Mandarin's Herpes - Suggestions on Management?

[nekochan]

Originally Posted by LadyHitchhiker

Yay!
Are their ANY dry foods out there that are grain free?

Yes, plenty. Some dry grain free cat foods include:
Orijen
Wellness CORE
EVO
Taste of the Wild
Solid Gold Indigo Moon
NOW Grain Free
Felidae Grain Free
Nature's Variety Instinct
Acana Provincial Pacifica
Ziwipeak
Natural Balance Grain Free
Before Grain

(Note-- some of those brands have grain-free and grain-containing formulas so be sure to check which one it is before you buy.)

Originally Posted by LadyHitchhiker

Just gave Mandarin the treats and he LOVED them. Yaaaaaaaaaaay! So I was wondering if we buy a bag of treats, how many servings is it? vet doesn't usually carry them - they were samples he gave us - but he could get them.

Which brand of treats is it?

 

[addiebee]

Glad to hear about Mandarin eating the lysine treats!

Purina Naturals is not grain free. It has 2 forms of corn and wheat, as well as soy - while not a grain it is often a source of intolerances in cats.

Go to the nutrition forum and ask about dry grain free. I do give my boys some grain eventhough there is suspected FHV in my household as well as irritable bowel - b/c of urinary Ph. So tricky to sort all this out but I found a combo that works.

Some of the grain frees are too rich and need to be mixed with a little high quality grained food. So you just try to strike the right balance.

I feed Taste of the Wild Feline dry and combine Authority, Nutro and certain Fancy Feast wets ( classic pate's do not have grain in them. read labels carefully.)

It also depends on what is available in your area.

They get grain free treats - I use EVO herring and salmon dry, as well as PureBites freeze dried cooked chicken.

 

[ladyhitchhiker]

I'll just write everything down from the sample pack:
enisyl-F Vetiquinol
0.4 oz (11.3) g)
palatable lysine supplement.

I'll get down to the pet store soon and see what kinds of grain free food we have... I guess I misread it or it was misleading by saying it was - sorry brain not working from allergy meds took sudafed benadryl and allergra for welts on body - and see what I can come up with!

Just want Princess Mandarin safe and healthy and happy.

 

[stephanietx]

We get Wellness CORE at PetCo and Taste of the Wild from the feed store.

Is his eye just runny and goopy or does he have an eye ulcer or something like that going on?

 

[ladyhitchhiker]

His eye is pink and inflamed. No goop or else I would have probably already done the drops but we haven't done those at all.

I must say I see a SIGNIFICANT difference in Mandarin's behavior last night. He's like a kitten again. He is extremely playful and loveable so I'm thinking the lysine must be making him feel MUCH better. Gotta get more!

And go to the pet store and figure out what I'm going to feed him.

Are wellness core and taste of the wild too rich and I have to supplement some grainier foods?

 

[carolina]

Originally Posted by LadyHitchhiker

His eye is pink and inflamed. No goop or else I would have probably already done the drops but we haven't done those at all.

I must say I see a SIGNIFICANT difference in Mandarin's behavior last night. He's like a kitten again. He is extremely playful and loveable so I'm thinking the lysine must be making him feel MUCH better. Gotta get more!

And go to the pet store and figure out what I'm going to feed him.

Are wellness core and taste of the wild too rich and I have to supplement some grainier foods?

They are rich... Especially Core.... TOTW is more accepted, and the one I like the most is Orijen, the best one in quality, IMO (expensive, though). I am not sure where you are, but Pet Supplies Plus generally have a pretty good selection of grain free foods - mine carries all brands available pretty much, aside from ACANA (Orijen sister's brand).
No, you do not need to complement it with grains...

 

[stephanietx]

You can also go to the manufacturers' websites and find out which stores in your area carry the food you're looking for. Also, you may be able to email the manufacturers and explain your situation and see if they'll send you some tester bags free or if they've got coupons they could send you.

Remember to do a gradual switch so you don't shock the system and end up with other problems. I got a little tester bag of TOTW and used that as treats prior to giving it to my girl for her food. Then, I mixed it half and half for about 2 weeks, then 1/4 old-3/4 new for a week or so, then finally went full-force on the new stuff. I donated the leftover old food to the Humane Society or offered it on my local Freecycle group.

I have another "recipe" in my files at home for homemade saline eyedrops that might help with the irritation. I'll try to post it when I get home tonight after work.

 

[taryn]

I just sprinkle the powder(Viralys) on their dry food(Solid Gold-Indigo moon, it's grain free.) I just sprinkle it on I don't wet it or anything. I figure even if some doesn't stick they are still getting enough, it keeps Attitude's eyes under control. She's on Doxy right now for an eye infection so I'll see how it goes once she's off it. I also added some to the fountain, but I just did that today so we'll see how that works.

I sprinkle it all over the food so they can't just 'eat around it.' The paste Viralys is nasty, it is maple flavored and mine hated it. They don't seem to mind the powder that much, they still eat everything in their bowls.

I only feed them each 1/3 cup of food a day and I have no problems with most of it staying on the food and them eating it.

Taryn

 

[carolina]

Originally Posted by Taryn

I just sprinkle the powder(Viralys) on their dry food(Solid Gold-Indigo moon, it's grain free.) I just sprinkle it on I don't wet it or anything. I figure even if some doesn't stick they are still getting enough, it keeps Attitude's eyes under control. She's on Doxy right now for an eye infection so I'll see how it goes once she's off it. I also added some to the fountain, but I just did that today so we'll see how that works.

I sprinkle it all over the food so they can't just 'eat around it.' The paste Viralys is nasty, it is maple flavored and mine hated it. They don't seem to mind the powder that much, they still eat everything in their bowls.

I only feed them each 1/3 cup of food a day and I have no problems with most of it staying on the food and them eating it.

Taryn

Taryn, I am not sure about adding Viralys to the fountain though, first because it is not pure, and I am not sure about what is in that "palatable base", and if it can be in the water for an extended amount of time without harvesting bacteria... Second because of the cost - but that's with you... Now foods is 100% pure Lysine powder, so it is a different thing... Just a note...

 

[taryn]

I'm starting to get low on my Viralys so I am switching to NOW once I'm out.

I have added it to their water in the past and have never had any issues with it. I use a Petco fountain and have to add water to it every day so it quickly get diluted down(and I only add 500 mg to the entire fountain which holds 50 oz so it is already very diluted.) I don't add more until I clean the fountain and change the filter(2 weeks unless the water get dirty.) Attitude is having a flare right now so she needed a little extra.

Taryn

 

[ladyhitchhiker]

What kind of fat level and protein level am I looking for when I'm looking at food? Evo looked very expensive - 9.00 for only 2.2 pounds - but very very full of protein.

My vet said that cats need a lot more fat than people do in order to make their organs run properly because they don't absorb carbs the way people do.

Taste of the Wild is something we had here and seemed reasonable.

I just don't know what I'm doing when it comes to this nutrition stuff.

 

[taryn]

If ToW was available here I would get it. Unfortunately once you factor shipping it it is way too expensive. It seems to be a favorite among foods fed. Like I said if I could hold of some and not have to pay out the rear(way beyond my means) I would be feeding it to Attitude and Nuts.

ToW dry has 42% protein and 18% fat

Taryn

 

[ladyhitchhiker]

So we decided to buy the neopolydex but we're only saving it for when Mandarin gets green in the eyeball again. We started him on viralys powder a few days ago and his eye is all the way open for the first time in MONTHS and he's really spunky. He's like a kitten again! So hopefully keep your fingers crossed that he will keep on the road to recovery!

Haven't switched his food yet. Kinda want to take one treatment at a time for a while and see how he's doing. So if the viralys loses it's efficacy then I'll look at changing his food. I'm just so glad he's feeling better!

 

[otto]

That's great news! So he eats the powder in his food okay? I see it is marketed as having a "palatable" base.

Now Mandarin should be on the l-lysine for life. In a year or two you can probably cut him back to a maintenance dose, just increasing if he shows signs of a flareup.

Keep us posted!

 

[ladyhitchhiker]

We put it in his water bowl and he totally doesn't care that it's there!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

I have a question though. Since both cats share the water bowl, should I put double the amount of the minimum required amount to insure that he gets the minimum dose or just keep it on the minimum dose?