Tips to prevent goopy eyes in your cat
You adopt a sweet, adorable and healthy cat, and within several days of bringing them home, they have red, goopy eyes and a snotty nose. Sounds familiar?
To many cat owners, this story is spot on thanks to the fact that upper respiratory infection, as this condition is known, is both extremely common and highly contagious. Many cats shake it off and are never bothered by it again, but for some, the symptoms keep coming back again and again.
This is because feline herpesvirus, one of the several viruses and bacteria that can cause this problem, never really goes away. It hides out in a cat’s body, waiting for a time of stress or poor immunity to reappear, causing recurrent bouts of goopy eyes with or without a runny nose too.
Although you can never fully cure herpesvirus, there are several ways to help reduce how often and how bad these bouts of recurrence are. If your cat struggles with this, give these following strategies a go:
- Stay up to date with vaccines. The core cat vaccine known as feline distemper protects against two causes of upper respiratory infections, feline herpesvirus and feline calicivirus. The vaccine may not stop recurrence, but it can help reduce the severity of symptoms your cat experiences.
- Reduce stress. Some stressors can’t be avoided, like a new baby or a move, so try lowering your cat’s stress in these situations with extra love and attention along with calming pheromone sprays. If the source of the stress isn’t immediately obvious, you may need to play detective to find it—maybe your cat hates their new litter? Perhaps they’re feuding with the other cat? And so on.
- Supplement with L-lysine. This nutritional supplement slows down how quickly the virus can multiply, which is a big help to your cat’s immune system. Although L-lysine has yet to be scientifically proven to make an appreciable difference, many owners anecdotally report improved symptoms with it. Combined with the fact that it has no side effects (and that it can come as a yummy treat!), it’s a safe bet to try.
- Keep your cat indoors. Exposure to other sick cats can certainly spark a flare-up in your own cat. Protect your best bud from this possibility and so many more outdoor hazards by transitioning them to an exclusively indoor life.
Check out calming feline pheromones, L-lysine and many more veterinarian-approved supplements for your cat! >>
