# Cat with goopy eye - herpes virus



## Vimes (Aug 25, 2007)

Hello

We have three cats, one of them being a British Blue and the other two are both Sphinx's.

All three of our cats caught cat flu last winter, albeit not being too severe. Two of our cats pulled through fine whilst one of our Sphinx (Pongo) needed to be hand fed, with a syringe, and he suffered quite badly. 

Sadly he has now been left with a goopy eye. His left eye is almost constantly red with a brown water type discharge. We alternate between two types of antibiotics...
Aureomycin
Fucithalmic
...and we have used chloramphenicol drops.

He has been taking lysine at 500mg per day. We increased this to 1 gram but as there was no noted difference after severa weeks we reduced back to 500mg.
We bathe his eye each day and apply the antibiotics twice a day.
Some days the area around his eye is more swollen than others, although even on the best of days it never looks as good as his other one. 
Our vet has checked for any corneal damage and that is ok.

Apart from our vet monitoring him and we constantly have to use antibiotics I wondered if there was anything else that we could try...?
I have noted that in one previous thread drjean had suggested...

http://www.aeura.com/

...and to use the Herpese Formula.

I have mailed the company to ask if they can ship to the UK but as it is tablet based and drjean noted in this thread...

http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t ... ght=herpes

... that drops were used is there another product or are the tablets crushed and mixed with water first, and how would they be applied...?
It is really frustrating to see Pongo with a goopy eye and as painful as it is looking at him goodness knows what it must be like for him to have to suffer from tjis chronic condition.

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

Like any homeopathic, the tablets can be dissolved in water, and a dropperful of the mixture given by mouth or in food.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I got Tobramycin drops once for Rocket when he had conjunctivitis and that worked pretty good. I don't know anything about Fucithalmic, but Aureomycin is a pretty old antibiotic; it's subject to a lot of resistance by many kinds of bacteria.


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## katwill10 (Jan 25, 2007)

One of my cats has herpes of the eye as well, and along with the l-lysine, the veterinary opthamologist prescribed interfuron to help with his immune system. They are litte frozen vials that you defrost, and then squirt the contents into the cats mouth. The interfuron is supposed to help with the cat's immune system. I don't know if it is the combination of the interfuron and l-lysine (plus antibiotic drops that I used for short period of time, but not indefinitely), but I have seen great improvement. The interfuron I was told to use for 2 months after his recent flare-up.

Karie and crew


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## Vimes (Aug 25, 2007)

Thanks ever so much for your replies, most appreciated  

I am very disappointed with what seems to be available when a cat has this chronic condition to resolve the situation easily.

I didn't know that the Herpes Formula can be diluted with water and then given as drops orally, I just hope that the company will respond to my request to ship it to the UK and then we can try and get some relief for Pongo.

I wasn't aware that aureomycin was a relatively old anitbiotic, of the two that we use that one does seem to give the better results. However it is not as though our Pongo goes through good and bad times as it is more of a constant problem for him  I will chat with our vet about Tobramycin drops. Hopefully they, if he agrees, might be helpful.

I did have a chat with our vet about interfuron and he didn't feel as though that would be beneficial, whether it was because he did not have a great deal of knowledge of using it I'm not sure. Then again if the treatment, well its not really a treatment as such, does continue as a cycle between the two antibiotics that we are using then I think that it is about time to have another opinion if our vet can't suggest any alternatives.

Thanks again for your help


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## Jennyphx (Apr 5, 2007)

Hunter has the same problem. He just turned 8 months and he had a URI and pneumonia at 12 weeks and has had watery eyes and gets crusty snot in his nose daily ever since. He has been on antibiotics and the eye ointments multiple times and most recently 1000 mg of lysine a day. Nothing has helped. His eyes never get red and inflamed, just really runny. My vet mentioned steroid drops but says she hates using steroids so she really doesn't want to try them. I am apprehensive about them as well after what happened to my Cassie. Not sure what they will want to try next since the lysine hasn't worked.


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## Nini (May 6, 2007)

Maybe you could try the herb called Eyebright. You can infuse a spoonful of it in a boiled cup of purified water, and add 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt to it. It soothes the eyes, and could maybe give them a break from the antibiotics. 

