Food allergies or something else?

[5CatDraw]

I’m new here. Looks like I’ve found a great cat resource. Two weeks ago one of my 5 cats (Bailey, who is 12 years old) suddenly started having an issue with one eye. First it was just watering severely for a few days then the lid swelled up and became itchy and bald. The vet found no sign of infection in the eye and the lid was scraped to look for mites (no sign) plus a biopsy was taken from the lid. Those results came back negative for signs of autoimmune disease and ringworm. So through process of elimination my vet decided it is probably food allergies.

When Bailey was young she had what a different vet diagnosed as a chronic eye infection. Same eye. But the lid never swelled up like it did this time. So she was on an antibiotic ointment continuously for many months, then only as needed. Eventually it cleared up and didn’t come back. My current vet didn’t seem to think that was relevant, but I can’t help but wonder if it is.

So Bailey was on prednisolone for 10 days then switched to Apoquel. The eye is much improved, but still watering quite a bit. My vet suggested a Royal Canin food (Selected Protein PR) but I just can’t go there. At least not yet.

I’m finding it hard to believe that this is food allergies since it came on so quickly and I had not changed foods. But my vet says it can happen that way. ??? So I’m trying to formulate a food elimination plan.

For many years I have been free feeding an assortment of dry foods plus offering canned twice a day. The dry: Farmina Prime Chicken, Prime Wild Boar (also contains chicken) and Ocean Herring. Dr Elsey’s Chicken, and Salmon.

The wet: Mostly alternating between Farmina fish varieties and Wellness Core Tiny Tasters (all contain chicken). Occasionally Fancy Feast (all varieties contain fish) and sometimes a little bit of Gerber Chicken baby food (just chicken and corn starch).

So my thought was to change brands and also eliminate chicken and fish proteins, since pretty much everything Bailey had been eating contained both. But I’m finding that it is quite difficult to find foods (particularly dry foods) meeting this criteria without considering brands that seem low quality to me and have undesirable ingredients.

I read that Dr. Elsey’s recently made a slight recipe change for their dry Chicken (or maybe it was a sourcing change) and customers are reporting that their cats are not doing as well on it now. So I did eliminate both Dr. Elsey’s foods right away. I kind of want to first try just that change and leave everything else alone. On the other hand, from what I have read, statistically it is more likely that fish is the problem (over chicken) and all of the Farmina foods contain herring. Or maybe it is another problematic ingredient, or quality control issue, in one of the foods I’ve been feeding and not the proteins. I’m left not knowing what to try first.

This is going to be particularly challenging because I have 5 cats, all getting up in years and set in their ways. Although I know it is undesirable, for now I need to be able to keep free feeding a dry food. I would like to find a freeze dried that is small crunchy nuggets that my cats would be fooled into thinking is a dry. But so far no luck.

So, any thoughts for me? Reassurance that this does sound like a food allergy? Advice on what to try first for the elimination plan?

 

[white shadow]

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Hi 5CatDraw and the warmest of welcomes to the forum !

Something did cross my mind as I read Bailey's story, so I'll mention it as a FWIW. Over the years, I've had two cats who were carriers of herpesvirus. When their rare flareups occurred, in one cat it presented as only tearing and involved the right eye only; the second cat experienced right eye tearing and nasal discharge/sneezing. Outbreaks were immediately treated with high-dose L-lysine (500mg bid) and, within a 2-3 days, quelled. Herpesvirus was never definitively confirmed, just presumed. Another observation from 'cases' here on TCS is that of many cats presenting with single right eye tearing, but I can't speak to any generalization in diagnoses. Definitive diagnosis of FHV is by an expensive PCR test. Lysine 500mg capsules are inexpensive, with tasteless powder that's easily administered and is harmless at that indicated dose/duration. That might be a consideration for you.

And, an idea for your freeze-dried search.......a new thread in the 'Nutrition" forum with a two-sentence post and referencing this thread might just 'cough up' some suggestions/ideas.

Now, for the best part....................could we see Miss Bailey in person?
.

 

[5CatDraw]

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Hi 5CatDraw and the warmest of welcomes to the forum !

