runny eye

I have two cats. A 9 year old male that I've had for 6 years and a 2
year old female that I've had for 3 weeks. The female sneezes
frequently. I took her to the vet shortly after adopting her and got
a clean bill of health. I was told by the shelter that she'd had
herpes in her eye but that it's only contagious when it's active.
Other than the sneezing, which seems to happen the most when she's
excited, there are no other symptoms.

Yesterday I noticed that my male had a runny eye. It looks like tears
- completely clear. His eye doesn't seem to bother him, but he's
never been sick and it bothers me.

I don't want anything to happen to my male. He is a sweetheart. My
husband died earlier this year and this cat has been a great comfort
to me. I owe it to him to keep him healthy.

I decided to try giving both cats Lysine for a few days and see what
happens.

Does that sound reasonable?

"YvonneD" wrote in message
...
I have two cats. A 9 year old male that I've had for 6 years and a 2
year old female that I've had for 3 weeks. The female sneezes
frequently. I took her to the vet shortly after adopting her and got
a clean bill of health. I was told by the shelter that she'd had
herpes in her eye but that it's only contagious when it's active.
Other than the sneezing, which seems to happen the most when she's
excited, there are no other symptoms.

Yesterday I noticed that my male had a runny eye. It looks like tears
- completely clear. His eye doesn't seem to bother him, but he's
never been sick and it bothers me.

I don't want anything to happen to my male. He is a sweetheart. My
husband died earlier this year and this cat has been a great comfort
to me. I owe it to him to keep him healthy.

I decided to try giving both cats Lysine for a few days and see what
happens.

Does that sound reasonable?

Yes! My newly adopted kitten has runny and crusty eyes, and I started her on
500 mgs of Lysine daily. I read all about it, and generally 250 to 500 mgs a
day is recommended for the Herpes infections we see in shelter cats. We
bought 500 mg capsules and I open them and mix half in her canned food in
the morning and half at night. We have also been mopping and swabbing her
eyes very gently with tissue soaked with warmish water to keep them from
crusting. If she still has it in a week, I am taking her to the vet. She is
due for a visit in two weeks anyway. Good luck.

"YvonneD" wrote in message
...
I have two cats. A 9 year old male that I've had for 6 years and a 2
year old female that I've had for 3 weeks. The female sneezes
frequently. I took her to the vet shortly after adopting her and got
a clean bill of health. I was told by the shelter that she'd had
herpes in her eye but that it's only contagious when it's active.
Other than the sneezing, which seems to happen the most when she's
excited, there are no other symptoms.

Yesterday I noticed that my male had a runny eye. It looks like tears
- completely clear. His eye doesn't seem to bother him, but he's
never been sick and it bothers me.

I don't want anything to happen to my male. He is a sweetheart. My
husband died earlier this year and this cat has been a great comfort
to me. I owe it to him to keep him healthy.

I decided to try giving both cats Lysine for a few days and see what
happens.

Does that sound reasonable?

Lysine is great. If his eye doesn't get better, he may need an ointment
from the vet, but the lysine should do the trick.

"YvonneD" wrote in message
...
I have two cats. A 9 year old male that I've had for 6 years and a 2
year old female that I've had for 3 weeks. The female sneezes
frequently. I took her to the vet shortly after adopting her and got
a clean bill of health. I was told by the shelter that she'd had
herpes in her eye but that it's only contagious when it's active.
Other than the sneezing, which seems to happen the most when she's
excited, there are no other symptoms.

Yesterday I noticed that my male had a runny eye. It looks like tears
- completely clear. His eye doesn't seem to bother him, but he's
never been sick and it bothers me.

I don't want anything to happen to my male. He is a sweetheart. My
husband died earlier this year and this cat has been a great comfort
to me. I owe it to him to keep him healthy.

I decided to try giving both cats Lysine for a few days and see what
happens.

Does that sound reasonable?


Sounds reasonable. Cyber's description of how to do it is good. Keey a
*very* close eye on both cats (no pun intended) and get to a vet ASAP if it
looks worse. UTIs, runny eyes, etc. are very common in shelters and can be
very contagious--but are also quite treatable. This is one reason why I
recommend keeping a new cat in a separate room for awhile after adoption.
The other is to provide time for gradual introduction into the household.

Thanks for adopting from a shelter! You have saved a life and have also
given yourself years of joy.

MaryL

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
. ..

"YvonneD" wrote in message
...
I have two cats. A 9 year old male that I've had for 6 years and a 2
year old female that I've had for 3 weeks. The female sneezes
frequently. I took her to the vet shortly after adopting her and got
a clean bill of health. I was told by the shelter that she'd had
herpes in her eye but that it's only contagious when it's active.
Other than the sneezing, which seems to happen the most when she's
excited, there are no other symptoms.

Yesterday I noticed that my male had a runny eye. It looks like tears
- completely clear. His eye doesn't seem to bother him, but he's
never been sick and it bothers me.

I don't want anything to happen to my male. He is a sweetheart. My
husband died earlier this year and this cat has been a great comfort
to me. I owe it to him to keep him healthy.

I decided to try giving both cats Lysine for a few days and see what
happens.

Does that sound reasonable?


