# For those who have kitties with feline herpes - what do you use besides Llysine?



## Shamu (Aug 6, 2010)

For those who have kitties with feline herpes - what do you use besides Llysine?


I give Maxie 1/2 of a 1/4 a teaspoon 2x a day of Llysinewith her canned meal. That seems to have worked really well.

She's now had major outbreak after being introduced to kitten and I've increased her dose of Llysine now. And I brought her to the vet and she gave me an antibiotic ointment to put on her eye, as to prevent a bacterial infection, she said. It's called Terramyscin.

Ok, so that doesn't seem to help one bit and/or even make it worse!!!!!

Please, does anyone else know of something else that can help Maxie's eye? Or what do you use when your cat gets stressed.

I've got a Feliway diffuser plugged in too, was hoping that would help, but it doesn't look like it.

Anything.. is there something homemade that can help with her pain? 

I'm getting info that some vets don't know what the heck they are doing, or they don't care, and its frustrating to me because I really would like to comfort Maxie more.  

Thank you so much in advance.


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## furryfriends251 (Jan 1, 2009)

Below is a copy/paste of a few of the "raw feeding testimonials" I wrote a while ago. Amiga, Jack, and Jill are all cats affected by the herpes virus.


> Amiga was a very tiny adult cat – weighing in at about 4 lbs. She also had a constant cold which was due to her feline herpes. She looked fine but was just small. “High quality” dry food didn’t help her gain weight and neither did grain free (but lower quality) wet food. She wasn’t underweight for her size however so I figured she was already done growing. Not so! As soon as I started to feed them all a raw diet she started to grow. Who has ever heard of a DSH cat growing when they were a bit over a year old? Well, I hadn’t. A year later and she is still a small looking cat but in reality she has doubled her weight and size. Raw feeding also helped boost her immune system and she doesn’t show signs of having a herpes affection anymore.
> 
> 
> Jack and Jill are brother and sister. They both have feline herpes that a year ago was badly affecting their eyes. For Jack it affected just one of his eyes but for Jill it was both of them. When they were fixed, at a year old, the vet said that it may be best to remove their eyes as there was no hope for them. I knew that their eyes looked horrible – puffy, red, and sometimes swollen to the point they couldn’t close them. I tried giving them lysine and that didn’t help much. At that point they were eating grain free dry and wet food. But then I started to feed them a raw diet. Their eyes soon started to look normal or at least as normal as they would ever get. Both of them can now see out of their eyes which were once so affected by herpes that they couldn’t see out of them. If only the vet that fixed them could see them now! I don’t know who the vet was that fixed Jack and Jill as they were done at a place that will do feral/barn cats for free. But the difference that raw feeding has made in both of these cats lives is simply amazing.


Cats need more lysine than arginine in their diet, meat is naturally high in lysine, and plants are naturally higher in arginine. So, getting rid of the plants, will make their diet be higher in lysine already. 

So, long story short, I switched what I was feeding them. I actually don't give lysine anymore - their food takes care of that requirement. I assume 95% meat canned would do the same thing.


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## Shamu (Aug 6, 2010)

furryfriends251 said:


> Below is a copy/paste of a few of the "raw feeding testimonials" I wrote a while ago. Amiga, Jack, and Jill are all cats affected by the herpes virus.
> 
> 
> Cats need more lysine than arginine in their diet, meat is naturally high in lysine, and plants are naturally higher in arginine. So, getting rid of the plants, will make their diet be higher in lysine already.
> ...


Thank you very much for the information and help, I know there are many switching to raw. You know, I wish I was a stay at home kitty momma who could stay home with her cats and money wasn't such an issue, nor time. It kinda stressed me out though as this is a whole new ballgame for me to look into. I was hoping for something to help kitty with her eye _now_. Diet yes is helpful and also in your situation, and long term, but that's a whole new change up. Know what I mean? Does anyone know if there is any other topical stuff to use for a cats eyes immediately? 

Maxie surely doesn't have a problem with her weight at all, nor does fast growing kitty, haha. Maxie has never had a flare up like this either. It's Maxie's eye I'm worried about right now. I know many are saying and proving that a raw food diet is better overall, but I'd need more time to look into it. I'll probably ask you on your page what exactly you are feeding them for meat/canned.

