Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 4 year old female calico has rhinotracheitis. I brought her to the vet a few years ago under what I thought to be an URI. The vet told me it was rhinotracheitis and there was nothing to cure it. I asked what I could do to alleviate her symptoms and he suggested putting her in the bathroom while I shower because the steam may help with the sneezing.

Only recently her symptoms have grown worse. Her sneezing fits are more frequent and last a lot longer. Mucus is present after she sneezes. I've tried keeping her in the bathroom with me while I shower but it hasn't helped.

I was wondering if anyone else has dealt with this problem and if there is anything else I could do to help her. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

Hi There,

Feline rhinotracheitis is also known as feline herpes. It's fairly common and I have a few herpes cats in my household.

This site has some good info on the herpes virus:
http://www,cfa.org/articles/health/rhinotracheitis.html

An amino acid known as L-Lysine is very helpful to most herpes cats. You can find this almost anywhere and it's very reasonable. I got my bottle from Walmart. Lysine comes in 500 mg. tablets and the dose is 1/4 tablet twice daily. For one of my herpes kitties I use a gel form I get from the vet. She is a very special baby and loves the taste so much she thinks it's a treat. The others don't like it so it's easier to just put the Lysine in their food.

Sometimes a herpes kitty will need an antibiotic to help them through a flare-up. They have compromised immune systems and tend to get sick easier than other cats. Stress is often a factor. One of my herpes cats just finished a course of Baytril and is doing better.

Please feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Regards,
PHKitkat

Thanks for the ideas. I did a fair amount of research when I found out she had this. I was curious what other people do for this and try it out on her. I will try the supplement next time I'm at the pet store/shopping center.