What symptoms does he have - is it just runny eyes or is there anything else? If it's just runny eyes and he is otherwise well, suggest Chlamydia to your vet - that is easily cleared but it does need a different antibiotic.

Liz

sneezing, one runny eye and he did have a little bit of a runny nose (but that has stopped today) . He's making it very hard for me to type as he's pretty much sitting on the keyboard purring away!

OK for one thing - antibiotics do not have any effect on viruses!
FHR & FCV (aka Cat Flu) are viruses. Antibiotics in this case will only give his immune system a boost to fight off any other secondary infections.

It's possible he has something affecting his immune system such as FeLV or FIV... making it harder to deal with the flu. The only way you can find this out is to have tests done.

However Chlamydia can go on & on if it's not treated properly. Chlamydia is a retrovirus - not a proper virus - and can therefore be totally eliminated with the right ABs.

With all this to-ing and fro-ing to the vets, I'd be interested to see why it was recurring: Flu? an underlying immune problem like FIV/FeLV..? or something easily sorted like Chlamydia? A Chlamydia swab isn't expensive, neither are FIV/FeLV snap tests. It's harder to swab for flu as it can only be done when the cat is shedding either or both the viruses.

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right, well i'll take him to the vets on Monday and we'll try again, i'll ask for a different vet i think.... just to see what someone else has to say as our current vet hasnt even mentioned the tests.

Thanks for all of your help

no advice but just wanted to say good luck at the vets tomorrow, i hope you can find the cause of this x

Danielle,

Speak to your vet but this could be a case of too many antibiotics!

It may be worth trying to give his immune system a boost with some Lycine and maybe some Echinacea? You can also get lots of advice in the WholeHealthCat group on Yahoo.

I tend to think that vets dispense antibiotics too easily and that this can cause problems in some cases.

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http://www.elmstarbengals.co.uk



Our darling Foxy is now at Rainbow Bridge. R.I.P. little one, you'll always be loved.

where can i get these from?? is there a website?

thanks

I've found this site good for the lycine powder which you can mix in with their food. You can buy echinacea liquid from most chemists, Holland and Barrett also do it.

I believe it's possible that too many antibiotics will weaken the immune system so these may be worth a try.

There's also something called Moducare which I'm currently trying and Transfer Factor (which I haven't tried yet).

I've found that the first two seem to help but can't speak for the last two yet.

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http://www.elmstarbengals.co.uk



Our darling Foxy is now at Rainbow Bridge. R.I.P. little one, you'll always be loved.

Chlamydia (more properly called Chlamydophila these days) is not any type of virus, it is bacterial, which is why antibiotics do work to cure it. You may be getting confused with FIV which is a retrovirus (like human AIDS)

also, herpes (FHV) is more serious than calici (FCV) - herpes can kill young kittens but calici is usually a milder disease; herpes is a lifelong infection but quite a good percentage of cats infected with calici do get rid of the infection totally (although can be reinfected at a later date, there are many different strains of the virus)

I would imagine that the cat in question had FCV or FHV as a young kitten, was not treated, and developed a bacterial infection of the sinuses - these can be virtually impossible to get rid of, even after repeated courses of antibiotics. Usually the cat is perfectly well in itself.

for more info on cat flu, visit the FAB website

cat flu - information for breeders

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Enisyl F is a veterinary Lysine paste Enisyl-F Oral Paste For Cats 100ml - £12.95 - might be worth a try, although like Elmstar said, you can just buy Lysine from the health food store (make sure its just pure Lysine - sometimes they add other stuff in as well) Solgar Lysine is a pretty good brand https://www.yourhealthfoodstore.co.u..._l_lysine.html

i had limited success with lysine with my herpes virus cats, although I think it did help a bit. The usual dosage is 500mg when there is a flare up, down to 250mg as a maintenance dose.

If you do give Lysine a go, don't give the full dose straight away - slowly build up to the full dose over a week or so - just because it can cause a tummy upset if given all in one go initially.