My two kittens have a tendency to have goopy eyes too, but I noticed they actually get worse when I use antibiotics ointment, whereas when I use the eyebright tea and L-Lysine, it runs its course for a few days and then gets better. Could be worth a shot :wink:


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## Vimes (Aug 25, 2007)

My vet also told me that apart from him looking to ensure that the cornea (?) isn't damaged or any other signs of further problems every now and again he would prefer it for me to just call and collect Pongos antibiotics as the stress of keep taking the cat to the vets can sometimes make the situation worse.

I haven't heard of the herb eyebright, I have noticed now tha tit is sold as a tincture on ebay, so I assume I could give that a try. I am aware that it can't be a good thing to constantly put antibiotics in the cats eye but, as yet, it has been difficult to find an alternative that offers some relief. Maybe eyebright mixed in the sea salt solution could help. Thanks for posting that.


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## katwill10 (Jan 25, 2007)

Do you have access to a veterinary opthamologist in your area? I ask because my cat with the same issue, Dizzy, was bounced back and forth from my vet (whom I love) for months while he kept having issues. And while some of it may have been that my vet didn't have the knowledge he needed to treat Dizzy's issues (they are a little more complicated than just herpes...his herpes outbreak was causing eosinophilic keratitis), some of it was definitely that he didn't have the advanced technology to see what was going on inside his eye. The vet. opthamologist had all sorts of stuff to see what was going on in there, and tons of knowledge to go with it! Anyways, just wanted to mention it.

Good luck,
Karie and crew


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

I agree with Karie. I had a cat with a serious eye problem and I took him to my vets, then three other clinics in the area. By the time I had over $800 in that eye (and watched it get worse and worse because I was wasting time in addition to money), we went to an opthomologist three hours away. He made a diagnosis in five minutes and the cat was cured within a week or two of medication! (By the way, Karie, it was also eosinophilic keratitis.)


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## Vimes (Aug 25, 2007)

Well I have now received my eyebright, so fingers crossed on that one.

I did get a response from the company selling The Herpes Formula but as they do not have a representative in the UK they suggested that I emailed them my credit card number as their online ordering form can't accept UK orders.

I do not want to do that with my credit card so I think that I might not be able to buy that product 

I have seen three different vets, within the same practice, one of them 'specializing' in cats eye problems. Albeit that person isn't a veterinary ophthalmologist they all seem to have the same opinion as to the cause and the treatment.

I do take the very valid points made by both Karie and CA, unless we take the cat to a veterinary ophthalmologist we my never know for sure if the diagnosis is100% correct.

I am not sure of any veterinary ophthalmologists in our area, that might be something that I would need to consider at one point, even if they do sound expensive....!!!!!


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## katwill10 (Jan 25, 2007)

Just to let you know, my cat's veterinary opthamologist was a bit cheaper than my cat's regular vet, although my cat's regular vet is a bit on the high end. Regardless, I found the veterinary opthamologist fees to be extremely reasonable. 

Good luck with the eyebright, and keep up posted!

Karie and crew


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## dustee1 (Aug 31, 2007)

This is what has finally worked for me. I have had my regular vet & an eye specialist leaning towards feline herpes for about a year now. I just refused to believe their diagnosis! Find someone who can flush your kittys tear ducts then give them a very mild steriod drop till the eyes clear up. (you will know it's herpes if the steriod drops make the eyes worse) The vet wanted me to continue with the steriods for life upon seeing the results. I disagreed & have sucessfully made my own saline solution of 1/2 cup of boiling water & 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt (I use celtic sea salt but any sea salt will do, just don't use table salt). After cooled to a temperature that is aceptable to your kitty add 1 drop of goldenseal extract to 1 tablespoon of the saline solution, this makes a good eye wash & helps to reduce swelling & above all keep those tear ducts open.I do give the steriod drops on ocasion, but only if I detect swelling.Now my baby Ginger who is a Flame Point Doll Face Himalayan is happy as can be with perfectly clean & clear eyes. I hope this helps you, I know from personal experience how frustrating this can be.

The saline/goldenseal remedy was found in - The New Natural Cat: A Complete Guide for Finicky Owners by Anitra Frazier and Norma Eckroate, which also offers some techniques that kittys will tolerate for putting drops in their eyes.


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## Vimes (Aug 25, 2007)

Yes I will keep you all posted on how Pongo goes on 

I know that it is only early days as yet but his eye is not as watery as it was and I think that it because it was becoming quite sensitive having antibiotics constantly squeezed into it.

Thanks Dustee for the information that you have posted., it is most appreciated, as is all the help that I have got from everyone 

Off I go now to find some goldenseal extract in the UK....

PS - I will also consider talking to another vet.


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