My new cat has just come down with another bout of sneezing and watery eyes caused by the feline herpes virus. He had this when I adopted him in January and it was treated successfully with Doxycycline. I used to have another cat with this issue, which would flair up from time to time, and never really found a good solution. With both cats, their breathing isn't affected so much - it's the sneezing/watery eyes that are most pronounced. L-lysine didn't seem to help. I don't want to treat him with antibiotics every time it flairs up. Does anyone have ideas for how to prevent these flair ups? Thanks for any suggestions!
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Help/maintenance for kitty with feline herpes virus
- Thread starter lgerkin
- Start Date
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2018
- Messages
- 5,587
- Purraise
- 11,270
With herpes virus, it is believed that it will flair up during periods of stress. So trying to keep kitty as stress free as possible is one way to help. Sticking to a routine, having scheduled play and meal times, lots of high places for him to hang out, etc...There are even calming treats and supplements you can use to help even out mild stress.
There should be no need for antibiotics to treat this unless there is also a bacterial infection, and the only way to know for sure is to have a culture done. If it's just sneezing and watery eyes, you most likely don't need antibiotics, but if you notice more greenish or yellowish discharge in his eyes or thicker more colorful snot, then I would suggest going to the vet. And of course if he starts to feel unwell. (not eating/drinking, lethargic etc...)
Anything that can keep allergens in the house to a minimum can also be helpful, as they will contribute to irritating the nasal passageways. Is it possible he has allergies? Perhaps this bout is just because spring is here?...
With my boy, we will use pure saline drops to help irrigate his nose when his snot seems to be becoming more of an issue.
Be sure he's getting enough water, you can get a fountain for him to drink from and feed him more wet food. Cats overall need adequate water intake for urinary health but it also helps with mucus.
You mention using lysine....it didn't really help for us either....but hopefully others will be along who may have experience with other types of supplements.
This is all I can think of off the top of my head....
There should be no need for antibiotics to treat this unless there is also a bacterial infection, and the only way to know for sure is to have a culture done. If it's just sneezing and watery eyes, you most likely don't need antibiotics, but if you notice more greenish or yellowish discharge in his eyes or thicker more colorful snot, then I would suggest going to the vet. And of course if he starts to feel unwell. (not eating/drinking, lethargic etc...)
Anything that can keep allergens in the house to a minimum can also be helpful, as they will contribute to irritating the nasal passageways. Is it possible he has allergies? Perhaps this bout is just because spring is here?...
With my boy, we will use pure saline drops to help irrigate his nose when his snot seems to be becoming more of an issue.
Be sure he's getting enough water, you can get a fountain for him to drink from and feed him more wet food. Cats overall need adequate water intake for urinary health but it also helps with mucus.
You mention using lysine....it didn't really help for us either....but hopefully others will be along who may have experience with other types of supplements.
This is all I can think of off the top of my head....
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Thank you - this is very helpful! I'm not sure I'll be able to do the saline drops, he's not open to me touching his nose at all - at least yet
But, I'll definitely check out the treats for stress and make sure he's getting enough water. I think spring/allergies may also be causing this, since it really kicked up as soon as I started opening my windows.
But, I'll definitely check out the treats for stress and make sure he's getting enough water. I think spring/allergies may also be causing this, since it really kicked up as soon as I started opening my windows.
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2018
- Messages
- 5,587
- Purraise
- 11,270
These are the ones I've used...I thought they were helpful for my kitty. No big changes, but if he was agitated...it just "took the edge off". Wasn't as "skiddish" or "twitchy".
