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My cat has a second bout with rhinosinusitis after being free of it for a year and a half. The second bout was so severe the cat lost its appetite. The vet think it's related to feline herpes. It may be chronic. The vet has the cat on antibiotics, an appetite stimulant and an anti-viral. Has anyone had much successful experience keeping a cat with this condition? If the drugs don't help, it would cost several hundred dollars to explore other areas of treatment and relief.
there are two supps that will give your kitty alot of relief...one is L-lysine an amino acid and much more helpful than an antibiotic would be for herpes, it will strengthen her immune system. I'm surprised your Vet didn't recommend it, most do. You can buy directly from your Vet, but its full of fillers...to get it in the purest form and least expensive buy it from a human vitamin outlet, buy the brand with no sugar, salt, soy or other additives in order to be the safest. the one I get is from Carlson Labs brand. I order from iherb, but you can buy anywhere. give 500 for 1st week(in the food) than 250mg for maintenance.
the other supp is Stinging Nettles....this will help with breathing by clearing the nasal passages, it has virtually no side effects unlike benadryl. the safest brands for kitties are. Natures Way Nettle Herb 435mg capsules open and use 1/2
Eclectric Institute either in powder form (use 1/3 teas.) or capsules...use 250-300mgs mixed in the food.
Thanks for your expertise, Patricats! We've been doing the L-Lysine in treat form, and in the last few days the cat won't eat them. He's decided they are fun toys to chase around the kitchen floor for a minute, and then ignore completely. I've been having to trick him by smooshing them to a powder and mixing in a spoonful of warm broth or something so he'll nom nom it all up...I think I should just get the powder instead.
Thanks for your expertise, Patricats! We've been doing the L-Lysine in treat form, and in the last few days the cat won't eat them. He's decided they are fun toys to chase around the kitchen floor for a minute, and then ignore completely. I've been having to trick him by smooshing them to a powder and mixing in a spoonful of warm broth or something so he'll nom nom it all up...I think I should just get the powder instead.
Didn't know about the nettles.
Our new rescue, whom we adopted directly from a feral cat colony (she was a tame abandoned cat who joined that colony) has the same kind of thing your cat has, a chronic nasal runny nose and powerful, rapid sneezes. We cleared up the bacterial URI with antibiotics but she was still so congested. My vet said, I told you to please give her L Lysine and then I got with the program and started to do 500 mg per day using powdered L Lysine in her wet food (I only give her wet anyway) and making her hungry for her meal so she'd eat it all up. She is now down to 250 mg a day and boy what a difference!! I am sold on that L Lysine!
Do it. I got help here on the forum and someone said do 500 mg while she is symptomatic and then 250 mg a day after that. I never missed on doing it, I was so desperate.
Her issue is that she is especially vulnerable to the herpes virus just because some cats ARE, our vet said. Some are just not as good as others at fighting off the virus. And become low grade chronic, and require L Lysine always,for life.
there are two supps that will give your kitty alot of relief...one is L-lysine an amino acid and much more helpful than an antibiotic would be for herpes, it will strengthen her immune system. I'm surprised your Vet didn't recommend it, most do. You can buy directly from your Vet, but its full of fillers...to get it in the purest form and least expensive buy it from a human vitamin outlet, buy the brand with no sugar, salt, soy or other additives in order to be the safest. the one I get is from Carlson Labs brand. I order from iherb, but you can buy anywhere. give 500 for 1st week(in the food) than 250mg for maintenance.
the other supp is Stinging Nettles....this will help with breathing by clearing the nasal passages, it has virtually no side effects unlike benadryl. the safest brands for kitties are. Natures Way Nettle Herb 435mg capsules open and use 1/2
Eclectric Institute either in powder form (use 1/3 teas.) or capsules...use 250-300mgs mixed in the food.
I do want to say that one should be sure that one's cat can tolerate Stinging Nettles. I googled it for side effects: It increases blood sugar, decreases blood pressure and for humans should not be given more than 6 months.
