hi guys..
ok so the sneezing George does and now the "stuffiness" of my persian Mimi has me concerned again. George has been sneezing here and there since I got him. I know this isnt uncommon and it actually never "progressed" to anything else. the Vet said possible URI altough he really saw no symptoms...eyes clear, lungs clear, etc He put him on antibiotics as a precaution. Then my persian seemed to be congested. We put them both on clavamox and they seemed better...but in time same thing. Of course when I would bring in George they never saw any signs other then me telling them about the sneezing. Occasionally George now has sneezing fits where a large "booger" (for lack of a better word) comes out. I actually brought it to the vet who said it does not look like an infection, just an ordinary booger. (by the way, when George sneezes...it is always out of left side of his nose) Now Mimi has always had runny eyes due to her very flat persian face. She does now seem a little congested also tho.
I have tried switching litters thinking possible allergy but nothing changes. I have heard a lot about Lysine and since the vet dosent think it is infection I was thinking of trying this. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions.
is there something my vet is missing? he hasnt even mentioned herpes and both my persian and George have always received vaccines when due for them. even tho I have heard of Lysine for herpes I have also read it could be helpful with any uri symptoms.??
any advice? please
Although there is a recent study that found Lysine not helpful, it is used for rhino (feline herpes) with a relatively good theoretical justification. It is not appropriate for the other common URI viruses, but rhino is pretty common. (I have read that about 40% of URIs are rhino - and another 40% are calici.
Getting the shots just means the cat is steps ahead in fighting off the virus, not that he cannot catch it and get sick. It should mean a shorter and less serious outbreak - and the symptoms you are seeing are pretty minor in this context.
In your case, you do not know if it is rhino, but I have not read of any down side for Lysine use in an adult cat and some do give lysine to even symptom free cats just as a preventative and because rhino is so common. A clear discharge from one eye is common in the viral URIs. That is one way to distinguish them from bacterial infections, which tend to have a cloudy discharge.
The viral infections, which the vet seems to think these are if they are not just environmental irritations or allergies, most often mean the cat should be supported to fight them off himself. Absent threatening symptoms, one does not intervene much and that sounds like the approach the vet is taking, which does seem appropriate.
Jan,
so basically just wait and see? that is pretty much what the vet said. he said keep and eye and obviously if it gets worse to bring them in...but since they have never gotten any worse or had any other symptoms just to hold off. He is curious to see what happens after the pollen is done. I also tried changing litters cause we were thinking allergies. I tried feline pine but they would not use it. I just changed to precious cat. It says no fragrance or dyes and is supposed to be 99 % dust free.
They are both eating , drinking and acting fine. George is a little over 6 months and growing well.
When we first got Dolly, she did a lot of sneezing too. Infact, we weren't sure if it was sneezing or coughing. It wasn't just a single sneeze like people do. It sounded like quick, multiple sneezes that would throw her of balance.
As you could see in some of her baby pics, her eyes were crusty, especially the right eye and her nose would get black from mucus.
The first vet didn't want to give her any of her shots because of the cold and didn't want to prescribe antibiotics because she was so young. She said she didn't really see any sign of anything other than a mild cold because she never sneezed in the vets office. Instead she gave us some liquid vitamins for the cold and some drops to kill the ear mites (that we knew she had) and she said to put some of the same stuff on the balding spot behind her ear. I told her I developed a ringworm spot on the side of my thigh where she has slept a few times. The Spot on my leg was right were the spot on her head was. I told her this but she insisted it was probably mange, even though she didn't see any thing under the microscope.
After a week, when this didn't help, she sent us to another vet up the road for a second opinion on what we kept saying was ringworm, what we thought may be feline acne and her cold.
That guy (what an ego maniac), said he thought she may have mange too and that may be what was causing her hair to fall out behind her ear and not a hot spot or ringworm and may also be what we're thinking is feline acne. He took a scraping and saw nothing under the scope. He also thought she may have Feline Herpes because of her eyes and nose. He then said Herpes could also be the cause of ALL the problems and gave us a big tube of "Viralys Oral Gel for Cats" (L-Lysine HCl Nutritional Supplement) to give her I think it was once a day.
