Cat Herpes Virus Flare Up

[Torikristine]

Hi there!

When I adopted my first cat he was experiencing a herpevirus flare up and spread it to my 3 other cats. The were treated with antibiotics and the symptoms went away over the following month and everything went back to normal.

A few months later I moved in with my parents while my new home is getting move in ready about a year ago. I have 4 cats of my own and my parents have 5 cats of their own. They all mingle very well with each other and get along.A few months after the move in, my cat had a flare up again and ended up spreading it to the 8 other cats in the household. The vet gave us amoxicillin to treat them all with for 10 days to prevent a full blown URI from occurring. After the 10 days all of the symptoms seemed to be very minimal and the cats were starting to act themselves again. Earlier today(5 days since they finished their medications) I notice that 4/5 of my parents cats started having sneezing attacks again. Is this something that will be a continuous loop of the herpes virus forever? Has anyone else ever had this happen? Thanks!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! I don't know if this answers your question, but it might help;
L-lysine Treats For Feline Herpes?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

As far as I know, Herpes is a lifetime event. There will be occasional flar-ups, IF that is what this sneezing event really is. Are they doing anything else besides sneezing? Watery eyes, etc?

If you don't know much about it, maybe this article will be helpful: Feline Herpes And Rhinotracheitis
AND, BTW, even though the article states that recent studies have shown L-Lysine offers no real benefit, MANY people still swear by it's use for herpes cats!

 

[cheeser]

As far as I know, Herpes is a lifetime event. There will be occasional flar-ups, IF that is what this sneezing event really is. Are they doing anything else besides sneezing? Watery eyes, etc?

If you don't know much about it, maybe this article will be helpful: Feline Herpes And Rhinotracheitis
AND, BTW, even though the article states that recent studies have shown L-Lysine offers no real benefit, MANY people still swear by it's use for herpes cats!

If it IS herpes that you're dealing with, the virus never goes completely away. It just kinda hits the snooze alarm and dives back under the covers until something triggers another flare-up.

It's true that there's some debate as to whether l-lysine is really that effective for cats with herpes. But it does help our cat. If we skip so much as a single day's dose, Buddy's eyes start to get weepy, and the upper respiratory symptoms flare up. Lactoferrin also helps to prevent or lessen the severity of flare ups for our kitty, as well as stress relief remedies such as Feliway diffusers, and OTC calming aids that our vet recommended.

Hope your kitties are feeling better soon, whatever it is that they have.

 

[stephanietx]

Most likely, the stress of the new situation and new kitties has caused a flare up. It could be that this new sneezing/sniffling is due to seasonal changes, especially if you're in an area where the weather has been crazy recently.

 

[Torikristine]

As far as I know, Herpes is a lifetime event. There will be occasional flar-ups, IF that is what this sneezing event really is. Are they doing anything else besides sneezing? Watery eyes, etc?

If you don't know much about it, maybe this article will be helpful: Feline Herpes And Rhinotracheitis
AND, BTW, even though the article states that recent studies have shown L-Lysine offers no real benefit, MANY people still swear by it's use for herpes cats!

The worst is the sneezing attacks but they also have watery eyes. Its been about 15 days since the initial start of the virus with all of my cats and each of them went through a time of lethargy and loss of appetite but have all since moved past that stage. As of now they are all acting normal besides the sneezing attacks. My vet suspects it might be the tail end of the flare up for all of them and is having me supplement their diet for the next few weeks with lysine chews twice a day. Praying that it works for my furbabies.

 

[Wile]

L-lysine unfortunately never helped my kitten with his one herpes outbreak (he was on it for 3 months before I decided to stop wasting money on it). He eventually grew out of it.

One thing I have heard recommended (and that I do myself) is to keep your cats current on their herpes vaccine to reduce flare-ups. The idea is it increases their ability to fight off the virus. I haven't had any problems with flare-ups at all.

I don't really know why a vet would prescribe an antibiotic for a herpes flare-up given that it is a virus that causes the problem, not a bacterial infection. If the antibiotic is effective at treating the condition, that might suggest that the problem you're dealing with isn't herpes.

I'm sure you know this, but you will need to make sure you are more careful in the future when introducing your cats to new households. I would isolate them from unvaccinated cats so you don't wind up spreading the virus again.

