FHV-1, how do I deal with this?

[kylev]

Okay so I took him, they gave him an antibiotic shot or a vaccine, the guy was indian so it was a little hard to understand him haha, but they also gave me some amoxycillin trihydrate drops, twice a day, and some eye cream because his eyes are infected as well. They said in a week to 10 days his symptoms should be mostly gone, and to bring him back in a week for a free checkup. For $95 I think it was a fair price, the people were very helpful, and gave me a comprehensive packet just about FHV that I'll read over thoroughly later, so hopefully he'll get better soon, and now I know how to deal with it if he flares up in the future ^_^. Thanks for all of your help everyone, I'll try to get some pictures of my cats soon enough.

 

[laureen227]

sounds like you got what you needed to help him recover! & looking forward to those promised

- we love them around here!

 

[marianjela]

Kyle, you sound wise beyond your 18 years! Domino is lucky to have found you. I'm glad he is under a proper treatment now, and hope he is better soon and you can begin to learn his healthy personality and continue the bond you are building!

 

[stephanietx]

I have a herpes baby as well. We got her 2.5 years ago and suspected she had herpes, but now there's a test to determine it, and she tested positive. The key to 'controlling' herpes is to avoid as much stress as possible in your cat's life. Stress is the biggest trigger and your little guy has been under constant stress his entire life. Living in a shelter is not stress free! Being adopted and getting accustomed to a new home and a resident cat is extremely stressful. So once Domino settles into your home, some of his symptoms will subside.

My Hannah has seasonal allergies, which usually develop into an upper respiratory infection (URI). Eventho I give her Lysine daily, because of the herpes, it takes her longer to get over the URI. She's currently on her 3rd round of antibiotics and has had 2 antibiotic shots in the past month to get her over her current URI. She doesn't get an URI every time she has a flare-up, but sometimes she does.

Some other things to help your kitty breathe easier is to run a vaporizer if you have one. If you don't, get the bathroom nice & steamy, then put him in there with the door shut until all the steam dissipates. Make sure the little guy is eating, too. That's a big thing since good nutrition is crucial for recovery of the URI. Since he's congested, he probably can't smell his food, so he's probably not eating much. Get the nastiest smelling wet food you can and warm up a serving in the microwave (about 10 seconds on the lowest setting). Heating it up will make the smell stronger which will entice him to eat more. If your baby is really congested, you might put a dab of baby Vick's on the top of his nose (out of the reach of the tongue). That will help open his nasal passages up and breathe easier.

Lastly, love on your little guy as much as possible. Sit in the room with him and talk to him, even if he's sleeping, so he'll get to know your voice and become comfortable with you. TLC is a wonder drug!!

Also, be sure to wash your hands with antibacterial soap after handling him and then handling Raven. Also, if your clothes get sneezed on or licked, you'll want to change them before being near Raven as well. This just helps keep you from passing the herpes to her. You might find, as we did, that your resident cat has herpes as well due to the stress of the new kitty.

Keep us posted on how things are going and post pics when you can!

Stephanie

 

[kylev]

Originally Posted by stephanietx

I have a herpes baby as well. We got her 2.5 years ago and suspected she had herpes, but now there's a test to determine it, and she tested positive. The key to 'controlling' herpes is to avoid as much stress as possible in your cat's life. Stress is the biggest trigger and your little guy has been under constant stress his entire life. Living in a shelter is not stress free! Being adopted and getting accustomed to a new home and a resident cat is extremely stressful. So once Domino settles into your home, some of his symptoms will subside.

My Hannah has seasonal allergies, which usually develop into an upper respiratory infection (URI). Eventho I give her Lysine daily, because of the herpes, it takes her longer to get over the URI. She's currently on her 3rd round of antibiotics and has had 2 antibiotic shots in the past month to get her over her current URI. She doesn't get an URI every time she has a flare-up, but sometimes she does.

Some other things to help your kitty breathe easier is to run a vaporizer if you have one. If you don't, get the bathroom nice & steamy, then put him in there with the door shut until all the steam dissipates. Make sure the little guy is eating, too. That's a big thing since good nutrition is crucial for recovery of the URI. Since he's congested, he probably can't smell his food, so he's probably not eating much. Get the nastiest smelling wet food you can and warm up a serving in the microwave (about 10 seconds on the lowest setting). Heating it up will make the smell stronger which will entice him to eat more. If your baby is really congested, you might put a dab of baby Vick's on the top of his nose (out of the reach of the tongue). That will help open his nasal passages up and breathe easier.

Lastly, love on your little guy as much as possible. Sit in the room with him and talk to him, even if he's sleeping, so he'll get to know your voice and become comfortable with you. TLC is a wonder drug!!

Also, be sure to wash your hands with antibacterial soap after handling him and then handling Raven. Also, if your clothes get sneezed on or licked, you'll want to change them before being near Raven as well. This just helps keep you from passing the herpes to her. You might find, as we did, that your resident cat has herpes as well due to the stress of the new kitty.

Keep us posted on how things are going and post pics when you can!

Stephanie

Yes, the doc suggested fishy smelling wet food, I got some of that after dropping him off at home from the vet. I got the gourmet seafood Fancy Feast, he ate it right up. The little guy will almost always be with company, my stepmom loves him, so he's always on the bed with her, she doesn't work so it's almost a guarantee there will always be someone at home to give him some loving, alternatively Raven hangs out in my room. We got her while my stepmom and her son were on vacation for the summer, so she really didn't get accustomed to them at all. You can consider her a cat that hates everyone, except me of course, but she's such a nice girl to me, she curls up right next to me when I sleep.

But yeah, everyone absolutely loves him, we hold him in our arms and give him alot of petting, he kneads alot and relaxes, I'm sure that he's under much less stress here, our family functions pretty casually. Hopefully he'll be well enough to be neutered in a week. The vet was very friendly, they told me to bring him in for a free check-up in a week, perhaps if he's well enough they'll neuter him, as someone suggested earlier that may also be a cause of strain.

 

[kylev]

Well it has been close to 5 days and sadly he has not improved at all. I really have no idea what to do at this point. I have literally no money now and my dad is self-employed, so we really can't afford hundred+ dollar vet visits until we find a solution to the problem. His breathing is still labored and his nose is still clogged. I've been giving him his doses of medicine just as the vet prescribed, I feel as they didn't diagnosis him properly, because the shot/this medicine has had absolutely no effect whatsoever. When we first saw him at the vet he was rubbing against the cage and pawing at it at us, now he just seems to wander around aimlessly, doesn't respond to our calls, you can stand right in front of him and it's almost like he doesn't see you there, he just stands in some spots gazing aimlessly for what seems to be hours, almost like his mind is completely gone. I'm really upset over the whole thing, I don't think he can sleep at all because of how he breathes, my dad said he was even having a small seizure...

 

[mews2much]

I hope something can help him.