Seeking relief for cat with sneezing from FeLV

[clayk]

Hi all,

I was recommended to this site by a friend just a few days ago. My cat Ollie is about a year old. He was a stray that became a frequent visitor around my apartment complex. After asking around, it was confirmed that he was a stray and he did not belong to anyone. He was so sweet and friendly that I decided to take him in. His breathing sounded abnormal (wheezing) and he did sneeze but I thought this was just due to him being outside during allergy season. After taking him to the vet, getting his initial shots, and boosters the wheezing has stopped but the sneezing still happens- somedays are more frequent than others. I took him to the vet and he did test positive for FeLV and they told me that there was nothing I could do for the sneezing, that it was just a symptom of FeLV.

I couldn't believe this to be true so I took him to another vet for a second opinion (both vets are highly recommended and well respected). And the second vet gave me the same answer but added that I could try Lysine treats, but he said its a "hit or miss" solution for the sneezing. Ollie will not touch the treats whole and I tried breaking them up and mixing them into his food but I swear he sniffs them out and swats them out of his food dish. I tried researching on google for some help but got zero solutions, just further info about the virus. I've also tried changing his food from dry to wet and then back to dry with immune support, and also tried about 5 different litters. I noticed that he will sneeze while in his litter box and while eating at his dish. But like I said before, it's very random when it happens. One day he could sneeze 3 times and the next day he could sneeze 30 so I have a hard time putting the blame on his litter or food.

Anyway, I read through some of the threads on here and I noticed the mention of "powder" and "Claritin" but I'd like more info on each another with specific info on how they helped and if these methods are safe to try, or if you had approval from a vet beforehand.
Any tips are welcomed and appreciated! Thank you,
Clay

 

[Juniper_Junebug]

My kitty didn't like the lysine bites the rescue vet gave me (for FeHV) so I bought powdered lysine on chewy; I sprinkle a tiny amount on her wet food twice a day, no issues. I mentioned this to my new vet recently and she was pleased and told me to keep it up. No idea if it works, because Juno is just a kitten and still getting her immune system in working order. My vet said she should improve as she got older. I feel for her, though. She still sometimes sneezes and often has watery eyes.

 

[stephanietx]

We use human grade lysine from Amazon and mix in with wet food twice a day. It's an amino acid that passes out of their system when the urinate, so twice a day is the best way to keep in the system. We also use generic Claritin (loratidine). We give 1/2 tablet daily in wet food. We just crush it and mix it in. Kitties don't even notice it's in there.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Hekitty takes Claritin (also the 1/2 pill mixed in food) in the Spring for her allergies. I take it all year long. If there is an allergic component to his sneezing, it will help, and it won't hurt. I can't speak to probiotics, as I have not, to date, used them. I may here soon, though. My girl is getting up there, and I want to give her the best old age she can have.

On days when his sneezing is very bad, you can try taking him into the bathroom and running the shower on full hot, getting up a good head of steam. Sit with him for 10-20 minutes, as long as you can both tolerate it. It's great for breaking up and getting out mucus in humans and animals. The effects aren't very long-lived, but he'll get some relief that way.

 

[Rhall]

Ironically my Ollie also has FeLV. He was a rescue kitten and had a bad case of it when I got him as a kitten. We nursed him back to health and he would have the sneezing and his eyes would get infected at times. I fed him the lysine treats for about 1 year. At first he didn't like them but at the time I had 2 other cats - so I think he ate them since the other two were around. We have stopped giving them the past 4-5 months. I have noticed he doesn't sneeze very often anymore. His eyes always have more discharge then my other cats had, but we just keep them clean and on occasion if they look more red I use Maxitrol eye drops. One drop seems to be enough to clear up anything.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OH, that shower trick will loosen dried eye discharge so that it can be easily wiped away.

 

[Rhall]

We did the steam also when my Ollie was very sick as a kitten. We did it with him in the crate with a boiling pot of water out of reach with a large towel over top for about 20 min . We did this several times per day. The rescue group we got him from said that this was a very concentrated way to steam him and it certainly did help!

 

[di and bob]

My cats have FeLV too and lung problems seem to be the main symptom. I give them Feline Nose Relief when they get bad that I get from Amazon and that seems to help. I also started all of them right away on DMG and Life Gold that I get from Amazon too, the bottles last a long time since just drops a day are given. They have been symptom-free for over a year now, even though the vet said they would be gone "very soon". i celebrate each and every day I have with them, cats are stronger than you think!