Sounds reasonable. Cyber's description of how to do it is good. Keey a
*very* close eye on both cats (no pun intended) and get to a vet ASAP if
it looks worse. UTIs, runny eyes, etc. are very common in shelters and can
be very contagious--but are also quite treatable. This is one reason why
I recommend keeping a new cat in a separate room for awhile after
adoption. The other is to provide time for gradual introduction into the
household.

Thanks for adopting from a shelter! You have saved a life and have also
given yourself years of joy.

MaryL


Sorry...my brain was out to lunch again. I meant that URI (upper
respiratory infection) is common among shelter cats and is very contagious,
not UTIs. You might want to look at this site:
http://www.thecatsite.com/Health/92/...ue-Groups.html

MaryL

"YvonneD" wrote in message
...
I have two cats. A 9 year old male that I've had for 6 years and a 2
year old female that I've had for 3 weeks. The female sneezes
frequently. I took her to the vet shortly after adopting her and got
a clean bill of health. I was told by the shelter that she'd had
herpes in her eye but that it's only contagious when it's active.
Other than the sneezing, which seems to happen the most when she's
excited, there are no other symptoms.

Yesterday I noticed that my male had a runny eye. It looks like tears
- completely clear. His eye doesn't seem to bother him, but he's
never been sick and it bothers me.

I don't want anything to happen to my male. He is a sweetheart. My
husband died earlier this year and this cat has been a great comfort
to me. I owe it to him to keep him healthy.

I decided to try giving both cats Lysine for a few days and see what
happens.

Does that sound reasonable?

Yes. I agree with everyone else, and you are correct that it's common. If
she has the herpes virus, being moved to a new home is enough to cause a
flare-up. Do the lysine for much more than a few days, please. And repeat
any time there's a flare-up Also, make sure your older cat is up to date on
vaccinations because it includes the common URI strains. Good luck with
your sweetie.

On Nov 30, 3:31*pm, "Cheryl" wrote:
"YvonneD" wrote in message

...



I have two cats. *A 9 year old male that I've had for 6 years and a 2
year old female that I've had for 3 weeks. *The female sneezes
frequently. *I took her to the vet shortly after adopting her and got
a clean bill of health. *I was told by the shelter that she'd had
herpes in her eye but that it's only contagious when it's active.
Other than the sneezing, which seems to happen the most when she's
excited, there are no other symptoms.

Yesterday I noticed that my male had a runny eye. *It looks like tears
- completely clear. *His eye doesn't seem to bother him, but he's
never been sick and it bothers me.

I don't want anything to happen to my male. *He is a sweetheart. *My
husband died earlier this year and this cat has been a great comfort
to me. *I owe it to him to keep him healthy.

I decided to try giving both cats Lysine for a few days and see what
happens.

Does that sound reasonable?

Yes. *I agree with everyone else, and you are correct that it's common. *If
she has the herpes virus, being moved to a new home is enough to cause a
flare-up. *Do the lysine for much more than a few days, please. *And repeat
any time there's a flare-up *Also, make sure your older cat is up to date on
vaccinations because it includes the common URI strains. *Good luck with
your sweetie.

I guess I didn't explain too clearly. The cat from the shelter seems
fine. It's my original cat that has the runny eye. I am just
assuming he caught something from my new cat only because he's never
been sick and never been exposed to other animals.

I work at the shelter and know all about URIs, colds, etc. Seems like
every cat is either sneezing or has gunky eyes. I kept them seperated
for a week. I took the new cat to the vet to be checked out (blood
work, etc) before letting them get together. I told them the new cat
had had herpes and was told that older cats rarely get it, and if they
do it's easily treated. Thing is, the shelter cat's herpes doesn't
appear to be active. She has no eye discharge at all.

I started the Lysine for both of them yesterday. How long does it
usually take to start working? In other words, how long should I wait
before taking him to the vet? He clearly feels fine - just looks like
he's crying from one eye.

Thank you for your help. I really worry about these guys.

On Nov 30, 3:31*pm, "Cheryl" wrote:
"YvonneD" wrote in message

...



I have two cats. *A 9 year old male that I've had for 6 years and a 2
year old female that I've had for 3 weeks. *The female sneezes
frequently. *I took her to the vet shortly after adopting her and got
a clean bill of health. *I was told by the shelter that she'd had
herpes in her eye but that it's only contagious when it's active.
Other than the sneezing, which seems to happen the most when she's
excited, there are no other symptoms.

Yesterday I noticed that my male had a runny eye. *It looks like tears
- completely clear. *His eye doesn't seem to bother him, but he's
never been sick and it bothers me.

I don't want anything to happen to my male. *He is a sweetheart. *My
husband died earlier this year and this cat has been a great comfort
to me. *I owe it to him to keep him healthy.

I decided to try giving both cats Lysine for a few days and see what
happens.

Does that sound reasonable?

Yes. *I agree with everyone else, and you are correct that it's common. *If
she has the herpes virus, being moved to a new home is enough to cause a
flare-up. *Do the lysine for much more than a few days, please. *And repeat
any time there's a flare-up *Also, make sure your older cat is up to date on
vaccinations because it includes the common URI strains. *Good luck with
your sweetie.

One more question - I'm giving them 1/2 tsp of powdered Lysine twice a
day. Is that too much? It's what they said at the shelter, but I
read that there's 250mg per 1/4 tsp and 500mg daily is the highest
dose.