Well, I had already gotten a prescription for the ringworm on my leg and started using the same stuff on her head, Continued giving her the vitamins, Cleaned her nose off really good and tried the Viralys for a couple of days. The Spot behind her ear started clearing up and the hair started regrowing, The spots on her chin eventually went away, her nose never got dirty again, Her sneezing pretty much stopped, of course she does sneeze on occasion, so we stopped giving her the Viralys after just a week.
I spoke to a few other vets and they all think what she had WAS just Feline Herpes and that it was just a cold and Ringworm on her head and to stop giving her Viralys.
Now, Jan, Her right eye does still get EBB's (eye ball boogers) and we have to wipe that eye at least once a day for her... Do you think the Viralys (L-Lysine) could help that? I guess what I'm asking (if you know) is, Could it hurt? It's a Big 5 oz Tube.
That is not a symptom the Lysine is likely to help. It is not the clear discharge of the virus alone. (Bacterial infections become more common with a viral connection and that is the reason one gives meds for a "viral" infection.) This may be a bacterial infection in the sinuses - and that can be almost impossible to treat. It may also just be irritation.
I would use up the Lysine. There is no reason to waste it.
Other than the circle of redness, ringworm is diagnosed by its glow under a black light - Wood's light. If they did that and said it was not ringworm, then you know it was not ringworm.
When we brought Moe home, he came complete with a tube of Lysine. It still confuses me...I guess our breeder knew he had rhino at the time, but I thought it was just some preventative measure. Anyway, Moe was vaccinated for Rhino, which I guess is why it confused me so much...but the vet suspects he still has it anyway. When we first got him home he seemed fine, but the next day the sneezing started, then the coughing and then the yellow discharge. The vet prescribed Clavamox, and after three cycles of it, his URI finally cleared. Moe hasn't missed a day of Lysine since he's been with us. The vet recommended that we keep him on it until he's at least a year old. I guess stress could cause another flare-up but, if I'm not still confused, it shouldn't be quite as bad as when he first came home to us. It stressed me out so much when we first had him...I didn't know if it was the sign of a "bad" breeder (the vet said it wasn't necessarily), or something I should have noticed at the breeder (obviously the tube of Lysine coming with our kitty might have been a clue had I known better at the time). Anyway, he's been symptom free since the last dose of Clavamox. I'm not sure whether to reduce his dose of Lysine by half once he's a year or just quit cold-turkey and see how he does.
I'm wondering...if in fact Moe for sure has rhino, does that mean that we should never get another cat if we don't want the new one to get rhino, or will the vaccines actually work for some kittens if they are around those shedding the virus?
jensenmoe Wrote:When we brought Moe home, he came complete with a tube of Lysine. It still confuses me...I guess our breeder knew he had rhino at the time, but I thought it was just some preventative measure. Anyway, Moe was vaccinated for Rhino, which I guess is why it confused me so much...but the vet suspects he still has it anyway. When we first got him home he seemed fine, but the next day the sneezing started, then the coughing and then the yellow discharge. The vet prescribed Clavamox, and after three cycles of it, his URI finally cleared. Moe hasn't missed a day of Lysine since he's been with us. The vet recommended that we keep him on it until he's at least a year old. I guess stress could cause another flare-up but, if I'm not still confused, it shouldn't be quite as bad as when he first came home to us. It stressed me out so much when we first had him...I didn't know if it was the sign of a "bad" breeder (the vet said it wasn't necessarily), or something I should have noticed at the breeder (obviously the tube of Lysine coming with our kitty might have been a clue had I known better at the time). Anyway, he's been symptom free since the last dose of Clavamox. I'm not sure whether to reduce his dose of Lysine by half once he's a year or just quit cold-turkey and see how he does.
I'm wondering...if in fact Moe for sure has rhino, does that mean that we should never get another cat if we don't want the new one to get rhino, or will the vaccines actually work for some kittens if they are around those shedding the virus?
