Feline herpes? Best treatment?

[Hannah518]

So I adopted a kitty from a shelter and she’s been tested negative for ringworm but has had some nose scabs and eye goo for the past three weeks. She’s been taking lysine twice a day and eye drops the last few. The weather got cold again and she started sneezing this past few days. If she has feline herpes, is there an antibiotic she should be on? Or a test? My vet mentioned it but she didn’t test for it. I have taken her into the vet 5 times this month.

 

[GoldyCat]

Herpes is a virus so antibiotics won't help. I have a cat who's had chronic herpes for years. About the only thing that keeps it under control is a shot of depomedrol (steroid) two or three times a year with a maintenance dose of oral prednisolone daily in between. I've tried quite a few different treatments/supplements, including lysine and colloidal silver, but none of them seem to do anything for my boy.

 

[theyremine]

Famciclovir has worked well for me. Two of my former ferals had herpes so bad when I took them in that I feared for their sight. The eyedrops didn't help at all. Famciclovir followed by an antibiotic for the secondary infection did the trick. I continued lysine for six months after all symptoms were gone.

 

[stephanietx]

I have a herpes girl who is now 14 and diagnosed when she was 2. The BEST thing you can do is to keep your home as stress-free as possible and keep to a routine. Work on boosting your kitty's immune system. Depending on the age of your kitty, you can talk to your vet about a daily antihistamine (we give Loratadine which is plain Claritin). Feed as high a quality of food as you can afford, mainly meat, little filler and by-products. Canned is much better than dry, but if you've got a kitten, then both are good to feed. There are also some other supplements that can be mixed into wet food that might help such as Missing Link an overall health builder, Duralactin, Lactoferrin, L-Lysine (which you're already giving), a daily probiotic, and colloidal silver.