# cat flu and lysine help



## annegirl (Oct 16, 2012)

Hey Guys,
Looking for advice. I recently (two weeks) ago adopted two 6 month old kittens from a local shelter. I had been fostering them for about a week before that. I was told several different things by different people in the shelter ie that they had the sniffles, they had the cat flu etc. I know when I first got them (just over three weeks ago) they both had the sneezes but no other signs of anything else. These sneezes stopped about two weeks ago but then today I noticed one of my girls has a watery eye. It is not really goopey but a watery eye, and a bit squinty. So figured it maybe cat flu. I have read on the internet about giving lysine to cats for cat flu so went to the pharmacy today and bought lysine tablets (for humans) . Was planning to half them (they are 500g), crush them and add to food. Was going to give to both kitties. Now when it comes to it I'm a bit nervous so looking to see if what I'm doing sounds ok or if anyone has done it before? is there special kitty lysine? etc. All advice greatly received. Thanks


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## MB70 (Apr 1, 2012)

Lysine has worked wonders for our cat Inky who we adopted from a shelter last year. He had all the symptoms like sneezing, watery and goopey eyes etc. Our vet said 500mg when he has symptoms and 250mg for a maintenance dose. Worked wonderfully and I still give him 250mg every other day and hasn't had one problem in over a year. I use Pet Naturals of Vermont L-Lysine chews ( 250mg per chew). There are many Lysine products out there for cats. I assume the human ones work just as well, provided they are crushed into powder form. Good luck!


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

I'm sure those made for cats are flavoured, getting kitties to eat is not a problem, but does anybody have a problem feeding those meant for human? I was planning to get one from GNC for my FIV+ ET, but was worried he might not want it and a whole bottle wasted. Lysine chews for cats are not available in Sg. Another question too, does anybody feed lysine to their FIV+ kitties who doesn't have any symptoms as yet? Am I hijacking?


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I just buy tablets from the drugstore and crush it between two spoons (sammich it in the middle in the deepest part of the spoon and press down, twisting). ONce it is powder I just dump it in their canned food and no one notices.

I think they taste a bit bitter (cold sore coming on so I'm taking it as well) but the cats don't seem to notice.


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## nicichan (Jul 6, 2012)

I use the human ones too. I put them in a little plastic bag and then bash it with a pestle & mortar and then just empty the contents of the plastic bag into her wet food and mix around a bit. She doesn't seem to notice any difference. As far as I'm aware, L-Lysine is the same thing whether you buy the cat stuff or the human stuff, the ones especially for cats are just easier to use as they are treats and you don't need to bash them up and hide them in food.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Best to get l-lysine capsules (human--do not pay extra for the "cat" stuff). Open the cap and sprinkle on canned or raw food. It has no taste. I give 250 mg for maintenance, and 500 mg in an outbreak.

There are many other things you can do. I'm now giving famciclovir during outbreaks and that has lessened the length of outbreaks considerably. It's an anti-viral (prescription needed--you can order online pretty inexpensively).

I recommend joining the feline herpes virus Yahoo group for up to date info and help:

felineherpes : For companions of cats who have feline herpes virus (FVR)


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

The shelter I foster for provides me with l-lysine for their cats/kittens. It's already in powdered form, and I'm supposed to put 1/4 teaspoon on their food once daily.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

L-lysine alone is unlikely to do much to quell an outbreak. That's why I'm suggesting getting up to date on all the other things that can be done.  Antibiotics are worthless w/ viruses BUT if an outbreak persists or seems esp. bad there may be a secondary infection and abios WILL help w/ that. Usually azithromycin or doxycycline are RX'd.

A few of the better articles/sites I've encountered in my research (I have 2 herpes cats):

http://www.vetscite.org/publish/articles/000070/article.pdf

VMDiva | Hope for Cats with Snots, Snuffles, and Snorks

http://www.vetspecialtytucson.com/LibraryForms/FamciclovirUseFelineHerpes.pdf

http://samedicine.anzcvs.org.au/samedicine_assets/documents/2011%20SAM%20proceedings/Malik%202011.pdf


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

Claritin also works well. Dosage for adult cats is 1/2 tab once a day. Ask vet for kitten dosage (or ask the herpes virus forum).


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