New here!

[katarinaone]

Hi there, my name is Kat and I'm from New Zealand.

We got our sphynx cat (Phoebe) earlier this year. We have an english bulldog (Buttercup) and a ragdoll cat (Connor) as well.

When we got Phoebe she was full of the cat flu. She was sent up to Auckland from the breeder who is from Christchurch. A lovely woman from Auckland was selling on the breeders behalf and has Phoebe's brother who has the same upper respitory infection. We email regularly about different things to try.

She has had a lot of antibiotics, different ones and different courses, but the vet has indicated since she had it from a very young age and it wasn't treated properly it seems to have ruined her nose scrolls. She will have it for life and it will flare up if she gets stressed and in the colder months. We are going to try a new antibiotic soon, fingers crossed it works or at least eliviates the symptoms.

She doesn't seem to mind the runny nose and occassionally runny eyes, but I always feel terrible that there doesn't seem much I can do to help her. I make sure she always has a coat on and never let her outside unsupervised.

Despite the sickness, she is a beautiful loving cat and the best breed! We have even talked about getting another, as our ragdoll goes outdoors (which I hate because I worry something will happen to him) but he doesn't like using the litter and has outlived 2 companions already. Our vet also told us that sphynx cats are extremely prone to getting stolen which I hate to think about

Anyway, sorry about the novel! I would also REALLY appreciate any advice on different treatments for Phoebe's URI and general advice because sphynx cats are quite rare in New Zealand and there are only 2 or 3 breeders.

Thanks in advance and I think this forum is fantastic!
Kat

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28812194@N03/3960677618/" title="IMAG0070 by katarina one, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2672/3960677618_52b5ec9924.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="IMAG0070" /></a>
Pic of Phoebe

 

[kerrie78]

She's very cute, Welcome!

 

[havingalook]

I think this may be my catchphrase as I say it all the time...

Start giving her L-Lysine, you can buy it in tablet form or powder form, its in the vitamin section of your pharmacist/ large foodstore etc. Its an amino acid and really helps to reduce the symptoms of flare ups in URI's/ herpes/ cat flu etc, in cats.

Will google more info for you. Here you go;
http://www.holisticat.com/uri.html


Pheobe is lovely (would love to see pictures of your bully too )

 

[Brooke]

Hi Kat! Welcome to the forum. I love her fuzzy ears!

Can you give us an idea of what treatments you've tried with Phoebe and what she's been tested for? Also, have you tried giving her L-Lysine? Would love to hear more...

 

[Marnasobsession]

She is such a pretty little girl! Have you contacted the breeder? Has she offered you any assistance? Welcome!

 

[Hairlesslove]

Welcome!! Phoebe is so pretty-Big beautiful eyes!

 

[Mews2much]

Has she been tested for Herpes?
I have a ct with it and I use L-Lysine paste.
I hope the breeder is helping you.
She is a pretty cat.

 

[katarinaone]

Thank you!

We have tried vibravet (spelling?) and a couple of other ones that I forgot the name of, I will call the vet to ask them.. The new one that has been suggested is zithromax, the vet can only find 200mg tablets and thinks that Phoebe should only be having around 20mg..

I have tried contacting the breeder who unfortunately is suffering from depression and who thinks the cats had nothing wrong with them Because both cats have the same issues and Phoebe was like that when we got her, I find it hard to believe. Probably the added stress of flying to Auckland didn't help Phoebe and her brother also.

I will go and buy the L-Lysine tonight.

I don't think she has been tested for anything. Is it a blood test that should be done? I will ask the vet to test her for herpes, is there anything else I should be considering?

The lady who was selling her on behalf of the breeder has been good, Phoebe was older when we got her which is a shame, if she was a bit younger perhaps we could have caught it sooner. When we get our new cat, we are going to a breeder much closer to our home and will get it as a kitten.

Thank you thank you, I really appreciate all this advice. It makes me feel much better knowing there are other things I can try to help Phoebe.

I will post pics of the other babies (Connor and Buttercup) when I get home

 

[Mews2much]

They swab the eyes for the herpes test.
It is expensive here.You can do blood tests and see if anything shows up taht could be causing her problem.
How far are you from Wellington?
My friend lives there and is a cat show judge.
Maybe she will have some advice for you.
She breeds Persians and Exotics.

 

[katarinaone]

We are a 6 hour drive/1 hour flight from Wellington. A lot of my family live there so I visit throughout the year.

I found 500mg tablets of L-Lysine at the local supermarket, how much should I be giving Phoebe and how often?

