When I adopted Rosie and Lilly in April they both had the shelter crud and did 21 days of doxy given to me by the shelter. After they were done Rosie seemed to get it again so I took her to my vet. The vet guesses she has Herpes (she came from a hoarder and had kittens before she was 1) We did 2 more rounds of antibiotics and she is much better, no more runny eyes or nose, but still sounds like she has a stuffy nose. My vet had me start both girls on Lysine (Lilly is symptom free, but they eat out of each other's dishes) when we started Rosie on the 2nd round of antibiotics. So my question is: we are currently using Viralys, is there any difference other then price between Viralys, Now, and Tomyln brands? And does anyone have any experience adding Lactoferrin to the treatment? Can both cats use the Lactoferrin since we food share? If you like the lactoferrin what brand do you use.
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Stuffy Nose
- Thread starter sarah78
- Start Date
She most likely does have herpes, which just complicates healing, especially from URI. You can use human grade Lysine instead of the viralys. I use the VitaCost brand. It comes in a 1 lb jar and I add 1/4 teaspoon to food twice a day. (1/4 t = 435 mg) To help clear up the stuffiness, you can try steaming her in the bathroom. Get the bathroom good and steamy, then sit in there with her until the steam dissipates. Switching to a grain-free diet will probably help as well. The arginine in grains contributes to the herpes virus replicating. We tried lactoferrin for 3 months, but didn't see that it helped much, but I know others have used it with much success. The only thing I can say is try it and see if it works. We used the Jarrow brand Lactoferrin made from beef.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Thanks for the help. I have taken her in the bathroom during a long hot shower, it helps a bit. When she was more acutely ill I did saline drops and 1/2 strength afrin (she did get a lot of mucus out with the afrin). We even bulb suctioned her nose (the respiratory therapist in me came out big time) Since now she acts fine, only sounds stuffy I'll order some lactoferrin this week when I get more lysine. Not 100% sure the lysine is doing a whole lot, but I'll give one more tub a shot.
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- #4
The lysine doesn't necessarily clear up the stuffiness, but it boosts the immune system by interfering with the replication of the herpes virus. Humans with herpes use it daily to help defend the virus as well. Rosie may never sound normal, so "stuffy" might be normal for her. My herpes girl sneezes frequently. That's normal for her, even with a daily antihistamine, lysine, and a grain-free diet. But, she's totally healthy and feisty. When my Hannah gets a bit too sneezy, we do a course of Gentamycin or Tobramycin drops for about 4 days and that helps. You can do those in the eyes and nose, if need be. Something else to know is that steroids are big no-nos for herpes kitties since steroids suppress the immune system. The eye/nose drops do contain a tiny bit of steroids, but after a lengthy consultation with our vet, we feel like the amount of steroid contained in the drops isn't enough to be concerned with, especially since we don't use them daily.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #6
Excellent update!