Maxie likes her FF grilled/canned. I'm feeding kitten Lexie Wellness kitten canned. I also leave out some kibble. I've tried to switch Maxie to another besides FF, but since she needs the the L-lysine in her food, I'd rather be feeding her something, than nothing that she is picky about.

Thank you again, I'll ask on your page the exact diet. But does anyone know of a topical solution for a cat's eye besides Terramycin?

Thank you!


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Shamu said:


> I brought her to the vet and she gave me an antibiotic ointment to put on her eye, as to prevent a bacterial infection, she said. It's called Terramyscin.
> 
> Ok, so that doesn't seem to help one bit and/or even make it worse!!!!!


Terramycin is a good eye antibiotic, BUT some cats are known to have a sensitivity to it so that it is irritating to their eyes. Since it seems to be irritating your girl's eyes, tell your vet you need a different eye antibiotic for her. Be forewarned, however, that eye antibiotics have become exceptionally difficult for vets to access (pharmaceutical manufacturers have largely quit making them), and they are very expensive when a vet can get them.



> Please, does anyone else know of something else that can help Maxie's eye?


The best thing you can do, in addition to trying to get a different eye antibiotic from your vet, is to continue to give her 500 mg of L-lysine daily to help her beat back the herpes flare-up.



> Or what do you use when your cat gets stressed.


I spend extra one-on-one time with the stressed-out cat, petting, soothing, and calming. If the cat can be enticed to play, a really active play session can dissipate a lot of stress, as well.



> I've got a Feliway diffuser plugged in too, was hoping that would help, but it doesn't look like it.


Rescue Remedy may help. Make sure you get the formula with no alcohol.



> Anything.. is there something homemade that can help with her pain?


Warm, damp compresses held gently on her eyes a couple of times a day while she's drowsy or napping may help make them feel better. 

Laurie


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## Shamu (Aug 6, 2010)

laurief said:


> Terramycin is a good eye antibiotic, BUT some cats are known to have a sensitivity to it so that it is irritating to their eyes. Since it seems to be irritating your girl's eyes, tell your vet you need a different eye antibiotic for her. Be forewarned, however, that eye antibiotics have become exceptionally difficult for vets to access (pharmaceutical manufacturers have largely quit making them), and they are very expensive when a vet can get them.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
Thank you very much Laurie, very much. Wonder why pharmeceutical manufactures have stopped making them? Especially with so many cats with feline herpes. I don't understand it. 10 years ago Inever heard of feline herpes, now I see and hear about it everywhere.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Shamu said:


> Wonder why pharmeceutical manufactures have stopped making them? Especially with so many cats with feline herpes. I don't understand it.


I don't understand it, either, because eye antibiotics are human medications that are used on animals, as well. The inaccessibility and high cost problems affect both human and non-human patients. Apparently these medications just weren't making the drug companies enough profit. Right now, eye antibiotics that cost $3/tube a couple of years ago cost $25/tube or more, IF you can even get them. It's ridiculous. One of my vets has even resorted to using a cattle mastitis antibiotic cream as an eye antibiotic in other animal species.



> 10 years ago Inever heard of feline herpes, now I see and hear about it everywhere.


I think shelters and large catteries are probably the hotbeds of feline herpesvirus transmission. Anywhere large numbers of cats are kept in close quarters, you're pretty much guaranteed that all of the cats are going to be exposed to herpes. Since it's so contagious, those cats are almost certainly going to be infected, either with the active disease or as carriers who can pass along the disease any time they have flare-ups. Estimates are that somewhere around 90% of all cats are infected with herpes, so it's really just a fact of life for cat owners.

Laurie

Laurie


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## saitenyo (Nov 28, 2010)

That's interesting furryfriends! Athena has feline herpes and I've actually never needed to give her anything for it aside from one bad episode. She's on a mostly raw diet so I wonder if that's a factor in not needing to give her lysine.

So unfortunately I am afraid I don't have much advice on this topic, but I second the recommendation for warm, damp compresses. That is mostly what I do for Athena. When she's having a flare up, I regularly gently wipe the gunk away from her eyes and nose with a soft towel with some warm water on it. That seems to help make her more comfortable temporarily.


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## Shamu (Aug 6, 2010)

Thanks again, my fellow kitty lovers. 