Something did cross my mind as I read Bailey's story, so I'll mention it as a FWIW. Over the years, I've had two cats who were carriers of herpesvirus. When their rare flareups occurred, in one cat it presented as only tearing and involved the right eye only; the second cat experienced right eye tearing and nasal discharge/sneezing. Outbreaks were immediately treated with high-dose L-lysine (500mg bid) and, within a 2-3 days, quelled. Herpesvirus was never definitively confirmed, just presumed. Another observation from 'cases' here on TCS is that of many cats presenting with single right eye tearing, but I can't speak to any generalization in diagnoses. Definitive diagnosis of FHV is by an expensive PCR test. Lysine 500mg capsules are inexpensive, with tasteless powder that's easily administered and is harmless at that indicated dose/duration. That might be a consideration for you.

And, an idea for your freeze-dried search.......a new thread in the 'Nutrition" forum with a two-sentence post and referencing this thread might just 'cough up' some suggestions/ideas.

Now, for the best part....................could we see Miss Bailey in person?
.

Thanks for the reply. I had the same thought about herpes from the online reading I have been doing. It is Bailey's left eye. It's interesting that you mentioned most cases seem to present in the right eye. But I assume it could show up in either eye (??) When I was talking to my vet by phone about the biopsy results I told her that Bailey came down with a bad cold a few days after she was in the clinic and my vet mentioned lysine to help her recover from that. So I did start giving her some lysine 3 days ago, but only 250 mg 1x. And in reality she probably got less than 250 mg because I'm using a powder mixed into a paste and attempting to smear it on her tongue. Her appetite is improving now so maybe I can get away with mixing it into some food, and I will up the dose for a few days. Her eye was already improving before the lysine, but it seems to have improved much more dramatically in the last couple days. What a relief it would be (to all of my cats) if this is herpes and not a food allergy. Photo is how her eye looks now. I didn't think to take one when it was really bad. Thanks again!!!

 

[lisahe]

Thanks for the reply. I had the same thought about herpes from the online reading I have been doing. It is Bailey's left eye. It's interesting that you mentioned most cases seem to present in the right eye. But I assume it could show up in either eye (??) When I was talking to my vet by phone about the biopsy results I told her that Bailey came down with a bad cold a few days after she was in the clinic and my vet mentioned lysine to help her recover from that. So I did start giving her some lysine 3 days ago, but only 250 mg 1x. And in reality she probably got less than 250 mg because I'm using a powder mixed into a paste and attempting to smear it on her tongue. Her appetite is improving now so maybe I can get away with mixing it into some food, and I will up the dose for a few days. Her eye was already improving before the lysine, but it seems to have improved much more dramatically in the last couple days. What a relief it would be (to all of my cats) if this is herpes and not a food allergy. Photo is how her eye looks now. I didn't think to take one when it was really bad. Thanks again!!!

One of our cats has been having a herpes flare, too, also in her left eye (from her perspective, not the human's perspective looking at her). It's always her left eye! (And it was the left eye in our previous cat, too.) She also gets occasional sneezing and a damp little cough/throat clearing.

I'm glad to see that l-lysine has been working for both your cat and white shadow 's -- Ireland's been s symptoms have been pretty light (she's been very energetic lately and even eating well) but I'd like to get this little flare out of her system sooner rather than later.

Here's hoping Bailey will be better soon, too!

P.S. I forgot to mention stress, which is always a big source of problems for Ireland, who's an anxious rescue cat. Pretty much anything we do to reduce stress -- give her lots of attention, keep the house extra-quiet, and so on -- helps limit her various "issues," which tend to feed on each other.

 

[5CatDraw]

One of our cats has been having a herpes flare, too, also in her left eye (from her perspective, not the human's perspective looking at her). It's always her left eye! (And it was the left eye in our previous cat, too.) She also gets occasional sneezing and a damp little cough/throat clearing.

I'm glad to see that l-lysine has been working for both your cat and white shadow 's -- Ireland's been s symptoms have been pretty light (she's been very energetic lately and even eating well) but I'd like to get this little flare out of her system sooner rather than later.

Here's hoping Bailey will be better soon, too!

