Cat Uri/congestion Coming Back!!!

So my cat had been diagnosed with a URI July 25. She was given Clamavoc and after 6days she started vomitting so we had to switch her on Azithromycine(antibiotic) and Famciclovir(anti viral). When she finished the antibiotic she did get better. I sent her to the vet for a check up visit and she said the cat was a little congested still so she ordered and xray which did come out to be normal. The vet gave me some more antibiotics and antivirals but because of some other stuff she told me to discontinue both because the cat was diagnosed with cholangiohepatitis(long story) so i had to stop giving her to them. She is currently on medication for cholangiohepatitis and has two other antibiotics(Orbax and Metronidazole) which the vet told me it should help her with the URI as well. Well she has become congested again but she’s not sneezing, coughing and doesn’t have runny eyes. Just Congested!!!!
I called the vet and they told me to give her the Famciclovir(antiviral) and I also added L-Lysing powder to her diet(just started it today)
So my questions are:
1-Has anybody experienced a URI that comes back to the cat(just congestion)?
2-What did you do in this case?
3-Does the L-Lysine powder work and how long does it take to work?
Thanks in advance I’m very frustrated and haven’t gotten enough sleep because of this annoying URI congestion that my cat has. It’s sooo frustrating! Please share your experiences with me.

Hi! Regarding #2, if you aren't already, can you put her in a bathroom with a steamy shower, 10-15 minutes a couple times a day?
Or make a tent/get or borrow a plant hydration tent and a small humidifier.

L-lysine has conflicting reviews as to whether or not it works and I don't know how long it would take, but I'm most definitely keeping my fingers crossed for you that it helps!!

We've struggled with this problem for more than five years with one of our cats, and doggone it, we still haven't stumbled across any kind of mystical and magical cure yet. But hope springs eternal, or something like that.

Thus far, the best we and the vet have been able to come up with for our chronically snuffly kitty is to give him lactoferrin along with the L-lysine (per this old thread that we discussed with our vet awhile back: Stubborn herpes infection? Add Lactoferrin in addition to Lysine).

How long does it take to kick in? To be honest, I don't really know, because Buddy has FIV and FHV (as well as some other health issues), and gets a maintenance dose of each supplement as part of his twice daily routine. But we have found, at least in his case, that if we double the dosage at the earliest hint that he's about to have a flare-up, the upper respiratory symptoms don't seem quite as severe. It's not a perfect solution, but some relief is better than none.

Good luck, and hope your fur baby is blissfully congestion free soon!

cheeser said:

We've struggled with this problem for more than five years with one of our cats, and doggone it, we still haven't stumbled across any kind of mystical and magical cure yet. But hope springs eternal, or something like that.

Thus far, the best we and the vet have been able to come up with for our chronically snuffly kitty is to give him lactoferrin along with the L-lysine (per this old thread that we discussed with our vet awhile back: Stubborn herpes infection? Add Lactoferrin in addition to Lysine).

How long does it take to kick in? To be honest, I don't really know, because Buddy has FIV and FHV (as well as some other health issues), and gets a maintenance dose of each supplement as part of his twice daily routine. But we have found, at least in his case, that if we double the dosage at the earliest hint that he's about to have a flare-up, the upper respiratory symptoms don't seem quite as severe. It's not a perfect solution, but some relief is better than none.

Good luck, and hope your fur baby is blissfully congestion free soon!

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Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I have a question though. Do you give Buddy L-Lysine everyday or do you just give it until the congestion is gone?

cheeser said:

We've struggled with this problem for more than five years with one of our cats, and doggone it, we still haven't stumbled across any kind of mystical and magical cure yet. But hope springs eternal, or something like that.

Thus far, the best we and the vet have been able to come up with for our chronically snuffly kitty is to give him lactoferrin along with the L-lysine (per this old thread that we discussed with our vet awhile back: Stubborn herpes infection? Add Lactoferrin in addition to Lysine).

How long does it take to kick in? To be honest, I don't really know, because Buddy has FIV and FHV (as well as some other health issues), and gets a maintenance dose of each supplement as part of his twice daily routine. But we have found, at least in his case, that if we double the dosage at the earliest hint that he's about to have a flare-up, the upper respiratory symptoms don't seem quite as severe. It's not a perfect solution, but some relief is better than none.

Good luck, and hope your fur baby is blissfully congestion free soon!

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Thank you for your advice. Much appreciated

Furballsmom said:

Hi! Regarding #2, if you aren't already, can you put her in a bathroom with a steamy shower, 10-15 minutes a couple times a day?
Or make a tent/get or borrow a plant hydration tent and a small humidifier.

L-lysine has conflicting reviews as to whether or not it works and I don't know how long it would take, but I'm most definitely keeping my fingers crossed for you that it helps!!

Click to expand...

Thank you

cheeser said:

We've struggled with this problem for more than five years with one of our cats, and doggone it, we still haven't stumbled across any kind of mystical and magical cure yet. But hope springs eternal, or something like that.

