Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I took in a malnourished kitten with a URI 6 weeks ago. He has gained weight well and is active.
his eye infection cleared up with ointment . His problem is a chronic nasal congestion. He currently is on a 3rd antibiotic which is not helping. The vet thinks he may have a herpes viral infection. I have a cool mist vaporizer in his room. The vet mentioned neosynephrine nasal spray. I have not found a internet source with dosages. Has anyone used this ?

Hi There,

I also have a kitten with herpes and major nasal congestion. Although I haven't been using any nasal spray on her, she is improving with some other treatments that I'd like to share with you.

Herpes, being viral, is not likely to respond well to antibiotics. However, there can be a bacterial infection at the same time, and for this reason antibiotics are usually prescribed.

I give my baby, Whispurr, L-Lysine twice a day, mixed in her food. This is well known to be effective against herpes and you can find it in any pharmacy. I get the 500mg tablets and crush and mix 1/4 tablet twice daily in her food. I usualy use the back of a spoon to crush the tablets then use the same spoon to mix it into her canned food. Before Whispurr was eating well, I dissolved the Lysine in a syringe with a little water and gave it to her that way.

Another treatment I have found effective is Interferon. Your vet may or may not have this available. If he or she doesn't, perhaps it can be ordered. Interferon is an immune system booster, which is why it is helpful with herpes. It can also be used with other problems that leave the immune system suppressed, such as feline AIDS. Interferon is made up as a liquid and is given orally with a syringe.

Good luck with your baby, and please let us know how things go

Regards,
PHKitkat

Thanks for the information on l-lysine. Do you but l-lysine in the vitamin area of a drugstore ? I did see it at my food store vitamin area. I also went online and saw it advertised at a holistic pet food site?

Hi,

Yes, you can find Lysine in the "vitamin area" of stores. You can also buy it online, but it would be cheaper to pick it up locally. I get mine at WalMart.

PHKitkat

actually, i have used neosyneferin (sp?) and i have only used it in the "mild" formula and with great caution...for example, on an orphaned kitten who cannot nurse because it is too congested while i am waiting for the oral antibiotics to begin working.

this product (like with humans) can make a cat dependent on the product because nasal passages can quickly become swollen when the product is stopped...basically, like us, they can become addicted to it, not to mention that it has a strong propensity to dangerously increase the heart rate, especially in such a small body.

this is a very short sighted and very temporary solution (no more than 3 days - ONE DROP between the nostrils 3x a day for the first day, 2x a day for the second day and once on the third day). this is definately not your solution.

what are the antibiotics your vet has tried so far?

i have battled this same issue with several cats over the years (and indeed, it's always been associated with the herpes virus) and the thing that is currently working the best, after many, long antibiotic treatments with many different antibiotics is L Lyscine (sp?) which comes in pills, liquid and paste.

i strongly recommend the paste which can be obtained by your vet. and is administered with a syringe like applicator. it has to be done once daily (possibly for the rest of the cat's life), is an immune system booster and really helps.

if i hadn't seen it for myself, i wouldn't have believed it. it takes about a month to start working and i used it initially in conjunction with (my 4th antibiotic) doxicycline.

when the course of doxi was finished, i continued with the l lyscine and the cat has not had a remarkable incindent of congestion since...it's been about 4 months now.

the paste is preferable and actually very palatable for the cat. as a matter of fact, after the affected cat gets his l lyscine, all of the other cats try to lick his mouth because they want some too.

if your vet does not know where or how to get it, you can email me and i will give you the name of the company who makes it.

it is important that you start the supplement at the same time you start his next attempt at antibiotics because a month is a long time for your cat to wait for the supplement to work and the antibiotic may give him and the supplement a "leg up" on the congestive symptoms.

if you're going to try this, it is important that you give it to the cat religously, even after his symptoms seem to be in remission.

onewittykitty@yahoo.com

i guess i'm still figuring out how to use this message board! i see now that someone else recommended l lysine so i guess my previous post was redundant....

anyway, you can get the pills or liquid in any health food store but honestly, the paste is so convenient, easy to measure and the cats love it.

good luck.

Thanks for the information. My cat has been on 3 antibiotics being Amoxicillin, Ceftin and Clindamycin. during my last vet visit I mentioned I had done an onternet search and read about l-lysine. The vet said there were no studies done on this supplement. Then when I was leaving the vet mentioned that she would order it from a vet supply company. It is the paste in a malt form . It is much more costly by 5 times vercus the supermarket brand. My kitten does not like it but he takes it. He is still very congested but is active , eats well and has gained weight. He is now 4 pounds, having gained 3 pounds in the 2 mos since I found him. The vet thinks he is older than she first thought because his second teeth are in. He is 6 mos supposedly. I have also tried neosynephrine.(I diluted the 1/2 % with saline to make 1/4% per the vet) I give one drop in one nostil every day. So far nothing has helped the congestion. Do they ever used a oral decongestant for kittens? Also the vet is afraid to spay the kitten at this time. She also mentioned that he might have a nasal polyp???

It sounds like you and the vet are working closely together to help this little guy! I don't know a lot about nasal congestion in cats, but I do know that repeated use of decongesting nose drops in humans can actually worsen the problem, and also that nasal polyps can cause congestions in humams. Check with your vet and see if cats also get "rebound" effect from nose drops and whether it may be time to switch to something else (a saline solution?), and also ask about what can be done if it is a polyp.

Good luck and thanks for the update! I'm sorry it's not a more happy one!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

HI again. It has been one month of taking the l-lysine which the vet got from a veterinary supply company. I also tried neosynephrine nose spray for several days. Mason is still nasally congested and he seems to have a odor from his nose/mouth (I notice it when I give him a kiss). He also shakes his head and has another odor from his left ear which has a small clear crusty drainage. We will be at the vet tomorrow at 11am. A neighbor took in a feral kitten last year, probably a relative, who had and still has similar signs. I am worried . Mason has gained weight and blended in with the other 3 cats but does not seem able to break this nasal congestion problem. any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you for the update. I am sorry that I have no clue as to how to help with this chronic nasal problem. Since you have been working with a vet all this time it's unlikely to be something like herpes, although you may want to ask about that possibility. I am thinking viral infection here rather than bacterial since anti-biotics would more than likely have cleared it up.

Best wishes. Keep us posted!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Thank you for your concern. The vet put Mason on a different antibiotic called Baytril and antibiotic drops for his ear. If this antibiotic fails she feels it wold be best that he sees a vet specialist. This vet does endoscope exams and could remove any polyps or do cultures.

Thanks! Keep us posted about Mason! I hope he gets well soon!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!