 

[Brooke]

The herpes test will be good, but sometimes can have a false negative result, so it's a great idea to treat her with Lysine anyway. Lysine will not harm her if she does not have herpes. (I give all 4 of my cats Lysine every day) You mention that her symptoms flare up and get worse if Phoebe is under stress, and that is typical of a herpes infection. Herpes is also something that will never go away, but can usually be kept under control with Lysine. Untreated, it can lead to chronic conjunctivitis, which will require anitbiotics/steroid drops for her eyes - I've got that issue with my girl, Helen.

The maintenance Lysine dose is 250mg/day, but for active infections, you should give 500mg per day. It could take up to a month for the Lysine to start working, so don't get discouraged if you don't see results right away!

My boy Walter used to get terrible boogers in his eyes and they have completely cleared up with Lysine. Fingers crossed that it works just as well for Phoebe! Please keep us posted!

PS - FYI, I just read in a study by the University of Florida yesterday that 80% of cats carry the herpes virus.

 

[Pbinky]

Hi Kat,

I recently brought home my second sphynx and hetoo had Upper Respiratory Infection. He had a test done where they take a swab sample from the eyes, nose and throat and i believe they also ran blood work. He tested positive for calici virus, chlamydia, and microplasm. I had to treat both my cats as this is highly contagious. My vet put them on something called Doxycyline for 3 weeks. As well they were on something called Liquid Immuno which is basically an immune system booster and also 1000mg of Lysine 2 times daily. They also took tetracycline ointment for their eyes as the URI caused them to have conjunctivitis (pink eye). At the end of the 3 weeks we had the second kitty retested with the swabs and everything came back negative.
Ask your vet about doxycycline, i'm not sure if meds are different where you live but i don't imagine things would be too different. My beautiful boys are both happy and the little one is thriving.
URI is awful for the kitties but it is very treatable. I wish you luck and welcome to Sphynx Lair! This is a wonderful little place where you can let out all your love for your babies and no one will think your crazy :Laugh:
Good luck and keep us posted on your little beauty!

 

[Mews2much]

I dos sound like herpes to me.

 

[harley]

Welcome to the site..

 

[katarinaone]

Just gave Phoebe her first dose of L-Lysine, hopefully it gets a bit easier! I cut the tablet in half and gave her half at a time. They looked too big for her little mouth

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28812194@N03/3961240591/" ><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3471/3961240591_7d279ddb76.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="UNI_0056" /></a>
This is Connor and our little burmese that we lost called Chyna

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28812194@N03/3962015302/" ><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3465/3962015302_48c62d63f2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="CIMG3055" /></a>
This is our english bulldog Buttercup

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28812194@N03/3961238223/" ><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3493/3961238223_a35a05a8b5.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="CIMG3052" /></a>

 

[admin]

Hi Kat,
Welcome to Sphynxlair! I hope your baby feels better soon!
enjoy the site!

 

[Pbinky]

you can crush the tablet and put it in her food or you can go to the vet and get the powder specially made for cats. good luck!

 

[Mews2much]

You can use the paste also.
I use that for my cats.

 

[kerrie78]

They also sell Lysine treats made by vetoquinolusa.com They are called Enisli-F, Kramer LOVES them! The cheapest place I found them at is Amazon.com for $11.95. He doesn't like the paste unless I mix in with canned food he won't take it.

 

[Brooke]

They also sell Lysine treats made by vetoquinolusa.com They are called Enisli-F, Kramer LOVES them! The cheapest place I found them at is Amazon.com for $11.95. He doesn't like the paste unless I mix in with canned food he won't take it.

I give all of mine the Lysine treats, too. They BEG for them!! So much easier to give than a pill or powder. The dose is 5 treats per day.

 

[kerrie78]

I give all of mine the Lysine treats, too. They BEG for them!! So much easier to give than a pill or powder. The dose is 5 treats per day.

I don't know what they put in them but they LOVE them! :Laugh:

 

[katarinaone]

Will the vet have them? New Zealand has laws about food and plant/organic material coming into the country, so I wonder if they might stop it at customs if I buy from Amazon?

 

[Brooke]

My vet sells them here in the states. In fact, that's originally where they were sold. So, at the very least you can print out the page from Amazon.com and maybe your vet can special order them for you?

If not, he should definitely have some form of Lysine that will be easier to give than the pills you are using now, but the treats are fantastic if you can get them!

 

[kerrie78]

I would think your vet would be able to get them, my vet carries them it is just cheaper through amazon; if not I posted the manufactuerer website you could always contact them to find out where they may have close to you.

 

[nbolin]

Welcome She is very cute Sorry your having issues though