 

[Torikristine]

L-lysine unfortunately never helped my kitten with his one herpes outbreak (he was on it for 3 months before I decided to stop wasting money on it). He eventually grew out of it.

One thing I have heard recommended (and that I do myself) is to keep your cats current on their herpes vaccine to reduce flare-ups. The idea is it increases their ability to fight off the virus. I haven't had any problems with flare-ups at all.

I don't really know why a vet would prescribe an antibiotic for a herpes flare-up given that it is a virus that causes the problem, not a bacterial infection. If the antibiotic is effective at treating the condition, that might suggest that the problem you're dealing with isn't herpes.

I'm sure you know this, but you will need to make sure you are more careful in the future when introducing your cats to new households. I would isolate them from unvaccinated cats so you don't wind up spreading the virus again.

Well we’ve been in the home for over a year with my parents cats. It’s nothing new for them. This is the first time they have had a flare up since being here over a year ago. And all of the cats are up to date on their vaccines. Please dont assume that I am not an educated cat owner by reading my question. Thank you very much.

 

[Wile]

Well we’ve been in the home for over a year with my parents cats. It’s nothing new for them. This is the first time they have had a flare up since being here over a year ago. And all of the cats are up to date on their vaccines. Please dont assume that I am not an educated cat owner by reading my question. Thank you very much.

Hi Torikristine, I apologize if I said something that seemed insensitive. I tried to share information that reflected my experience with managing the herpes virus in my own cat, what worked, what did not, and helpful advice that my own vet has given me about making sure that I am not exposing other cats to the virus when I travel. All I really have to go on when providing this information is your post, so I do not know what you already know or do. I wasn't making any assumptions about your level of education, I was simply trying to provide information that I felt might apply to your situation and that others who were searching for information about herpes experiences might find useful.

It is good that you are already doing many of the things that I mentioned in my post and I applaud you for that. It seems like you have a good handle on the situation.

 

[Pipens]

If it IS herpes that you're dealing with, the virus never goes completely away. It just kinda hits the snooze alarm and dives back under the covers until something triggers another flare-up.

It's true that there's some debate as to whether l-lysine is really that effective for cats with herpes. But it does help our cat. If we skip so much as a single day's dose, Buddy's eyes start to get weepy, and the upper respiratory symptoms flare up. Lactoferrin also helps to prevent or lessen the severity of flare ups for our kitty, as well as stress relief remedies such as Feliway diffusers, and OTC calming aids that our vet recommended.

Hope your kitties are feeling better soon, whatever it is that they have.

If it IS herpes that you're dealing with, the virus never goes completely away. It just kinda hits the snooze alarm and dives back under the covers until something triggers another flare-up.

It's true that there's some debate as to whether l-lysine is really that effective for cats with herpes. But it does help our cat. If we skip so much as a single day's dose, Buddy's eyes start to get weepy, and the upper respiratory symptoms flare up. Lactoferrin also helps to prevent or lessen the severity of flare ups for our kitty, as well as stress relief remedies such as Feliway diffusers, and OTC calming aids that our vet recommended.

Hope your kitties are feeling better soon, whatever it is that they have.

 

[Pipens]

Hi Cheeser,

I have a cat with chronic FHV. When we adopted her 2 years ago, she had the squinty eyes and stuffiness. Doctor prescribed antiobiotics. Over the course of 2 years, her sneezing and stuffiness has gotten progressively worse. I took her to the vet a month ago and he put up a small piece of glass against her nostril which showed she can breathe through one but the other is completely plugged. She is very congested and has been for some time. The vet prescribed saline drops by dropper to try to loosen up the mucus). It didn't seem to help.

I've had her on Lysine (Ensyl) paste, Sinurite and Respo tabs, Immune strengthener since the very beginning and nothing seems to help her. I feel terrible that she is having such a hard time breathing. It breaks my heart. My saving grace is that she has a great appetite (almost seems too hungry for how little she is) and still plays alot. It's like having a cold for your entire life.