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2020
- Messages
- 626
- Purraise
- 1,844
Following with interest since my kitty had a bad URI from herpes when I adopted her last October. She was a kitten and the URI lasted for three or four weeks. I was genuinely worried about her, and she kept getting flare ups for months. Now I'm just grateful that she seems (knock wood) to have developed enough of an immune system that she can fight off flare-ups without needing antibiotics for secondary infections. But she still sometimes snuffles or has weepy eyes. I give her lysine every day at the vet's suggestion but don't know if it has any effect. I'm about out of it, though, and plan on stopping, so I guess I may get to see if it was doing any work.Thank you - this is very helpful! I'm not sure I'll be able to do the saline drops, he's not open to me touching his nose at all - at least yet
When she's really stuffed up, I run a hot shower with the door closed so she gets some humidity.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #6
Thanks again! I've been putting him in the bathroom with me a couple times a day after running a hot shower so he can get some steam. It hasn't done the trick so far, but it's only been three days. I'm considering getting a humidifier and wondered which is better - cool or warm mist?
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2018
- Messages
- 5,587
- Purraise
- 11,270
We use a warm humidifier, but we only use it in the winter. Our summers get humid, so no need for extra humidity. If your house gets dry in the summer, you may want to get a cool mist for the summer months. If the humidity in your home is good, don't go all out with increasing it, you don't want too much moist air to promote mold and mildew....not good for the air ways!
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #8
My herpes kitty passed away in February at the age of 15 (not from anything herpes related) and lived with diagnosed herpes for 13 years. What we used with her was a daily antihistamine, Feliway or Comfort Zone pheromone diffusers, a grain free wet food diet, colloidal silver when she got really bad, and Zenequin antibiotic a few times throughout her life. Staying on a schedule helps to reduce stress as does keeping your home as quiet as possible.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #10
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #11
Hi - my kitty is getting worse and I wanted to ask about what antihistamine you used - and about the colloidal silver. I tried an antihistamine that my vet prescribed and it did nothing but make him tired. I'm not familiar with Zenequin but I will ask my doctor about it. I'm also not familiar with colloidal silver. Can you tell me what brand you used? I've been putting him in the bathroom for 15 or 20 minutes a couple of times a day after steaming it up but that hasn't helped. He's sneezing so much and poor thing has brown snot coming out of his nose. I'm honestly not sure if it's herpes or just really bad allergies but I would think the antihistamine would have worked if it was allergies. I'm guessing his nose/sinuses have been damaged from an early infection that wasn't treated. He was found in an abandoned home with 40 other cats and was at the shelter a year and a half before I adopted him (in the shelter's communal cat room with probably 20 or 30 other cats).
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2019
- Messages
- 618
- Purraise
- 601
Not sure there’s great (or any tbh) evidence that colloidal silver does anything for viral infections in cats.
Unfortunately antihistamines are hit or miss for cats, one might work for one cat and do nothing for another cat.
Since your cat is getting worse, has your vet mentioned antivirals at all? Either topical/eye drops (if he has eye symptoms) or oral meds may be an option, sometimes they use Famciclovir (shingles/cold sore med for humans) for herpes in cats.
Unfortunately antihistamines are hit or miss for cats, one might work for one cat and do nothing for another cat.
Since your cat is getting worse, has your vet mentioned antivirals at all? Either topical/eye drops (if he has eye symptoms) or oral meds may be an option, sometimes they use Famciclovir (shingles/cold sore med for humans) for herpes in cats.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #13
Thanks - my vet has not mentioned antivirals, but I will definitely bring it up. He doesn't really have eye symptoms, very slight sometimes, it's mostly the nose and breathing. The vet confirmed that his lungs are fine, so that was good to know. Since Doxycycline knocked it out once, I was hopeful that it (or another antibiotic) would work again but it really didn't help the second time.
We use plain Claritin (loratadine), 1/4 to 1/2 tablet once a day. I get the generic from Walmart. They break easily, then I mash into wet food.
Colloidal Silver is good, bu it can take a really long time to see results. We gave 1/4 teaspoon at least 2x a day in wet food. This is the one we used. Colloidal Silver
Something else we used we either Gentamycin or Tobramycin nose drops.
One other thing you can do is ask the vet to do a culture & sensitivity test on any of the discharge. The culture will tell the vet if it's bacterial or viral and the sensitivity test will tell the vet which med will best treat it.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #16
Thanks - great suggestion. I plan to call the vet tomorrow to discuss his treatment and will bring this all up. I really appreciate everyone sharing their experience, it is SO helpful.
