Sore eyes

Mus be the season for it - this morning I saw Zoe, a half grown girl with very sore eyes. She's had red and watery eyes on and off since she came home from the cat shelter at 8 weeks of age.
Mostly she's a happy little cat, but today she was very miserable. She  and sneezed a glob of snot right at her nurse! One eye was almost closed with swollen conjunctiva and the other was very mucusy.
Poor Zoe! With her history of intermittent sore eyes and snuffles we suspected feline herpesvirus, probably complicated by a chlamydial or mycoplasma infection.
Most cats are infected with herpesvirus as kittens but only a few have signs later on. Zoe's family moved house a week or so ago and the stress of the change, strange noises and people probably brought this bout on. Any type of stress brings the herpesvirus out of hiding and causes sore eyes and snuffles in cats like Zoe.
Treatment for chlamydia and mycoplasma is reasonably straight forward but herpesvirus is variably sensitive to the antivirals we have available. Hopefully Zoe will respond to the Famciclovir we have prescribed.
Her family will have to nurse her through the worst of it. They will gently clean her eyes and nose with salty water on cotton balls and take her into the bathroom with them when they shower to loosen up the nasal and sinus congestion. Strong smelling foods like canned fish will stimulate her appetite and help get her back on her food.

Living with cat allergies AND cats

Do you suffer wheezing, sneezing, watery eyes and itchy eyes and arms around your cat? For me, these allergy symptoms are a small price to pay for the company of my cats – although some mornings when I wake with a heavy head and red eyes I wonder!

Cat allergies are not caused by cat hair as most of us assume. They are caused by a protein found in cat saliva, urine and skin cells, or dander. The immune systems of people with allergies mistake this harmless protein for a dangerous invader like a virus or bacteria and mount a full scale attack on it.

Here are some tips for minimising our allergy symptoms without giving up our cats.

• Made your bedroom a cat free zone
•  Reduce the load of cat allergens in your bedroom by washing or replacing bedding, curtains and pillows. Then cover pillows and mattress with allergen-proof covers.
• Open windows wide at least once a day to air the house and dilute the allergen load
•  Send your cat outside, preferably into an outdoor run, to disperse some of the dander
•  Eliminate allergen traps such as carpet, rugs and upholstered furniture as you can. Carpet accumulates up to 100 times more allergens than vinyl or wood flooring. If you can’t take it up steam clean it regularly and vacuum with a high efficiency particulate arresting (HEPA) filter or us and allergen-proof vacuum cleaner bag.
• Brush your cat outside and/or in an outside enclosure to minimise contamination of your home with dander
• Wipe the dander away with a moist cloth or wipe to remove saliva and dander.
• Spray the house with anti-allergen sprays
• Use a low dust cat litter and ask non-allergic family members to clean the litter box frequently
• Take the antihistamines, decongestants, eye drops and aerosol inhalers your doctor recommends. Antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E also have anti-allergen effects.

 Don't let allergies come between you and your feline friend.