Author Topic: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes  (Read 4820 times)

Offline ChrisJ

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #14 on: December 13, 2011, 10:55:42 AM »
Hi Chris, one of my cats has been diagnosed with the herpes virus and also calici, not really sure what help I can be though as he was never a constant or frequent sufferer and also suffered from chronic stomatitis. He was prescribed L-lysine by the vet which I used to give him daily, it is difficult to know if it worked as he frequently received other meds for the stomatitis. He was also prescribed Famvir following the removal of his teeth and gingivectomy and it was very expensive, but the vet did give me the option of having a prescription and getting it from a pharmacy which would have been considerably cheaper.


Not sure if I have been any help, but please feel free to send a message if you think I can help in any way  :)
Thanks for the response jiJi, all advice and help is most welcome thank you, I have got Izzy on l-lysine daily as well, it does seem to suppress the sneezing and thick dirty mucus, she is such a lovely little cat, I just want the best treatment for her, still waiting to hear about a good cat vet in the Tamworth area, everyone has been wonderful here with there help and support :) Chris.

Offline Jiji

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #13 on: December 13, 2011, 09:26:56 AM »
Hi Chris, one of my cats has been diagnosed with the herpes virus and also calici, not really sure what help I can be though as he was never a constant or frequent sufferer and also suffered from chronic stomatitis. He was prescribed L-lysine by the vet which I used to give him daily, it is difficult to know if it worked as he frequently received other meds for the stomatitis. He was also prescribed Famvir following the removal of his teeth and gingivectomy and it was very expensive, but the vet did give me the option of having a prescription and getting it from a pharmacy which would have been considerably cheaper.


Not sure if I have been any help, but please feel free to send a message if you think I can help in any way  :)

Offline MarleyMoo

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #12 on: December 11, 2011, 18:56:07 PM »
Hi Chris,
I got your email, and I'll reply via that, too.
I'd definitely see if you can get a good cat vet... will make a huge difference to Izzy and your vet bills! Hopefully someone will be able to recommend one soon. Grates on me that there really are some terrible vets around, so I'm glad you aren't just taking their advice! It will definitely be wise to confirm herpes... the correct course of treatment will depend on confirmation. Herpes will always lay dormant, but Izzy may never have such a severe outbreak again, if it's treated correctly in the first place! I just can't see how by doing a basic eye examination they told you it was herpes... did they take swabs to send to the lab? Even then, herpes can't always be confirmed! It took my vet (who I trust implicitly) 2 small eye biopsies to confirm and then treat, and Nina's was back to herself about a month later. On the flip side, it is very expensive to treat using Famvir if she's not herpes positive. I have varying ages of cats - from 1 to late-teens - and Nina showed no signs until we'd had her about 4-years! Stress is not always brought on from other cats in the household - it can lay dormant and a weakened immune system can make it flare and shed.
You can also writer a letter of complaint to the vets, too, if you feel like it! Until I was a nurse I trusted the vets opinion (and I had a terrible experience once), and it's only since I've been a nurse that there are some useless vets out there, and some that are all for the cash! But they're not all like that... you just need to weedle out the good ones and hang onto them!! Is Izzy insured? Or did you pay the bills yourself?
Glad I could help a bit... it's horrible to see them going through flu or herpes... but know that they can lead a completely normal and happy life! (See pics of Leon and Nina, and one of Nina's poorly eye at its worst!!)
Liz x

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Offline ChrisJ

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #11 on: December 11, 2011, 18:06:36 PM »
Hi,

So sorry to hear about Izzy... How old is she now?

Another member forward me this post, as I have a cat that had herpes, and one that had cat flu.

Firstly, if it IS cat flu, it can take a LONG time to clear up. I'm a vet nurse, and took Leon on as a stray at 6-months old, and he had terrible cat flu - green/yellow thickened nasal discharge, severe sneezing, runny eyes... I used a long course of Clavaseptin antibiotics on him, along with Bisolvin on his food to loosen the mucous so it'd clear out. Also used fucithalmic eye ointment. After a month of severe symptoms, he gradually cleared up, and once he was fit and well, I vaccinated him and he's been fine since(this was almost 3-years ago). Of all the cats (I have 11!), he is the one I am most observant with when it comes to boosters. It is a case of perseverance to get them well, and monitoring their demeanour, eating, sleeping and toileting etc.

