Herpes
Feline Herpes Virus?
I have 2 cats, one of which I adopted a year ago. The one year old was diagnosed with FHV and it is assumed that he was born with it. The only symptoms he has is similar to a conjunctivitis-he has runny eyes. His eyes are also cloudy with a small capillary crossing over one of his eyes. He is a very energetic cat and still acts like a kitten. The other cat may carry the virus but does not show symptoms. The cats are indoor cats and never go outside. With 2 dogs and 2 cats, it is expensive to take the cats to the vet. They only get taken to the vet when they are sick or when he has a "flare-up". I bought Enisyl-F, a paste, but the cat gets side effects of diarrhea. Besides his eyes, the virus doesn't seem to affect him, but should he be on medications?When I did bring him to the doctor, they said that it was good we had brought him in because he could have gone blind. But, the medication she gave us was for only a month. Please, any information would be helpful.
Public Comments
- I have a cat that I rescued who is infected with FHV. Her symptoms are more nasal than in her eyes, though... sneezing, stuffy nose, etc. My vet recommends that I medicate her to keep her symptoms to a minimum and to help ensure that she remains comfortable. She's been on Viralys (anti-viral) twice a day for about 1.5 years now. I haven't noticed any side-effects with this medication, and she actually enjoys it. It smells like maple syrup, so I guess it tastes good to her. When her symptoms increase (not often), I also have nasal drops that I use with her as needed. We tried to wean her from the meds about 8 months ago, and her symptoms returned in full force. According to my vet, she may exhibit symptoms for the remainder of her life. I've just come to the conclusion that I'll keep her on the meds to help her be more comfortable. She, like your kitty, is a very energetic cat and is perfectly normal other than her FHV symptoms. Also, I have 4 other cats who do not show any signs of infection. Just to be on the safe side, I make sure that they are vaccinated for it each year. I wish you luck, and I hope this helps!
- Enisyl-F is L-lysine which can be purchased at a drug store as a human supplement. Your Enisyl-F is 250mg per ml or cc. An adult cat should take250-500mg twice daily. The human tablets are 500mg- so 1 tablet twice a day. The cost is low ($5-7 for 100 tablets). Check out this company for online purchasing: http://www.puritansale.com/?xs=F061D23D15FD468D807099D96ED4F6F6 Certainly this is not the optimal or recommend solution a veterinarian may give you. I would advise running this past you veterinarian for a less expensive option. Good Luck
- your cat is not going to die early!!!!!! my kitten got the same thing when she was 8 weeks old. I took her to the vet and the vet prescibed an eye ointment and medication that vets all around the country are currently debating to use it or not. My vet is heavily involved in finding new medications and she gave my kitten these tablets (Famvir) apparently they are a new medication and not all vets will prescibe them. They worked wonders on my little one and in a matter of 3 days her eyed had cleared up 90% after a week it was totally healed and i havent had a problem with her since. There were absolutely no side effects
- Try joining this group. There's great people with great advice for Herpes cats. One of my cats has Herpes and they have helped quite a bit. Good luck. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/felineherpes/