Haha, you guys will be having me on raw in no time, eh? Haha. All I'm hearing is the best reveiws for it. And if it will help Maxie, I want to, I hope it's affordable for my situation and time sensitive. LOL, I been charging stuff anyhow lately, it isn't good, but really, I can't stand seeing her wince like she's doing and her eye all watery : (

When I went home for lunch to top this off, it looks like she threw up! There goes that dose of Llysine.  

I've researched all over this board, and online and as far as the best for sensitive stomachs and nutrition, it seems Natural Balance Limited Ingredient is the best one.

For now, I'm planning to at least start trying that tonight (gradually mix in their wet over the next 5-7 days) tonight, as its both for cats and kittens. Pet Store has the bigger cans on sale for only .68cents - great deal and cheaper than the kitten wellness I have little Lexie on. Will probably start yet another thread for which kind though is best. As they say, when it rains, it poors!

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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

I agree that a raw diet helps, but there are other things that can give her some relief too.

When Jitzu has a bad day I take her into the bathroom and make it a steam room. It helps clear her sinuses. Just like steam helps when you have a cold. She doesn't like being in the room, so I put a big fluffy towel on the counter and set her on it, then I gently pet her while we sit there. She's usually much better after 5-10 minutes of this.

I know Maxie doesn't have the nasal issues as much, but a weepy/irritated eye can be made worse by blocked tear ducts. Clearing out her sinuses might help anyways.

I also have started giving Jitzu a small dose of Vit C and elderberry every day. She's getting about 500mg of elderberry and about the same Vit C. I crush the pills, and mix them with water then use a syringe to squirt it in her mouth. Then I quickly give her a really great treat (leftover cooked chicken last night ) to help her forgive me for squirting nasty stuff into her mouth.

I also second the rescue remedy. It's great stuff. I use it for going to the vet mostly, but it definitely helps! (PS, people of all shapes and sizes can also take this safely)


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## Stryker (Apr 2, 2007)

librarychick said:


> ...I also have started giving Jitzu a small dose of Vit C and elderberry every day. She's getting about 500mg of elderberry and about the same Vit C...


I want to share something on the use of Vit C in cats....first, it's going to increase the urine acidity - potentially risky - and secondly, because cats produce their own Vitamin C, supplimentation is unnecessary...here's a little info Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Renal Failure - Nutritional Requirements

I believe that Elderberry also contains Vitamin C....adding fuel to a fire?


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

Guess you learn something new everyday. I didn't know about the raw feeding being higher naturally in L-lysine. Egypt has not needed anything since she had a really bad flare-up when I first adopted her last year in June. Her eye got a little weepy back in February when I boarded her for 9 days, but it cleared up within 2 days without any intervention on my end.


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## Muzby (Jan 9, 2008)

Stryker said:


> I want to share something on the use of Vit C in cats....first, it's going to increase the urine acidity - potentially risky - and secondly, because cats produce their own Vitamin C, supplimentation is unnecessary...here's a little info Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Renal Failure - Nutritional Requirements
> 
> I believe that Elderberry also contains Vitamin C....adding fuel to a fire?


Below is copied the info on Vit C specifically.

"*Vitamin C* Additional vitamin C is not a good idea for CRF cats, because it is acidifying and CRF cats already have a tendency towards acidosis. Medline Plus mentions that Vitamin C may also interact adversely with products containing aluminium, such as phosphorus binders. 

  Vitamin C-induced hyperoxaluria causing reversible tubulointerstitial nephritis and chronic renal failure: a case report(2007) Rathi S, Kern W & Lau K _Journal of Medical Case Reports_ *1* p155 reports on a case where a man developed CRF after taking large doses of Vitamin C, which proved to be reversible following proactive treatment and stopping the Vitamin C. 

In any event, unlike humans, cats are able to produce their own Vitamin C, so it is unnecessary to add it to their diet. "


She is specifically talking about CRF cats, not healthy cats with a flareup of herpes AND the study shows a HUMAN MALE, not a cat. Cats =/= humans.


VitC & Elderberry are used to treat flareups for the herpes virus. We use it, with our vets ok, when the cats are having a real bad time. I think LONG TERM use (as in, daily for the months) would probably be bad - but using it as a help to get past a cold in addition to Llysine is okay. Everything in moderation, right? :kittyturn


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## Shamu (Aug 6, 2010)

Thank you all again for the information. Wish they would find a cure for feline herpes


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