Do you mind me asking...the discharge, was it alot? very rarely George will have just a bit by his nose. I will wipe it and it will be clean and dry for days afterwards. I guess this is why the vet thinks it is probably an allergy. ugh...I just want it to stop and go away.
vickymars Wrote:Do you mind me asking...the discharge, was it alot? very rarely George will have just a bit by his nose. I will wipe it and it will be clean and dry for days afterwards. I guess this is why the vet thinks it is probably an allergy. ugh...I just want it to stop and go away.
I don't mind at all...the discharge that Moe had did come in clear and then white at first but it was every day, and then it changed to yellow and constant...I'd wipe it and it would be back in less than half an hour or so. The vet did not prescribe the Clavamox until it became yellow...which means infection as a secondary problem to the virus. Moe was also VERY tired and slept all the time. He did manage to keep his appetite going, thank goodness! Also when it was clearing up it went back to white and clear...and now nothing. His sneezing continued and then little by little became less and less...now none at all. His eyes did run a little, but now they're fine with just a little "sleep" in the corners now and then and the coughing (which sounded horrible) was totally gone before the last round of Clavamox was done. I'm sure there must be mild to more severe cases, and I think Moe's was quite bad just because he was so young.
I'm no expert, but the wait and see approach with George sounds right. With Moe it was wait and see too until the discharge became yellow. Hope this helps!
Asking about avoiding cats with rhino is like asking about your children and colds or flu. URIs are common in cats and about 40% of those are rhino. It is a cat cold. With cats likely to have multiple URIs during their lives, I would think a very high percentage of cats will have had rhino during their lives.
There is certainly no reason to avoid getting another cat. That it is common is why it is covered by the basic cat shots - 3/1 and 4/1. That is to lessen its danger and lasting effects.
In an immunized cat, one can expect any outbreak in symptoms to be pretty slight. Some cats will have a period of problems or more serious symptoms, but mostly one can expect relatively rapid recovery and no real problem.
As for getting the Lysine, it just means that breeder has that approach to protect her cats and kittens and does not mean anything about the kitten having been symptomatic at all.
As for a runny eye or runny nose sometimes, once again think about those symptoms and children - and that parents do not get worried about them.
This is not to say that rhino can never be dangerous. Our first Siamese was hospitalized twice and almost died from an outbreak when he was young - and he had been immunized. After a couple of rounds, he recovered and led a long life. However, a bacterial infection had gotten hold in his sinuses and he often had a cloudy nasal discharge. It never was a danger to him, but it was an unpleasant symptom for him - and us.
JanH Wrote:Asking about avoiding cats with rhino is like asking about your children and colds or flu. URIs are common in cats and about 40% of those are rhino. It is a cat cold. With cats likely to have multiple URIs during their lives, I would think a very high percentage of cats will have had rhino during their lives.
There is certainly no reason to avoid getting another cat. That it is common is why it is covered by the basic cat shots - 3/1 and 4/1. That is to lessen its danger and lasting effects.
In an immunized cat, one can expect any outbreak in symptoms to be pretty slight. Some cats will have a period of problems or more serious symptoms, but mostly one can expect relatively rapid recovery and no real problem.
As for getting the Lysine, it just means that breeder has that approach to protect her cats and kittens and does not mean anything about the kitten having been symptomatic at all.
As for a runny eye or runny nose sometimes, once again think about those symptoms and children - and that parents do not get worried about them.
This is not to say that rhino can never be dangerous. Our first Siamese was hospitalized twice and almost died from an outbreak when he was young - and he had been immunized. After a couple of rounds, he recovered and led a long life. However, a bacterial infection had gotten hold in his sinuses and he often had a cloudy nasal discharge. It never was a danger to him, but it was an unpleasant symptom for him - and us.
Thanks Jan, for your explaination of rhino. I'm very HAPPY that we shouldn't avoid getting another Ragdoll based on Moe's past experience with it!