I also took Nina on as a stray about 5-years ago, and she was fit and healthy until last year. She started getting very sore-looking eyes and sneezing. It is VERY difficult to isolate and confirm herpes, as it can lay completely dormant for a long time with no symptoms showing (a bout of stress can bring it out). We ended up doing a biopsy of nina's eyelid and send it to the lab. On confirming it was herpes, she started what is a human herpes drug (I'll try to remember the name) which was very expensive (about £8 per tablet, but it is cut into quarters), and I ended up getting 2-prescriptions of £55 each!! The vet should be able to do a prescription, as few vet hold the medication in stock as it's a large pack and VERY expensive drug if they don't use it. Also keep up the eye ointment/bathing.

Finally, I don't think the vet you used has been good at all... getting a history from the previous owner is not patient confidentiality!! If the previous owner has consented, your vet/receptionists would contact the previous owners vets and they would fax over a history. This is done commonly, so I have no idea why your vet would say that!  :(

Secondly, no good vet would send her away without a course of antibiotics in the first place when they're sneezing like that...  :'(

Thirdly, yes, there is treatment available - the vet obviously did not know if it, or care to look into it for you!! I got the treatment, and Nina has been great since! You should not use that vet again (sadly, there are a lot of very poor vets out there - I've had to work with a lot of them!)

Go for as good a quality diet as you can afford (do you only have 1 cat?) Keep the eyes bathed with warm water on cotton pads if the gunk up, same with the nose, but use separate pads.

I'd get another vet quickly, too! I think you're wasting your money using someone who appears to have no idea. Anyone near Tamworth may be able to offer advice on a good cat vet locally.

I'll get the name of the drug I used on Nina for you, too.

They seem to have confirmed herpes easily! Especially if they just looked at the eyes without further tests...

Hope this helps, and that little Izzy gets the proper treatment to help her recover.

Liz

Thanks MarleyMoo some helpful advice in there thank you, Izzy is now 8 months old, we have one other older cat that does occasionally hiss and moan at her, and yes if someone in the Tamworth area could recommend a vet I would be very grateful, and I will not be going back to that practice as I have totally lost faith in them, thanks Chris.

Offline Sam (Fussy_Furball)

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #10 on: December 11, 2011, 17:34:35 PM »
This link give a bit of information on herpes.

http://www.cat-world.com.au/feline-herpesvirus

There is also a thread on CatChat which contains some usual links and info:  http://www.catchat.org/discus/messages/18/558152.html?1317503007
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Offline cazzer

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #9 on: December 11, 2011, 17:08:07 PM »
Good luck with puss.      I did used to have a herpes positive cat.       He hated being in a multi cat home and became very stressed which would cause the herpes to flare up.       His eyes used to be absolutely terrible.       he could hardly see out of them.        If this happened he would respond very well to famvir for the herpes and ronaxan [sp] for the eyes.    A course would clear it up.    My vet used to stock it as a matter of course but it was expensive.         If we then saw his eyes weep at a future date we would immediatly treat with fucilthalmic ointment and that usually was enough to stop it developing.       However eventually the stress caused other problems as well and he was rehomed as an only cat.      He's been fine since.
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Offline MarleyMoo

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #8 on: December 11, 2011, 16:44:04 PM »
The drug Nina went on was called Famciclovir (the trade name is Famvir) and I got mine from Boots...
If a decent vet prescribes it, you can contact the pharmacy beforehand and check their stock levels. They can always order it in next day for you if necessary.
Liz
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Offline MarleyMoo

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #7 on: December 11, 2011, 16:36:52 PM »
Hi,

So sorry to hear about Izzy... How old is she now?

Another member forward me this post, as I have a cat that had herpes, and one that had cat flu.

Firstly, if it IS cat flu, it can take a LONG time to clear up. I'm a vet nurse, and took Leon on as a stray at 6-months old, and he had terrible cat flu - green/yellow thickened nasal discharge, severe sneezing, runny eyes... I used a long course of Clavaseptin antibiotics on him, along with Bisolvin on his food to loosen the mucous so it'd clear out. Also used fucithalmic eye ointment. After a month of severe symptoms, he gradually cleared up, and once he was fit and well, I vaccinated him and he's been fine since(this was almost 3-years ago). Of all the cats (I have 11!), he is the one I am most observant with when it comes to boosters. It is a case of perseverance to get them well, and monitoring their demeanour, eating, sleeping and toileting etc.

I also took Nina on as a stray about 5-years ago, and she was fit and healthy until last year. She started getting very sore-looking eyes and sneezing. It is VERY difficult to isolate and confirm herpes, as it can lay completely dormant for a long time with no symptoms showing (a bout of stress can bring it out). We ended up doing a biopsy of nina's eyelid and send it to the lab. On confirming it was herpes, she started what is a human herpes drug (I'll try to remember the name) which was very expensive (about £8 per tablet, but it is cut into quarters), and I ended up getting 2-prescriptions of £55 each!! The vet should be able to do a prescription, as few vet hold the medication in stock as it's a large pack and VERY expensive drug if they don't use it. Also keep up the eye ointment/bathing.