P.S. I forgot to mention stress, which is always a big source of problems for Ireland, who's an anxious rescue cat. Pretty much anything we do to reduce stress -- give her lots of attention, keep the house extra-quiet, and so on -- helps limit her various "issues," which tend to feed on each other.

Thanks for the reply (and well wishes for Bailey). How often does Ireland have a herpes flare, and do you feel it is the symptoms in one eye that sets it apart from another cold virus?

I’m trying to gain a better understanding about a herpes flare vs other viruses that produce cold symptoms. Maybe you can help me with that.

The conversations I had with my vet didn’t fully make sense compared to what I’ve learned online. When I had Bailey into the clinic for the eyelid scraping and biopsy, my vet didn’t mention herpes as a possibility. Then when I talked to her a few days later and reported that Bailey now had pretty severe cold symptoms (sneezing with a lot of mucos), the vet suggested lysine (but still didn’t mention herpes). But when I googled lysine to learn more, it seems that its benefit is exclusively for herpes, not other viruses.

A few days after Bailey developed the cold symptoms, 2 more of my cats started sneezing and one of them is now extremely miserable. Lots of mucus to the point she is breathing through her mouth and even coughing up flem at times. But her eyes are mostly unaffected. Just a little bit of discharge.

So I’m wondering if Bailey’s initial eye issue was a herpes flare, but then she picked up some other virus while at the clinic and now that is making its way through my other 4 cats. ???

Or, if Bailey experienced an initial herpes flare with symptoms confined to her eye but then the stress of being in the clinic (particularly the biopsy) turned it into a very bad herpes flare with sneezing, and then she transmitted it to my other cats. In which case all 5 of my cats will now be carrying the herpes virus. :-(

 

[lisahe]

I wish I had real answers to your questions, 5CatDraw , but I don't. Ireland gets a runny eye every now and then, sometimes worse than others, but the throat thing has less frequent. Last year we had to bring her in to the vet because she was rubbing her left eye so much. The vet didn't mention herpes (I kind of wonder if maybe vets don't like to scare people with "herpes"?) but I'm pretty sure that's what was happening. As I mentioned, Ireland has always been an anxious cat, and stress can contribute to flares. Her symptoms tend to come and go very quickly. It's easy to see that she's best when things are very quiet in the house and (even more important) with her sister! They sometimes have tiffs. We notice that various forms of stress affect both cats quite a lot. Bad weather (which means no screen porch) is another minus. Unfortunately, we can't control much of that beyond noise! Calming aids (a little catnip in the food, a few drops of Rescue Remedy for pets) also seem to help Ireland. You might ask your vet if they have any recommendations for stress reduction. Breaking the cycle of the stress is really important.

Another thing you might want to ask about is eye drops since goopy eyes cause stress for a cat. Then the stress builds. I've used MicrocynAH ophthalmic gel for Ireland and it seems to help a lot. The vet didn't disapprove of that but she also gave us Rich's MSM drops, which work even better. Unfortunately, Ireland hates eye drops! Fortunately, she'll accept the gel.

Part of why I can't really offer much context is that, as white shadow mentioned above:

Herpesvirus was never definitively confirmed, just presumed.

Same here so it's hard to say for certain that the cats were/are/or ever will be dealing with herpes. I can say that our cats were both sick with upper respiratory infections shortly after we brought them home from a shelter. Ireland's the one with respiratory issues (she has asthma) so I always tend to think of anything remotely respiratory as being somehow related to allergies and/or asthma. This time, I was slow to put two and two together, despite the runny eye so missed my chance to act quickly! Our other cat has had very, very light signs of it: a damp (not runny) eye and a couple little throat-clearing sounds. Neither has sneezed more than once or twice in the last month or two. We saw sneezing and and a runny nose in our previous cat, who also came home from the shelter with a URI, a much worse case than Ireland and Edwina had. She had little flares about once a year.

A vet tech mentioned l-lysine for Ireland years ago when she had a flare but her very light symptoms disappeared quickly so I never used it. L-lysine seems to get mixed scientific and anecdotal reviews from clinical trials/studies, vets, and people like us but I'm going to try it on Ireland to see if it will give her a little push she needs to finish this flare off.