I'm wondering how much Lactoferrin you give your cat and how? I went to a Naturopathic Doctor for personal issues and got talking to him about my cat. He suggested I give her Lauricidin which is good for virusus. (he said Saline drops would make it worse because the virus likes moist environments, so that's one of the worst things to give her) However upon researching Lauricidin I know it tastes awful. My Piper is a very picky eater and when I try to sneak supplements in that are bad tasting she won't eat it. Therefore I'm wondering how I could get the Lauricidin in her knowing it tastes awful. How does the Lactoferrin taste?

Thanks.

 

[catsknowme]

This is a great thread! My collected feral cat colony has had the whole gamut of problems (some are FIV, some have shown positive for herpes, some have been positive for FIP and often died young) throughout the generations and years. Because of the difficulty in using antibiotics with most of them (isolating treatment to one cat is not feasible), my vet and I have developed a plan that includes using L-lysine and herbs,including slippery elm, marshmallow root and licorice root. During URIs, I have also added Homeopet's Feline Nose Relief into the roster, using 10 drops per pint of good water. For example: during outbreaks, I mix up L-lysine to average 500mg per cat daily (that is my vet's recommendation - I am sure that there other vets will have different recommendations based upon variations in locality as well as in individual cats) for 3-7 days and then back off to using a maintenance dose. The same with the herbal decoctions which I mix up with canned pate.

 

[cheeser]

Hi Cheeser,

I have a cat with chronic FHV. When we adopted her 2 years ago, she had the squinty eyes and stuffiness. Doctor prescribed antiobiotics. Over the course of 2 years, her sneezing and stuffiness has gotten progressively worse. I took her to the vet a month ago and he put up a small piece of glass against her nostril which showed she can breathe through one but the other is completely plugged. She is very congested and has been for some time. The vet prescribed saline drops by dropper to try to loosen up the mucus). It didn't seem to help.

I've had her on Lysine (Ensyl) paste, Sinurite and Respo tabs, Immune strengthener since the very beginning and nothing seems to help her. I feel terrible that she is having such a hard time breathing. It breaks my heart. My saving grace is that she has a great appetite (almost seems too hungry for how little she is) and still plays alot. It's like having a cold for your entire life.

I'm wondering how much Lactoferrin you give your cat and how? I went to a Naturopathic Doctor for personal issues and got talking to him about my cat. He suggested I give her Lauricidin which is good for virusus. (he said Saline drops would make it worse because the virus likes moist environments, so that's one of the worst things to give her) However upon researching Lauricidin I know it tastes awful. My Piper is a very picky eater and when I try to sneak supplements in that are bad tasting she won't eat it. Therefore I'm wondering how I could get the Lauricidin in her knowing it tastes awful. How does the Lactoferrin taste?

Thanks.

Sorry for taking so long to reply. It's a little crazier than usual around these days here at Casa Cheeser.

The main problem we have with lactoferrin is that it can upset Buddy's tummy, even when we gradually work up to a maintenance dose of half a Jarrow 250 mg. capsule twice a day per our vet's recommendation, let alone bumping that up to a total of 500 mg. during flare ups. But sometimes when he's going through a rough patch (like right now!), we just bite the proverbial bullet and give him the maximum dose of lactoferrin per our vet's instructions, and try to do what we can to help alleviate the nausea.

Slippery elm bark syrup usually seems to help with that, and it also helps with those awful mouth sores Buddy gets during herpes flare ups (as well as applying a little Manuka honey to them). Marshmallow root does pretty much the same thing. I just have to be super organized, because slippery elm coats the digestive tract, which can interfere with the absorption of meds and supplements. So I give it either two hours before or two hours afterward anything else we give him.

We've had some modest success with doubling up on the L-lysine during flare ups per our vet's recommendation, and with Self Heal prunella vulgaris. We're also thinking about giving Thorne ModucareVET a try if it's okay with our vet.

Some vets prescribe famciclovir for herpes infections. Our vet is just reluctant to prescribe some meds for our kitty because he has some other health issues, and prefers to manage these sorts of things as conservatively as possible if possible.

As for the taste of lactoferrin...well, I honestly don't know. I can't sneak ANYTHING into Buddy's food, so I mix it in with his cocktail of other meds and supplements and a bit of baby food, and administer it via a syringe.

But there are lots of kitties who don't mind the taste at all, and it doesn't upset their tummies. So for those lucky folks, they can just mix it in with their cat's food.

Hope you and your vet figure out something soon to provide your fur baby with much needed relief!