Often when I tell people my cat is sick, and they ask what is wrong, I get a laugh. The fact of the matter is feline herpes otherwise known as Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (FVR) is not funny at all. This disease has no cure. I love my little fluffy bundle of joy and hate to see him suffer at all when his virus is acting up. It can very costly and affects the upper respiratory system of the cat.
The most common symptoms are:
- Sneezing
- Ulcers in the eye area
- Discharge in the eye and nose (this often means they can't smell and will lose their appetite)
- Panting
- Dehydration
- Fever
When my little guys virus acts up, his eye often will start to bother him, I will see him start pawing at his eye and within minutes it will swell almost to the point of being completely shut. It is horrible to see them throw themselves on the floor and at the point I always end up at the ER where they will dose him with pain meds to settle him. He often times has to wear a cone until we are sure he will not be pawing the eye and causing any damage. If the Dr puts drops in the eye you will be able to see where the ulcer appears. Most commonly my cat gets very sick if he experiences any anxiety. If I am gone for more then a day, if there are guests in the house, or the day we got carpeting. They don't like to be removed from their element. The virus can be caught through saliva, mucus, feces, direct contact, and through contact with food bowls, litter boxes or bedding. The herpes virus can also be transmitted in utero to the unborn kittens. My cat was adopted from our local humane society where I assume he got the virus from a carrier cat.
As far as treatment it usually turns out to be expensive in the end. You can use L-Lysine for prevention though I believe this didn't really help my little guy. When I see the first sign of an outbreak I usually get a warm compress and the dilation drops that were prescribed to us. It seems to cut it off before it gets into full blown ulceration.
The symptoms can be very serious, if you see your cat suffering please get them to a vet instead of assuming it is a common cold.