On another note, I looked back at your food question. We're still feeding Dr. Elsey's dry (chicken) food as a sort of topping and/or snack food for the cats. They still love it and have had no digestive problems.

 

[5CatDraw]

I wish I had real answers to your questions, 5CatDraw , but I don't. Ireland gets a runny eye every now and then, sometimes worse than others, but the throat thing has less frequent. Last year we had to bring her in to the vet because she was rubbing her left eye so much. The vet didn't mention herpes (I kind of wonder if maybe vets don't like to scare people with "herpes"?) but I'm pretty sure that's what was happening. As I mentioned, Ireland has always been an anxious cat, and stress can contribute to flares. Her symptoms tend to come and go very quickly. It's easy to see that she's best when things are very quiet in the house and (even more important) with her sister! They sometimes have tiffs. We notice that various forms of stress affect both cats quite a lot. Bad weather (which means no screen porch) is another minus. Unfortunately, we can't control much of that beyond noise! Calming aids (a little catnip in the food, a few drops of Rescue Remedy for pets) also seem to help Ireland. You might ask your vet if they have any recommendations for stress reduction. Breaking the cycle of the stress is really important.

Another thing you might want to ask about is eye drops since goopy eyes cause stress for a cat. Then the stress builds. I've used MicrocynAH ophthalmic gel for Ireland and it seems to help a lot. The vet didn't disapprove of that but she also gave us Rich's MSM drops, which work even better. Unfortunately, Ireland hates eye drops! Fortunately, she'll accept the gel.

Part of why I can't really offer much context is that, as white shadow mentioned above:

Same here so it's hard to say for certain that the cats were/are/or ever will be dealing with herpes. I can say that our cats were both sick with upper respiratory infections shortly after we brought them home from a shelter. Ireland's the one with respiratory issues (she has asthma) so I always tend to think of anything remotely respiratory as being somehow related to allergies and/or asthma. This time, I was slow to put two and two together, despite the runny eye so missed my chance to act quickly! Our other cat has had very, very light signs of it: a damp (not runny) eye and a couple little throat-clearing sounds. Neither has sneezed more than once or twice in the last month or two. We saw sneezing and and a runny nose in our previous cat, who also came home from the shelter with a URI, a much worse case than Ireland and Edwina had. She had little flares about once a year.

A vet tech mentioned l-lysine for Ireland years ago when she had a flare but her very light symptoms disappeared quickly so I never used it. L-lysine seems to get mixed scientific and anecdotal reviews from clinical trials/studies, vets, and people like us but I'm going to try it on Ireland to see if it will give her a little push she needs to finish this flare off.

On another note, I looked back at your food question. We're still feeding Dr. Elsey's dry (chicken) food as a sort of topping and/or snack food for the cats. They still love it and have had no digestive problems.

Thanks lisahe for taking the time to share so much. It really helps. You may be right that vets shy away from using the term herpes. Maybe they are afraid the owner will assume that their cat is being accused of being promiscuous.

I did read the mixed reviews on lysine for herpes, as you mentioned. My take is that it is worth doing on a short term basis, but not for long term use. It might be coincidence, but Bailey’s eye sure seemed to improve more quickly when I started giving it. But then I started the Apoquel at the same time, so . . . it’s too complicated to draw a firm conclusion.

The more I think through the situation it seems to me that the recurring eye issues that Bailey had when she was young was probably herpes flares. Her one eye would water excessively and she would squint. I don’t remember any sneezing going with it, or throat issues like you described. But I had even more cats back then plus was still fostering. So could easily have missed symptoms, or I'm just not remembering everything. A different vet back then had me keep her on an antibiotic ointment continuously for a while and then use it at first sign of squinting. I wonder now if the herpes flares were just running their course and the ointment was actually not helping at all. But it eventually stopped happening and it has been many, many years.

This eye issue that sent us to the vet on an urgent basis 2 weeks ago was different. It started out the same, with watering of that eye and squinting but then the eyelid swelled up and she was trying to scratch it which of course made it much worse. And she lost all of her hair on the eyelid.
So maybe that was not a herpes flare, but then the stress of going to the clinic, getting the biopsy, etc. is what brought on a pretty bad herpes flare, producing the sneezing and just clearly not feeling well.

