Cats with Herpes?

Hi All,


I'm sure many of you remember that I adopting a kitten last year around July or August. I adopted him through a rescue I was doing on my own. He was the last cat I trapped.

Well he has been sneezing off and on and I had another one my cats at the vets and asked her about this and she said there are allergy tests I could do but I don't really want to have to do that so she told me I could also try a air purifier for the moment and see if that helps. So when I save up a bit of money I'm going to get one.

Today I received a call from a lady who adopted a cat I rescued from Bellefonte last year and told me how glad she was that I saved her. She also left me know that the cat has Herpes. I was surprised because I've never heard of this before and Hermes (my little) came from the same place her cat did and she said that her little girl "Happy" sneezes off and on and has a discharge so I'm kind of thinking that maybe my Hermes has Herpes.

I'm not sure but I think I'm going to mention this to my vet and see what she thinks of it.

I figured I'd attached some reading material I found on this subject.



Chronic sneezing in cats

Q: Dear Dr Mike,

First off, I love your website! I spent about 2 hours last night
browsing through a bunch of the articles, and by the time I was done, I
was really wishing that you were my vet! Ever consider moving to
Pittsburgh????

Anyway, here's my question:

I've had two, basically indoor, cats for the past 6 years (Bonnie &
Clyde). Last spring I adopted a stray who's basically an outdoor kitty
(Amstel).

In December, a new stray appeared......and of course, I felt compelled
to feed the poor starving thing. Needless to say, I'm his new best
friend. I called him Grey Kitty. Ever since the first time I met him
(3.5 months ago), he's been sneezing quite frequently (in fact, I now
have to clean my windows about every two days because he marks them up
so bad) and a reddish type liquid has been running out of his left eye.
His right eye is almost totally clouded over and looks like it's covered
by a cataract (my vet said that it's actually a very old battle scar and
that there is a small section of the pupil that is merging into the iris
part of the eye). My vet also said that he's approximately 9-10 years
old, has been neutered, has battle scars on his right eye, a rip on the
top of his one ear, some fur missing for the inside of both front paws
(where your thumb would be) and has a pretty severe heart murmur. Poor
guy, eh? Just makes me love him that much more.

Anyway, he tested negative for Feline Leukemia and Feline Aids and has
had all of the necessary shots (including his boosters). I treated him
for tapeworm three weeks ago, now it appears that he has roundworm....so
I'll be treating him for that starting tomorrow. He actually woke me up
one night by the sound of him sneezing and what appeared to be coughing
(which went on for a good 5 minutes or so.....I'm not sure what to call
it, maybe an asthma attack?). His stool has always been quite loose
(the consistency of soft-serve ice cream). He has also been loosing
weight, he's been back to the vet twice since I found him and both times
his weight has dropped. My vet wants to see him again in 2 months to
check his weight. I've also noticed recently that his appetite has not
been as good as usual. One more strange thing (not sure if it means
anything), he quivers whenever I pet him on his back (if my hand goes
any further than his shoulder blades....so I basically try to only pet
him on his head and neck.)

My question is, what do you think might be causing the sneezing and
runny nose thing? My vet told me that he probably just has a cold and
not to worry too much about it. However, if you think there's something
that can be done for him, please let me know! I feel bad enough for
the poor thing because if that weren't enough, he's also scared to death
of my other cats (unfortunately, he doesn't seem to realize that he has
claws, but my other two cats do not).

Any advise you could give me would be greatly appreciated!!

Sincerely, Lynn

A: Lynn-

The most common cause of chronic sneezing in cats is chronic herpes virus
(rhinotracheitis) infection. Sometimes it helps to give these cats
l-lysine, which can be purchased at health food stores. The dose is 250 to
500mg/day. Interferon is supposed to be helpful in some cats, too. Sneezing
can also occur with chronic periodontal disease or other tooth related
problems. Since these types of problems also sometimes cause weight loss if
the cat eats less due to them, it would be a good idea to check his teeth
for problems.

Coughing in cats is not a common problem but it can occur with bordetella
bacterial infection (this is rarely chronic), heartworm disease and asthma.

Weight loss in older cats can be associated with hyperthyroidism,
cardiomyopathy, kidney failure, liver disease, diabetes and other problems.
Cardiomyopathy can be secondary to hyperthyroidism in older cats and it can
cause heart murmurs. Without knowing his history it is hard to say how long
the murmur may have been present, making it harder to decide how important
it is.

Lots of cats don't like to be petted on their backs. Cats that over-react
to this are sometimes said to have "feline hyperesthesia syndrome". It is a
good idea to avoid petting these cats in areas that are sensitive because
many of them will bite when stimulated sufficiently by the petting.

You have already done a lot for Grey Kitty but you might consider a blood
panel and T4 test to rule out hyperthyroidism and the other systemic
problems mentioned.

Hope this helps some.

Mike Richards, DVM
3/18/99

Chronic herpes virus

Q: I was searching for some info on interferon and I happened to find
this page. Hope you can help me out! "" Any information you could
provide, or info on where to look for answers, would be greatly appreciated!

A: This is the information that I have on treating chronic herpes virus
keratitis and ulcers in cats. Most of it is from a lecture given by Dr.
Nasisse who is at the University of Missouri, in case you need to follow up
on it.

L-lysine, either 500mg sid or 250mg bid is supposed to be helpful in
treating herpes virus because it interferes with viral replication. It may
work better when combined with interferon at 30 units orally once a day. I
can't remember the way that interferon is diluted offhand. If you have
problems finding that information let me know. Some people recommend using
interferon topically as well using artificial tears to dilute the
interferon to 30 units/ml. Anti-viral agents are also reported to be
helpful. I have also heard of using dilute Betadine solution as an eye drop
but haven't tried it because I just have these worries that it would be
really irritating. I have also heard of using the intranasal
rhinotracheitis vaccines as an eye drop in an effort to help with this but
I can't remember where I heard that. I think it may have been in a
continuing education session that Dr. Green from Georgia gave. I seem to
remember some discussion about that being irritating (this is strictly from
memory but might be worth researching some if you are struggling with this
problem).

Hope this helps.

Mike Richards, DVM

Although messy, and sad to see a kitty suffer with, it is very common in cats. In fact, I don't know that I've ever had a cat that didn't get it to some point some time. In an ideal situation, a cat is born to a vaccinated mom and is themselves vaccinated before ever being exposed to other non-vaccinated or herpes-carrying cats. It's not very common for this ideal situation though! :( Just be sure your kitty does get his / her vaccinations and the herpes flare-ups should be less invasive each time! ;)

My fat orange cat likes to have sneezing fits...I hope she doesn't have herpes...I basically don' want my cat having anything I wouldn't want :P

WE ARE CERTAINLY PRAYING FOR BOTH CATS, AND THAT YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING TO HELP THEM THROUGH THIER ILLNESSES.
JOSEPH HAD COLDS EVERY WINTER AND I AHVE TO TRICK HIM INTO TAKING HIS ANTI BIOTICS.
I WIPE IT ON HIS PAWS, AND EVENTUALLY HE LICKS IT OFF.
EVENTUALLY BEING THE PRIME WORD!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...os/cats723.jpg

Thank you for your kind words. I'm going to have to check into this. I hope there is a way to tell if he has it or not.

MooShoo had a herpes virus in his eyes. That's why he's blind in one eye and has limited vision in the other. The scar tissue from the virus formed over his corneas because the nasty breeder didn't treat it. He's doing very well.

On the otherhand, Mollie Rose has had problems with sneezing, watery eyes and congestion. She's been on Zythromax and Prednisone for about 3 weeks now and is doing great.

Good luck with your kitty!