Feline herpesvirus

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Glitter Ninja - 23 Mar 2006 20:09 GMT

I just want to rant a little bit about how freakin' stupid I feel for
not being smarter about my cats vaccinations, and how I was lazy and
didn't go to a better vet when I suspected mine was a complete moron.
We have four cats, 3 from a shelter and 1 from a farm, all of which
became indoor-only cats as soon as they were adopted. They never sneak
out and for many years they never got vaccinations. The vet never
pushed us to get them, either, since they were indoor only. On more
than one occasion she even boarded our cats without requiring them to
get updated shots.
Except now all the cats are exposed to the herpesvirus. Our cat
Reggie had conjunctivitis for six months and the vet never did diagnose
it right -- she made us think Reggie had been attacked by another cat in
the household and had an injury. When Reggie's eye didn't improve we
went to the University Vet Med center and discovered that he has the
herpesvirus. And if we'd kept up to date on their shots it might have
prevented this.
Now we suspect my oldest, Spam, who already has kidney and heart
problems has the herpesvirus, too. We'll find out for sure soon, but it
just kills me to know that this could cut short his life.
It's just so unnecessary. And I have to wonder, when the cats were
boarded, did we expose other cats to the virus? Or did my cats pick the
virus up there? For years I suspected our vet wasn't very good, but I
never bothered to go to another vet until she got all huffy with me when
I questioned her about why Reggie's eye wouldn't improve.
These poor guys. I am completely pissed at myself.

Stacia

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Phil P. - 23 Mar 2006 21:09 GMT

And I have to wonder, when the cats were

> boarded, did we expose other cats to the virus? Or did my cats pick the
> virus up there?

Your cat probably picked up the virus when they were boarded.. Since >80%
of recovered cats remain life-long latent carriers, and the stress of
boarding can certainly reactivate a latent infection along with viral
shedding, there's a strong likihood that your cat picked up the virus from a
stress-reactivated, carrier cat.

I suggest you speak a vet about putting your cats on lysine as soon as
possible. Lysine interferes with viral reproduction by antagonizing the
availability of arginine-- which is an essential amino acid- and necessary
for viral
protein synthesis. Lysine might also reduce viral shedding. You can buy
lysine in any health food store or pharmacy OTC. The usual dose is 250 mg
orally every 12 hr.

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NanCe - 23 Mar 2006 22:19 GMT

> I just want to rant a little bit about how freakin' stupid I feel for
>not being smarter about my cats vaccinations, and how I was lazy and
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>I questioned her about why Reggie's eye wouldn't improve.
> These poor guys. I am completely pissed at myself.

I wasn't getting vaccines for the last 5 years cause my cat is indoor only
but I kept getting warned about the distemper (panleukopenia) and upper
respitory vaccine from my vet. I was going to bring my cat in to get his
teeth done and she advised me that she felt that I really should get that
vaccine before I bring him in for the day due to the fact that those diseases
can be so easily caught. I reluctantly did it but now I'm glad I did. I
found out that 3 cats/kittens were in there with distemper shortly before he
went in. Although he wouldn't have been boarded with them, it is so easy to
transfer it from a person's hands and clothes. The techs are supposed to
wash up and change before they touch another cat but you never know, someone
could make a mistake. I don't think indoor cats should get as many vaccines
as outdoor cats or as frequently but I don't think that they should *never*
get the panleuk/calici/rhino vaccine; it's just way too risky.

NanCe

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