Feline Herpesvirus Flare-Up - Treatment?

[dkb817]

Simon appears to be firmly in the middle of what I assume to be a Herpesvirus flare-up, day 7 (It is symptomatically VERY similar to an URI he had two years ago - just not as severe just yet) - sneezing quite a bit, just generally acting a bit off. He feels warm IMO, like he might be running a low grade temp, and his normally wet/cold nose feels wet and warm.

I've already sent a message in to my vet, but I thought I'd once again check in here and see how y'all dealt with flare-ups.

Do you just let it run its course, as long as your cats are eating and drinking normally? Do you treat with some kind of antiviral or antibiotic, just in case?

 

[di and bob]

I get 'Feline Nose Relief' on Amazon, it seems to help. I also noticed they have not had a flareup in over a year now, since I started giving them DMG, immunity support. They have leukemia, so any kind of virus could kill them. I give all my meds in Hartz, lickable treats in the stew flavors. They ate that even when really sick.

 

[KatherineE]

My cat went through what we assumed was a flare. It lasted for the better part of 7 weeks. I tried several homeopathic remedies, including Lysine, and he was given antibiotics in case of a secondary infection. None of these helped him.

When it spread to his eyes (prior to that he’d primarily been congested), the vet finally put him on a trio of things that finally got him over the hump. Oral Famciclovir, Neomycin/Polymycin eye drops and Cerenia to relieve inflammation in his sinuses. I strongly suspect the Famciclovir was the most critical of these.

 

[dkb817]

The vet ended up giving us a prescription for Clavamox, which we used on his last flare-up and it seemed to work (though, to be fair, we waited longer to treat it last time, so it could have just been on its way out regardless of the antibiotic). He also tried to give us more L-Lysine, but he's been on that consistently since his first bout, and it seems to keep flares at bay. I just think this last vet visit combined with the bad reaction to his shots was just too much for his tiny 8-lb body. The task now is trying to get my young niece to understand why she can't pet Simon right now (We don't want the virus to 'shed' onto her and for her to take it home and transmit it to their cat, who is getting up there in age now)

He got to come out of his quarantine room earlier though, and enjoyed some time in a nice, warm sunny patch of living room carpet - so he's a happy fluffball right now

 

[stephanietx]

I have a 15 year old herpes kitty and she's been diagnosed for 13 years. The key is to keep the stress level in your home to a minimum, stick to a routine, and work on building overall good health. We switched to grain free food (wet and dry "snacks"). We run Feliway or Comfort Zone pheremone diffusers 24/7 in 3 rooms in our home. We give a daily antihistamine. We give Lysine, 500mg 2x a day in powdered form added to wet food. We used to have her on Missing Link to promote overall health, but had to stop that several months ago due to some kidney issues she's developed. We give her Duralactin twice daily and also use HomeoPet Nose drops. When she's really sneezy and snotty, we give her Tobramycin drops in her nose. We have given her colloidal silver from time to time to help clear up snotty spells or lingering URI symptoms. When it's cold, I run a vaporizer close to where she spends most of her time sleeping. It's really just trial and error and finding what works with your kitty.