Finally, I don't think the vet you used has been good at all... getting a history from the previous owner is not patient confidentiality!! If the previous owner has consented, your vet/receptionists would contact the previous owners vets and they would fax over a history. This is done commonly, so I have no idea why your vet would say that!  :(

Secondly, no good vet would send her away without a course of antibiotics in the first place when they're sneezing like that...  :'(

Thirdly, yes, there is treatment available - the vet obviously did not know if it, or care to look into it for you!! I got the treatment, and Nina has been great since! You should not use that vet again (sadly, there are a lot of very poor vets out there - I've had to work with a lot of them!)

Go for as good a quality diet as you can afford (do you only have 1 cat?) Keep the eyes bathed with warm water on cotton pads if the gunk up, same with the nose, but use separate pads.

I'd get another vet quickly, too! I think you're wasting your money using someone who appears to have no idea. Anyone near Tamworth may be able to offer advice on a good cat vet locally.

I'll get the name of the drug I used on Nina for you, too.

They seem to have confirmed herpes easily! Especially if they just looked at the eyes without further tests...

Hope this helps, and that little Izzy gets the proper treatment to help her recover.

Liz


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Offline Tiggy's Mum

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #6 on: December 11, 2011, 16:02:53 PM »
Another that has no experience of herpes but just wanted to  :welcome: you to Purrs

Offline ChrisJ

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #5 on: December 11, 2011, 15:39:22 PM »
:welcome: to Purrs  ;D

Sorry I too cannot give any advise but am moving this to Health as it may then be seen by the right people.

Just a point of interest, once vet records are transferred cose of change ot ownership, they should be made available to you. so the vet is playing games!

Hi Gill this is exactly what I think as well, I'm sure the majority of veterinarians are caring and honest, but why hide the records? unless they wish to gain from it?

Offline Gill (sneakiefeline)

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2011, 15:35:32 PM »
 :welcome: to Purrs  ;D

Sorry I too cannot give any advise but am moving this to Health as it may then be seen by the right people.

Just a point of interest, once vet records are transferred cose of change ot ownership, they should be made available to you. so the vet is playing games!

Offline Angiew

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2011, 12:18:41 PM »
Hi Chris and welcome.
I've not had much experience of herpes but I'm sure someone here will be able to help you.

Offline Stuart

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Re: new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2011, 12:17:18 PM »
Hi ChrisJ  :welcome: to the forum

Sorry to hear about your furbabe  :( and I have no advice to offer either  :doh: but someone will be along shortly
to answer your question's, as It's quite a busy forum  ;)
« Last Edit: December 11, 2011, 12:17:52 PM by Stuart »
Dad to Bridge babes Hamish, Misty, Olivia and Robbie :'(

Offline ChrisJ

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new to the forum with a question about feline herpes
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2011, 11:45:21 AM »
Hi Everyone,
I am Chris from Tamworth, I would like to ask some advice on feline herpes please, earlier this year we took on a little black kitten Izzy, we loved her, we were told she was the runt of the litter as she came to us with a runny nose and sneezing, and the sneezing was due to her clearing fluid from her lungs due to being rejected by her mother at birth, the vet had discharged her with a clean bill of health and the sneezing would subside, after a week it was still as bad, so we took her back to the same vets that had discharged her, even though the lady who we had Izzy off gave her full permission to know Izzy's vet records, the vet told us it was patient confidentiallity and would not disclose anything to us, and proceeded to treat her for cat flu, two weeks later we returned I took a sample of the mucus and urine, they still said it was cat flu, this went on for another month, us having faith in the vet we continued with there advice, we returned again for a third time, this time an eye examination was undertaken, and feline herpes diagnosed, we were told this is a lifetime condition, and it does not go away, and no treatment could be offered, so i hit the internet, and am now treating her with an amino acid called L lysine, which seems to lessen the frequency of the sneezing, if she gets stressed she can snezze anything from water to thick dirty looking mucus, I would say in general  she brings a small ammount of this dirty looking mucus out once every 2/3 days, although this does not seem to get her daown, she is as lively as a barrel of monkeys and so funny, I would like to know if I can improve on her condition and maybe halt the sneezing totally, I was reading here on the forums while waiting for my login to be approved some people have had success with EfaVet EFA Omega 3 6 Liquid Complex for Cat, any advice is very welcome, sorry this was so long, many thanks Chris.

 


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