FVR spread

[alishasheryl]

Hi everyone,

My cat Milo is two years old and was adopted about 3 weeks ago. When he was at the animal shelter he was given a round of eye drops for an eye infection, but I don't have information on what medication was given. He was also given a distemper shot while he was there. He had both reddish-brown crusty discharge and watery discharge, with a squinty eye. When I took him for his wellness checkup after adopting him, the vet said that if the discharge didn't clear up (he had just been neutered as well) to call and get more drops.

I ended up calling her 6 days ago and getting Tobramycin, which he has been getting 3x a day for the past 6 days (I am supposed to do 4-6 but it has been a struggle to get the drops in his eye

 ) His eyes are looking better but not completely clear, there is still watery discharge. I'm going to call the vet tomorrow to get more drops, since I've lost half of them in the process. 

My question is, if this condition persists and it turns out that his runny eyes are caused by FVR, how worried should I be about my other cat (Marvin) getting runny eyes? Marvin is 5 years old, also was a shelter cat, and has gotten his distemper shot. Right now they are separated as they are being introduced to each other, but I know it can be spread through bedding and from me petting them as well. My hope is that Marvin has already been exposed to the virus at his age and would be asymptomatic, but I am just wondering if that's how it works. 

Thank you! 

 

[catwoman707]

So when you say distemper shot, do you mean the standard FVRCP vaccine?

If so, this stands for Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia (or distemper/parvo)

It clearly sounds to me that your new kitty will be an FVR kitty, however once settled and comfy in his new home, and is eating a healthier diet, the stress levels out and the virus will fade away. Until another stressful time when you will see watery eyes, etc.

As for your cat, I would think he is protected, vaccines are not 100%, but close, the majority of cats will be protected from this virus.

Those who do happen to pick up the virus, will have MUCH milder symptoms that will clear up and usually never return again.

So no real worries there

 

[alishasheryl]

Thank you for your reply! Yes, that is what I meant by the distemper. Ok, that was my main concern. I just didn't want the other cat to get severe symptoms himself! Thanks  

 

[stephanietx]

I have a kitty with chronic feline herpes and none of my other 3 kitties have been affected by it.  The runny eyes could be triggered by the stress of a new environment.  That's very common with kitties in new environments.  You can add L-Lysine to some wet food twice a day to help as well as the drops.  You can L-Lysine tablets at Wal-Mart in the supplement section.  Just crush up a 500mg tablet between two spoons and add with a bit of water to wet food.  Also, you might ask the vet for Gentimicin drops.  I've had more luck with those than Tobramycin.