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In December 2015 I got a Ragdoll kitten (12 weeks old). After bringing Sir FluffyPants home, he got an Upper Respiratory Infection. He was negative for FIV and had had his first round of immunizations. He was given Clavamox for the URI and Vetropolycin for his developing conjunctivitis in one eye.
He wasn't all the way better after a week, so the vet upped the Clavamox by 0.1 for another week. His eyes looked fine after the first week.
He was better for a couple of weeks after that, but has never, not ever stopped sneezing. The vets say he has feline herpes and will likely always sneeze. He's taking lysine gel in his food twice a day....forever. Fine. We can deal with that, but on the 15th of February we had to bring him back in AGAIN because his eye was swollen and red (conjunctivitis again). They checked, no ulcer and negative again for FIV. Vet put him on Terramycin. This did not help and after another 10 days on it, BOTH of his eyes became red (though not as swollen) and he started wet sneezes and little coughs.
Right now he's back on Clavamox for the third time at a slightly higher dosage. He's also back to using Vetropolycin in both eyes. I've been in touch with the breeder this whole time and she said she's used Doxycycline if ever her cats have been sick (though she does not have experience with herpes outbreaks in her kitties. It was just an unfortunate happening that the kitten I got is immune compromised to herpes I suppose).
I'm worried he might be immune to the Clavamox and would like to try something stronger, like Doxycycline, but my vets will not prescribe it because he is only 6 months old. But it's day 3 of being on Clavamox and Vetropolycin and he's still the same.
Does anyone have any experience with this? I've had four cats in my lifetime and none of them ever got sick. My first rescue kitten died in his sleep from a heart problem we couldn't have known about, my next kitty had urinary problems (which I now believe to have been from his dry food only diet) and the other two are still alive and well (older, but well).
Please, any insight would be so appreciated. I HATE seeing him always sick. He's still eating (I'm worried about his water intake so I add broth and water to his food), very playful, cuddly, and so wonderful, but we've already racked up over $1,000 in vet visits, medications, tests, etc. he's been sick for three weeks now and I just want to see him better again, for 'good' this time.
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When I first got my ragdoll kitten she had an upper respiratory infection. She was sneezing green snot and her eyes were always weeping. The vet gave her Clavamox and that took care of it. She looks a lot like your baby. Her name is Bella.
What are you feeding? If you are feeding kibble, you must stop. Your kitten needs foods high in meat and no grains. Very important. Feed a canned, or better, balanced raw, diet (or a combination of both).
And second: I recommend you read up and and then ask your vet about lactoferrin, in addition to the L-lysine for controlling the herpes flare ups.
And one more suggestion- use pure l-lysine powder instead those "made for cats" gels, which contain a lot of extra not so great stuff.
ITA with cats mom--a high quality diet will strengthen his immune system. Also, since he's been on a lot of antibiotics, you might want to give him probiotics for a while. (Don't use Forti flora, which the vet might offer. It's not very good.) I've been using ProBios (from Amazon) on our oldest.
Stress plays a major role in these kinds of episodes. Was there a recent move, change in schedule, new cat/baby/dog, etc? Are there loud sudden noises outside that may scare him?
Try not to use too much meds. The immune system will take care of it but it takes time and quiet, warm place to rest. Change the diet to wet food to increase water intake. Clavamox is pretty strong stuff as it is and are very effective fighting symptoms such as yours but again, it is an antibiotic and what you are dealing with is a virus that only his immune system can keep it in check.
Use seperate cotton swabs in warm water and clean his eyes. If the eyes are swollen, dip the swab in salted, warm water and gently press it against the eye. One cotton swab per eye and don't use the same warm water for both eyes. Clean the nose and bring him in the bathroom with you while you take a hot shower.
As he gets older, these outbreaks should be happening less and less, considering that there are no other factors triggering the virus, I.e. stress.
1. He's currently on a 75/25 diet of wet(canned)/kibble. I always add a bit of extra water to his food, too. The wet is WeRuVa and Fancy Feast: Classic, no seafood of any kind.
I will definitely look up Lactoferrin and get some lysine powder rather than the gel he's currently on. Thank you for the advice and the articles! I will look into them.
2. The ProBios is another great idea! I'll look into that, too.
3. There's been no stress except for the first outbreak, which was taking him home with me. Since then he's basically been sick the whole time. There was only a short period where he was doing well. It isn't stress that's setting him off, unfortunately, because that would be a much easier fix. He also doesn't scare easily.
We don't want to be using the meds, but they've been necessary as his body ISNT fighting off the virus, which has already two or three times lead to infections. I already take him into the shower everyday, which he doesn't mind! He just falls asleep in the steam
Luckily his eyes aren't swollen anymore and his cough, mucus, etc is gone after this last round of Clavamox BUT his eyes are still red and irritated (he's always squinting). They just aren't getting better! he's not sneezing quite as much as he was before, but still has some sneezing fits. These sneezes usually don't happen near the end of the Clavamox, but come back once he's done with the Clavamox.
Everyone has said that the outbreaks should become less frequent as time goes by, which should be a relief....except that he isn't getting better long enough to call them outbreaks. It seems like the same thing weaning and waning. We've only had a week or two since December that he's been seemingly healthy aside from his sneezes, which are usually consistent.
I just want my little Fluff to get healthy!
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he's not sneezing quite as much as he was before, but still has some sneezing fits. These sneezes usually don't happen near the end of the Clavamox, but come back once he's done with the Clavamox. 