My brain is still very reluctant to believe that the bizarre eyelid issue was brought on by food allergies. She does not have digestive problems that I’m aware of. But, my vet seems to be pretty convinced.

Bailey did go through quite a bit of stress as a kitten. She was the runt in a litter of 7 and they were weaned too young and she spent time in the shelter before I started fostering them. I grew attached to Bailey and the rest is history . . .

Ironically Bailey the runt grew to be a very large cat (16 lbs) and she really doesn’t have any stress in her life now, except when she has to go to the vet. Although now that I am trying to change her food and forcing pills down her, that is a little upsetting. But she is actually my most laid back cat. But maybe she worries about things and just doesn’t show it. Thanks again!

 

[stephanietx]

Has your weather changed recently or shortly before the weepy eye started? Has your household or schedule changed? Do you have more people coming and going or have a new work or school schedule?

I'm going to jump on the herpes bandwagon and it could be triggered by airborne allergies. Have you tried an antihistamine with her to see if it helps?

 

[lisahe]

5CatDraw , do you mean that your vet is convinced the eye problem is caused by a food allergy? Your vet obviously went to vet school and I didn't... but somehow that doesn't add up to me!

Bailey's previous symptoms that you describe make perfect sense to me, though: Ireland's symptoms have varied a lot, too. I gave her a small dose (1/16 teaspoon) of L-lysine this afternoon and hope it helps. She's generally doing pretty well but I'd love to stop her from rubbing her eye and doing that little throat clearing thing she does.

Bailey's history -- a tiny and underfed cat in a too-many-cats household when she was put up for adoption but now a large cat -- sounds like our other cat. She's laid back but also gets stressed easily (if that makes sense) largely because of her food insecurity and a dislike of loud noises of nearly any type.

Fingers crossed that Bailey does better soon!

 

[5CatDraw]

Has your weather changed recently or shortly before the weepy eye started? Has your household or schedule changed? Do you have more people coming and going or have a new work or school schedule?

I'm going to jump on the herpes bandwagon and it could be triggered by airborne allergies. Have you tried an antihistamine with her to see if it helps?

Thanks for the reply. No change in household schedule. But something I didn’t even think about – two days before I noticed the weepy eye starting, the vet was at my house for exams on my dogs. So that very well could have been quite upsetting to Bailey, even though she was hiding the entire time, along with the other cats. Interesting thought. Maybe my seemingly laid back cat is more susceptible to worry than I thought.

So airborne allergies would definitely make more sense to me than food allergies (based on her symptoms). But I can’t think of any recent change in the house that could have introduced a new allergen. But you mentioned that an airborne allergy could trigger a herpes event? So maybe it was a perfect storm of an allergen kind of bothering her for a while, but no noticeable symptoms, then that plus the stress of having the vet in my house brought on a herpes flare? Hmmm.

An antihistamine has not been tried, but she was put on prednisolone and that stopped her from wanting to scratch the eye and it did start to get better. Then 10 days later I stopped the prednisolone and started Apoquel and then two days after that, lysine. From what I’ve read about Apoquel, it produces results similar to an antihistamine, but does it in a different way. It is an “immunomodulatory” (my eyes glazed over as I read on about exactly how it works).

So the eye has been gradually getting better, but it is hard to say what has helped the most - or if it would have improved at the same rate even if I had given her nothing.

I’ve also been trying to make changes in her diet for the last week but my efforts have been pretty half-assed, so that probably has made no difference. I’m thinking I will keep her on Apoquel for a few more days and if the eye is nearly back to normal then I will stop Apoquel to see if the symptoms come back. If they do, then it could be either airborne or food allergies. If the eye doesn’t worsen, then I think that will point heavily toward herpes. Does that sound reasonable? Thanks for some good detective work. You brought up some good food for thought.

 

[5CatDraw]

5CatDraw , do you mean that your vet is convinced the eye problem is caused by a food allergy? Your vet obviously went to vet school and I didn't... but somehow that doesn't add up to me!

Bailey's previous symptoms that you describe make perfect sense to me, though: Ireland's symptoms have varied a lot, too. I gave her a small dose (1/16 teaspoon) of L-lysine this afternoon and hope it helps. She's generally doing pretty well but I'd love to stop her from rubbing her eye and doing that little throat clearing thing she does.

Bailey's history -- a tiny and underfed cat in a too-many-cats household when she was put up for adoption but now a large cat -- sounds like our other cat. She's laid back but also gets stressed easily (if that makes sense) largely because of her food insecurity and a dislike of loud noises of nearly any type.

Fingers crossed that Bailey does better soon!

Yes, after finding no evidence of mites on Bailey’s eyelid and no findings from the biopsy (which ruled out an autoimmune disease or ringworm), the vet decided food allergy is the most likely culprit. I was kind of in disbelief at that conclusion. But of course, I’m not a vet either . . . but I guess I try to play amateur vet with my online research.

stephanietx mentioned herpes flares being triggered by airborne allergies, which is an interesting thought and sure seems more plausible to me than food allergies. But I’m eager to discount food allergies since it is going to be stressful on all 5 cats (and me!) to change their food.

Bailey was such a pathetic little thing when I started fostering the whole litter. She was half the size of the other kittens, so they beat up on her a lot and I was always protecting her. I’ve often wondered if all of them grew up to be as large as she is. I like to jokingly say that “she’s just big boned”, but she is also overweight.

Fingers crossed that a lysine boost is just what Ireland needed too.

 

[lisahe]

stephanietx stephanietx mentioned herpes flares being triggered by airborne allergies, which is an interesting thought and sure seems more plausible to me than food allergies. But I’m eager to discount food allergies since it is going to be stressful on all 5 cats (and me!) to change their food.

I agree that stephanietx 's theory sounds more plausible. If there's something airborne it could irritate and stress Bailey. But food allergies, I don't know... Maybe I'm thinking differently because our previous cat had itching on her belly (which she licked bare) and her butt (which she dragged on the floor). She also digestive diarrhea. Articles from Cornell and VCA (I inserted links on the names) have some good summaries of food allergies in cats.

Bailey and Edwina certainly do have things in common!

Here's to L-lysine!

 

[stephanietx]

Cats are very sensitive to any kind of change, so an "intruder" in the house that sent her into hiding would possibly be enough to trigger the herpes response. I had a herpes kitty who lived to be 15 and we dealt with all kinds of triggers, mainly stress and weather changes and airborne allergies. She was a good predictor of the weather! You can try adding Feliway or Comfort Zone diffusers to your house to see if that helps decrease the stress level. I wouldn't try to change food right now as that could be another stressor.

 

[white shadow]

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When you go to treat a herpes outbreak, you need to use a high dose of it, and after it has quelled, a lesser dose for a period of a week or so.

The starting dose is (at least) 500mg twice daily (every 12 hours).It's important to adhere to the 12-hour mark in order to keep the lysine level in the blood as equal as possible during treatment. Once the flare has stopped, continue that regimen at a reduced dosage of 250mg (twice daily) for a week to ten days. Some people will use Lysine daily/every few days prophylactically at half that dosage.

Forget "reviews".......collections of opinions of uninformed/unqualified "reviewers" !

I am unsurprised at any amount of eye damage from herpesvirus. Cats' eyes have been lost to this virus. This picture is from The Cat* by Dr. Susan Little, a prominent feline specialist.

* That's a link to "Chapter 33 - Infectious Diseases" which covers FHV and in which she mentions L-lysine to treat it.

Clinician's Brief has a comprehensive article on the use of L-lysine here. (subscription if free - a worthwhile bookmark!).


Now, 5CatDraw , none of this is to suggest that Bailey's eye condition is caused by FHV. A trial of "bolus dosing" L-Lysine is a safe, inexpensive test from which one might make a presumptive diagnosis.
.

 

[5CatDraw]

.
When you go to treat a herpes outbreak, you need to use a high dose of it, and after it has quelled, a lesser dose for a period of a week or so.

The starting dose is (at least) 500mg twice daily (every 12 hours).It's important to adhere to the 12-hour mark in order to keep the lysine level in the blood as equal as possible during treatment. Once the flare has stopped, continue that regimen at a reduced dosage of 250mg (twice daily) for a week to ten days. Some people will use Lysine daily/every few days prophylactically at half that dosage.

Forget "reviews".......collections of opinions of uninformed/unqualified "reviewers" !

I am unsurprised at any amount of eye damage from herpesvirus. Cats' eyes have been lost to this virus. This picture is from The Cat* by Dr. Susan Little, a prominent feline specialist.

View attachment 469262​

* That's a link to "Chapter 33 - Infectious Diseases" which covers FHV and in which she mentions L-lysine to treat it.

Clinician's Brief has a comprehensive article on the use of L-lysine here. (subscription if free - a worthwhile bookmark!).


Now, 5CatDraw , none of this is to suggest that Bailey's eye condition is caused by FHV. A trial of "bolus dosing" L-Lysine is a safe, inexpensive test from which one might make a presumptive diagnosis.
.

Wow – that poor cat! The picture says it all regarding the power of the herpes virus. If it turns out that this was a herpes outbreak then it makes me sick that I put Bailey through an eyelid scraping and a biopsy. Things might have turned out much better if I hadn’t even taken her into the clinic but had learned then about herpes and lysine. Then two more of my cats may have been spared their misery too.

I will up the lysine dose that I’m giving, and continue for a while as you described.

Thanks for those links. I will go check them out now. Sounds like “The Cat” is a book I should look into purchasing. Thanks for some great info.

 

[5CatDraw]

I agree that stephanietx 's theory sounds more plausible. If there's something airborne it could irritate and stress Bailey. But food allergies, I don't know... Maybe I'm thinking differently because our previous cat had itching on her belly (which she licked bare) and her butt (which she dragged on the floor). She also digestive diarrhea. Articles from Cornell and VCA (I inserted links on the names) have some good summaries of food allergies in cats.

Bailey and Edwina certainly do have things in common!

Here's to L-lysine!

Thanks for those links. Good info. This statement from the Cornell article really captures my reluctance to embrace my vet’s food allergy diagnosis: “The most visible signs of a food allergy—the persistent scratching, the emergence of skin lesions, loss of hair, and a general deterioration of the coat—do not develop overnight. Instead, they tend to become evident and intensify over extended periods of time—months or even longer …”
This eyelid issue definitely came on suddenly. I pointed this out to my vet but she insisted the effects of food allergies can happen that way.

You mentioned a previous cat with food allergies that does raise a nagging thought – in the last couple years the hair on Bailey’s stomach has thinned and now that area is covered with only short soft hair. But the rest of her coat looks good. She doesn’t seem to groom her stomach any more than other parts of her body, and I really don’t think she is an excessive groomer compared to my other cats. But maybe a little bit more.

From what you have described with both of your cats (and white shadow’s info) plus more reading I’ve done, it sure seems that since Bailey’s symptoms were confined to one eye, it does point toward herpes. And the fact that she had a history of pretty classic herpes flare symptoms when she was younger, in the same eye, points even more strongly. So at this point I have hope that when I stop Apoquel there is a good chance the eye issue will not resume – at least until she has another herpes flare. I’m going to increase the lysine dose per white shadow’s recommendation. I’m very conservative with meds, but this is probably not a time for that.

I will probably continue my half-assed attempt to change foods, but so far that is not going well and is only creating stress.

At least my oldest (Jodie) is starting to feel better today. As I mentioned, after Bailey came back from her biopsy and started showing severe cold symptoms, Jodie and another cat then got sick. It hit Jodie really hard and she has been very miserable. She started eating again 2 days ago so I have been slipping a little lysine into her food, so maybe that helped (???). I hope Ireland is well on the road to recovery now and that Edwina (great name!) stays healthy.

 

[5CatDraw]

Cats are very sensitive to any kind of change, so an "intruder" in the house that sent her into hiding would possibly be enough to trigger the herpes response. I had a herpes kitty who lived to be 15 and we dealt with all kinds of triggers, mainly stress and weather changes and airborne allergies. She was a good predictor of the weather! You can try adding Feliway or Comfort Zone diffusers to your house to see if that helps decrease the stress level. I wouldn't try to change food right now as that could be another stressor.

