started him on (bovine) Lactoferrin, 125 mg in the morning and at night mixed into his food. This also seemed to help a lot, but somehow we just can't kick this flare-up! Fortunately he also had bloodwork done, and it was very good, all his red and white blood cell counts were in very normal range. So that was a relief.
The reason I'm asking for advice is because his eyes seem to be especially worst when he rubs them. We've had him in a cone since October (poor thing), because ever since those 3 days when we took him off his medication and his eyes got worse, rubbing them seems to cause a lot of swelling and redness.
**To clarify: before, the swelling didn't really seem related to anything. Now, when he cleans his eyes, the eyelids flare up and they become very red and irritated. There have been times when he's managed to get his cone off, and when he does, we've come home to a kitty with very swollen, painful eyes. Once we get the cone on, the swelling goes down within a few hours. Since he's been in the cone for so long, he's also found ways of grooming his eyes, even with the cone on.
Has anyone had experience with a cat whose eye symptoms are made worst when they groom? He HAS had some improvement with the anti-viral and the Lactoferrin, but really swells up when he manages to groom. His eyelids also get swollen when we wipe them with a tissue or warm cloth. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Here is a photo of him when we got home from work and realized he had taken his cone off. This was taken right after we got it back on:
This was taken just about 24 hours after the first photo, you can see the big difference: