Sneezing, Azithromycin, L-Lysine

[tessie7]

Hi all - Smoke (age approx 3 years) started sneezing Sunday. Quite a few times a day, and many consecutively. Went to the vet Tue, where everything else looked great, and Dr prescribed Azithromycin antibiotic 1x/day and L-Lysine 2x/day to treat potential bacterial or viral infections. Since Tue, it seems he's sneezing more, and today I'm noticing his right eye and right nostril is more watery than usual. He's also seemingly gagging every so often, but not throwing up. However, he's eating, sleeping, and playing as usual, however, with the interruption of sneezes/gagging.

If this is a URI, is this the normal progression? Like, the infection could get worse before it gets better? I've read this can last 7-10 days with sneezing lasting even up to 4 wks. I haven't been through this before with a cat, so not sure what to expect and if this is normal.

For background, I myself have been having major sneezing issues. We live in Phoenix where allergies are high right now. Do cats get allergies like humans? It's also really dusty, in general, and with doors starting to be opened with the nice weather, even more so inside the house. He's adopted (Dec 2020) and was a street kitten/cat prior, so we don't know his health history or any past issues as a kitten.

TIA!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It sounds like your Vet thinks Smoke has Feline Herpes, which is extremely common, so don't panic. But that may be why he put him on L-Lysine. Does that sound right? Did he mention Herpes as a diagnosis? If he's not improving by now with the antibiotics, and in fact seems to be getting worse, I'd contact the Vet again and let them know. And if it's effecting one of his eyes, they really should know that too. If his eye is simply watering, that's one thing, but if there is any gunk present, he may need some eye ointment or drops for that too.

As far as cats having allergies, you bet they can. Many people here give Zyrtec to their cats. Of course, your Vet should discuss that with you too, as far as how much, which med to give, how much, etc. (One of our guys seemed to be really itchy, so our Vet suggested using children's benedry since he didn't have fleas. )

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It can take a full 72 hours for a medication to reach theraputic levels in the blood. The really good news is that he is eating well, so you can, if necessary, wait until Monday to call the vet. But if there is no real improvement before then, by all means, do so!

 

[tessie7]

mrsgreenjeens - yes the vet mentioned herpes and mentioned it could be something he picked up earlier but will stay with him. I myself take Lysine for cold sores so sadly I can relate.

I did call the vet today to update her and she recommended first switching antibiotics to Amoxycylin but did caveat that if this is viral they won’t really help but would only serve to potentially ward off any bacterial illness. She was hoping the Lysine would’ve helped.

Maybe this is part of the process, it just needs to get out of his system?

 

[stephanietx]

Have you tried an antihistamine?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

For Herpes, most people use L-Lysine ALL THE TIME, then during a flare-up,which appears to be happening, they bump up the amount to twice the norm. Did your Vet discuss that?

 

[tessie7]

mrsgreenjeens , yes, we are doing 2x/day doses of Lysine and will to 1x/day after the antibiotics are completed. GREAT news is that things are vastly improved. After having the craziest sneezing/snotty day on Sunday, he finally turned the corner. Not sure if it was switching the antibiotics or just the natural order of thing, but I am so very happy he's ok. Thank you all for your help!