And not just any intruder, but one who's voice Bailey associates with surgery. She had surgery a few months ago to remove a lump at the base of her ear. I have probably been underestimating the effect of stress on Bailey because she seems so laid back to me. I used to use Feliway diffusers. I will get some refills. I'm thinking some spray too for when cats have to go to the vet. I can spray a little in the carrier.
I am absolutely going to go with your recommendation to not change food right now!!! I was headed that direction anyway. It's causing stress in all 5 cats, which makes me stressed.
What types of airborne allergies bothered your cat?

 

[stephanietx]

And not just any intruder, but one who's voice Bailey associates with surgery. She had surgery a few months ago to remove a lump at the base of her ear. I have probably been underestimating the effect of stress on Bailey because she seems so laid back to me. I used to use Feliway diffusers. I will get some refills. I'm thinking some spray too for when cats have to go to the vet. I can spray a little in the carrier.
I am absolutely going to go with your recommendation to not change food right now!!! I was headed that direction anyway. It's causing stress in all 5 cats, which makes me stressed.
What types of airborne allergies bothered your cat?

We live in Texas, so seasonal changes were hard, especially winter to spring and then fall to winter. We also have ragweed pollen in the fall, cedar/ashe juniper in the winter, and oak in the spring. Dust also was a trigger and windy days were harder on her.

 

[lisahe]

Cats are very sensitive to any kind of change, so an "intruder" in the house that sent her into hiding would possibly be enough to trigger the herpes response. I had a herpes kitty who lived to be 15 and we dealt with all kinds of triggers, mainly stress and weather changes and airborne allergies. She was a good predictor of the weather! You can try adding Feliway or Comfort Zone diffusers to your house to see if that helps decrease the stress level. I wouldn't try to change food right now as that could be another stressor.

A resounding yes to all this! Our cats are very accurate devices for measuring changes in barometric pressure. (Side note: I just noticed that this is apparently called meteoropathy.) We can't use a plug-in diffuser but the Rescue Remedy (for pets) drops and catnip I mentioned above seem to help. I've also given Composure chews/treats but one cat got tired of them and the other seemed to have a digestive problem with them.

Thank you, white shadow , for all the detail on L-lysine doses. Ireland did fine with her 1/16 teaspoon test yesterday (just to be sure she wouldn't barf, I have to start everything in small doses with these two) so I'm going to give her more today. Fortunately she's in a good mood so far today, despite the start of a drop in barometric pressure! (Her sister, on the other hand, definitely seems to be feeling it.)

You mentioned a previous cat with food allergies that does raise a nagging thought – in the last couple years the hair on Bailey’s stomach has thinned and now that area is covered with only short soft hair. But the rest of her coat looks good. She doesn’t seem to groom her stomach any more than other parts of her body, and I really don’t think she is an excessive groomer compared to my other cats. But maybe a little bit more.

Yes, Brooksie barbered her belly, which can be a sign of food allergies. Come to think of it, Ireland also barbered, though it's unclear why: I think it was stress (she caught and killed a mouse that I quickly took away from her) but the vet thought it was probably allergies. She's been on antihistamines pretty much ever since, though I want to ask the (new) vet if we could use less. Though the slight sedative effect is useful for her anxiety. And we do have plenty of dust in the house. Alas. On the positive side, Ireland hasn't barbered in 3+ years now.

It hit Jodie really hard and she has been very miserable. She started eating again 2 days ago so I have been slipping a little lysine into her food, so maybe that helped (???). I hope Ireland is well on the road to recovery now and that Edwina (great name!) stays healthy.

I'm glad Jodie's feeling better! Ireland's been especially energetic today and she certainly doesn't mind the L-lysine, which I've been mixing into Fancy Feast turkey pate for her. She's had 1/4 teaspoon so far today. Edwina eye (also the left, from her perspective) is also slightly runny but it's barely noticeable. I wish I could take credit for her name but they were named at the shelter! The cats were new there so didn't know their names and it would have been fine to change them. But the names fit them perfectly!

Here's hoping for the best for all these cats of ours!!