eyes/ears/immune booster ?s

taima

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Hi! I would very much like advice on a few things.

My kitty keeps having issues with his eyes. They will be squinty and watery - sometimes redness. (Has also had corneal ulcers 2-3 times in the past year, and in both eyes.) He always has gunk in the corner of his eyes.

Off and on for the past two weeks he has had squinty/watery eyes. Started with the left eye. (Usually the left eye he has problems with.) Had Terramycin so put in his eye for few days. Stopped after it didn’t seem to be helping and consulting with vet’s office that suggested to stop and take him in the next day. Well, get up early to take him and eye looks fine - open and not watering - so don’t take him. Now few days later - same symptoms with his right eye. I have a sterile eye wash that I’ve tried to rinse it with a couple of times.

Is there a supplement that I could give him that is good for eye health? He’s never been diagnosed with herpes - would the l-lysine possibly help though?

Also, he seems to shake his head a lot. Have noticed his ears twitching often (mainly left one). He’ll also scratch at his ears/side of his head some but not excessively (mainly left side). I’ve had vet look at his ears approx 3 times within approx the past 8 months - they say no infection. He will have wax - but they say not excessive. What else could the head shaking be related to?

Are the eye & ear issues probably just allergies? He does have clear nasal discharge often as well.

One last thing - he recently had bloodwork that showed a WBC count on the low side, lymphocytes on the high side, and elevated liver enzymes. Would it maybe be a good idea to give him something that boosts overall immunity? What would be a good supplement for that?

Sorry so long. Thank you in advance!!
 

drjean

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Interesting question!

A large majority of chronic/recurrent upper respiratory infections are in fact due to herpesvirus (rhinotracheitis). They tend to come and go, and often flare-up during times of stress. I could set my watch for Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holidays, because Monday after turkey day the appointment book was always filled with goopy-eyed cats!

Allergies in cats (and dogs as well) typically show up as either skin or tummy problems. They don't get what we think of as "hay fever" type symptoms. The high lymphocyte count also points to a virus. Lysine is one possibility for control; here are some more:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...conjunctivitis

There is a direct connection between the throat and the ear via the eustachian tubes. I'd sure be concerned about a possible inner/middle ear infection--these cannot necessarily be seen from the outside. Ear infections in cats are often (about half) related to food allergies.

Immune-boosting supplements could help, but first make sure the diet is the best it can be...otherwise you're throwing good money after bad, pearls before swine, yada yada! ;-) We should "chat" about what your kitty is eating before we think about turbo-charging him!

What liver enzymes were elevated, and by how much? The liver is a very "sympathetic" organ and often reacts when something is going on in other parts of the body.

You might want to give your vet a call and ask them to try to connect the dots--it seems to me that there is something going on "underneath" the surface that is reacting or contributing to this odd collection of symptoms. Veterinary homeopathy, homotoxicology, or NAET would be well suited to deal with all of this. NAET is particularly good at getting rid of viruses; I know an amazing vet in CA who does phone consults and is not expensive--Dr. Bert Brooks in Woodland. You can find an NAET practitioner at www.holisticvetlist.com. I just got his new book...can't wait to read it!
 
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taima

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Thanks very much for responding!

Right now he is on CD food as heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s had problems with crystals. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s on the dry – he wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eat the wet. He also eats Fancy Feast and Friskies pouches, which is the only wet food that he will eat. I mix water in it to try to increase his intake. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t give him any with fish. I also use Feliway to help reduce stress.

I would love for him to eat a better food, but I tried just about every brand of wet food there was for the better part of a year, and he wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eat them. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s gained weight on the CD so I would really like to feed him something to help him lose a little. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been told he shouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have a food allergy to the CD. I would like to find a really good supplement for him as Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had no luck with better food.

I hadnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t tried the lysine as Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d never been told his eye issues might be related to the herpes virus, so wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t sure if it would help. I will start giving him that. If he is prone to inner ear infections, I would love to find something that could help boost his immunity against both of these. (He doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t do well on antibiotics – Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve always had to take him off of them because he wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eating/barely eating – which wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t good with his size.)
 

drjean

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You may not have transitioned him to wet food correctly; maybe try this:http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...switchingfoods

If you want him to lose weight, you definitely have to stop feeding him dry food. Canned food will produce safe, healthy weight loss. At the very least, never leave dry food down 24/7. That's gonna get you a fat cat, for sure!
 
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