My vet said I should be able to find it just about anyplace. Probably even Walgreen's, he said. I was in Petsmart shopping around and figured since it's such a commonly needed and well-known thing for such an incredibly common condition for cats...surely they'd have it. Nope, they've got products for scratching, stress, you name it but not that. The regular help told me to ask at their vet counter, because they have an in-store vet. The vet tech on duty had no idea what I was talking about and called over a manager. He said, "Lysine is a nutrient found in the food, but I have never heard of it being given as a supplement. You might need a prescription." So I ordered a pouch of the same treats the vet gave us (as a free sample) off of Amazon.
But these are the same people who highly recommended Blue Buffalo food to me, so I guess I shouldn't be too shocked. Yeah, it's the most expensive food you carry so it must be the best huh? Not! :P
EDIT: The vet tech also said that if my cat had an upper respiratory infection, our vet should have just given him antibiotics.
My vet said I should be able to find it just about anyplace. Probably even Walgreen's, he said. I was in Petsmart shopping around and figured since it's such a commonly needed and well-known thing for such an incredibly common condition for cats...surely they'd have it. Nope, they've got products for scratching, stress, you name it but not that. The regular help told me to ask at their vet counter, because they have an in-store vet. The vet tech on duty had no idea what I was talking about and called over a manager. He said, "Lysine is a nutrient found in the food, but I have never heard of it being given as a supplement. You might need a prescription." So I ordered a pouch of the same treats the vet gave us (as a free sample) off of Amazon.
But these are the same people who highly recommended Blue Buffalo food to me, so I guess I shouldn't be too shocked. Yeah, it's the most expensive food you carry so it must be the best huh? Not! :P
EDIT: The vet tech also said that if my cat had an upper respiratory infection, our vet should have just given him antibiotics.
I am not a vet tech nor vet, of course, but I believe that most upper respiratory infections are secondary to the herpes virus, and yes, antibiotics are needed for the bacteria in the URI, but L Lysine is extremely helpful and important as an anti-viral and my vets have always said to use it even when my cats had an URI.
I am not a vet tech nor vet, of course, but I believe that most upper respiratory infections are secondary to the herpes virus, and yes, antibiotics are needed for the bacteria in the URI, but L Lysine is extremely helpful and important as an anti-viral and my vets have always said to use it even when my cats had an URI.
Well, I felt that my vet's approach was pretty sensible. Fact is, antibiotics are overused in everything nowadays, so we've got these horrifying strains of resistant bacteria cropping up. So at first visit, when the cat sneezed all over the place and it was just a little bit of clear fluid, nothing yellow, and his eyes were clear, the vet had me go with the L-Lysine only. He said that IF it got worse or failed to clear up in 2 weeks, to come back in. His fee wasn't very much ($35) so I didn't feel like I was being robbed with the request to possibly return later and pay for a second visit...
As it turned out, while his nasal symptoms improved, he eventually developed a secondary conjunctivitis (eye infection) so antibiotics were needed after all. But I really prefer the practice of waiting until one is QUITE sure that's necessary before doing antibiotics. Just as I would go get them for myself if I knew I had a sinus infection or something, but not just for a nasty cold/flu.
I do want to say that one should be sure that one's cat can tolerate Stinging Nettles. I googled it for side effects: It increases blood sugar, decreases blood pressure and for humans should not be given more than 6 months.
as with any medication or herb we always need to use with caution and start on lower dose to be sure it is tolerated well by human or animal. however from all the reading I've done, stinging nettles is used safely as an antihistamine for cats by people who treat holistically...much safer than trying benadryl for example and many Vets do suggest that one.
for cats its important to use the seed or leaf form NOT the root done in a tincture b/c this uses alcohol.
I just googled it quickly too Martha and the only reference I could find abt blood sugar and blood pressure was that it tended to cause a lowering in animals unlike the increase it may cause in humans....read down to HAY FEVER than 'other' on the following site.
I got my lysine for my kitty at the vet located in Petsmart. Since the first batch I have found other less costly places for it. Kitty is a rescue so she had a couple of issues...
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