Thus far, the best we and the vet have been able to come up with for our chronically snuffly kitty is to give him lactoferrin along with the L-lysine (per this old thread that we discussed with our vet awhile back: Stubborn herpes infection? Add Lactoferrin in addition to Lysine).

How long does it take to kick in? To be honest, I don't really know, because Buddy has FIV and FHV (as well as some other health issues), and gets a maintenance dose of each supplement as part of his twice daily routine. But we have found, at least in his case, that if we double the dosage at the earliest hint that he's about to have a flare-up, the upper respiratory symptoms don't seem quite as severe. It's not a perfect solution, but some relief is better than none.

Good luck, and hope your fur baby is blissfully congestion free soon!

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And wow I saw in your article that many people have used lactoferrin and had a great outcome. Do you give yours both lysine AND lactoferrine? Do you keep using it if the congestion is gone(IF it goes away)? THANK YOUUU SOO MUCHH for showing me your article/thread!!

Vanna234 said:

And wow I saw in your article that many people have used lactoferrin and had a great outcome. Do you give yours both lysine AND lactoferrine? Do you keep using it if the congestion is gone(IF it goes away)? THANK YOUUU SOO MUCHH for showing me your article/thread!!

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Well, of course, every cat is different, and it depends upon the underlying cause(s) for the congestion as to how effective these supplements might be.

Part of our kitty's problems is that he has FIV and FHV. So we have to be as proactive as we can about preventing flare-ups from cropping up in the first place, and as soon as we realize that another one may be heading our way, despite our best efforts.

We give Buddy a maintenance dose of BOTH the L-lysine and lactoferrin twice a day, every day. Then we double the dosage as soon as he starts exhibiting his usual telltale symptoms of a flare-up, and keep him on that dose a few days longer even after he seems pretty much back to normal (for him), just for good measure.

Why twice a day? Because L-lysine only provides about 12 hours of coverage. Then Buddy would be running around pharmacologically nekkid for the rest of the day, so to speak. I don't know what the half-life is for lactoferrin, but we figured since we were already divvying up the L-Lysine into two doses a day, we might as well do the same for the lactoferrin.

If your vet is okay with you giving lactoferrin to your cat, just be aware that sometimes it can upset a kitty's tummy. So some people like to start out with a little bit at first just to see how their cat tolerates it, and gradually work up to the full dosage.

However, sometimes kitties have other problems that can contribute to nasal congestion, so your vet may need to do some further investigation. I've known lots of people whose vets have just assumed that their cats had a bacterial and/or viral infection, and recommended antibiotics and/or L-lysine. Then when the congestion didn't improve, their vets would do cultures and additional testing, and found out that their cats actually had a fungal infection, or nasal polyps, or something else pretty specific that required a specific medication or treatment. Then once that was ironed out, their kitties finally got the relief they needed.

Hope that was of some help, and that you and your vet have your kitty on the road to recovery as soon as possible!

cheeser said:

We've struggled with this problem for more than five years with one of our cats, and doggone it, we still haven't stumbled across any kind of mystical and magical cure yet. But hope springs eternal, or something like that.

Thus far, the best we and the vet have been able to come up with for our chronically snuffly kitty is to give him lactoferrin along with the L-lysine (per this old thread that we discussed with our vet awhile back: Stubborn herpes infection? Add Lactoferrin in addition to Lysine).

How long does it take to kick in? To be honest, I don't really know, because Buddy has FIV and FHV (as well as some other health issues), and gets a maintenance dose of each supplement as part of his twice daily routine. But we have found, at least in his case, that if we double the dosage at the earliest hint that he's about to have a flare-up, the upper respiratory symptoms don't seem quite as severe. It's not a perfect solution, but some relief is better than none.

Good luck, and hope your fur baby is blissfully congestion free soon!

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U said u doubled the dose at first sign of a problem.What is the dose u normally give with no problem.I have a herpes virus cat myself n im up to any advice

CatLover49 said:

U said u doubled the dose at first sign of a problem.What is the dose u normally give with no problem.I have a herpes virus cat myself n im up to any advice

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You'd need to check with your vet and ask what would be the best dose for your kitty. What works for our cat may not be suitable for yours.

In our case, Buddy is a big-boned tabby, and tends to be pretty sickly. So the vet told us to give him 250 mg. of Viralys twice a day as a maintenance dose, and 1/2 of a Jarrow lactoferrin capsule twice a day.

cheeser said:

You'd need to check with your vet and ask what would be the best dose for your kitty. What works for our cat may not be suitable for yours.

In our case, Buddy is a big-boned tabby, and tends to be pretty sickly. So the vet told us to give him 250 mg. of Viralys twice a day as a maintenance dose, and 1/2 of a Jarrow lactoferrin capsule twice a day.

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Snowball is around 15.4 lbs n vet got him on 500mg Lysine twice daily.Also got him on W/D for weight issues n digestion .He just started the weight management.But like I told vet.Ive tried to help Snowball loose weight by watching the amount i fed him n what i fed him .Snowball seems to stay right around 15lbs