Ques. Re: Chronic eye prob. Possible herpes

[mryhrtsong]

Hello!

On March 9th, we acquired two older neutered ragdoll kittens (9 and 10 months) from a well-established breeder with a good reputation. We drove 6 1/2 hours to another state to get them. They are half brothers (same father). They were impeccably groomed when we met them, but by the time we got them home, they both had weepy eyes. We thought it was from crying at the beginning of the trip.

First vet visit was two days later, as per our contract with the breeder. Vet prescribed Clavamox for younger cat, whose eyes were obviously oozy by then. The other cat's eyes were clear. As the cats had not yet adjusted to our home, the younger cat was hiding and we had to catch him to give him the meds in his cheek as directed. He pretty much stayed in hiding for that first two weeks, and he didn't always get both doses of the antibiotics every day, but we did administer until gone.

At the end of the antibiotics, eyes were still weepy. Vet prescribed Vetropolycin ointment. We used that for just over 2 weeks, when it appeared that the tearing had lessened and had been clear for some time. It seemed to irritate his eyes and the irritation seemed to increase with use, and he was spending more time with watery, closed eyes, so that's why we stopped.

His eyes seemed to clear for a short while, but about 10 days later, it returned. The ointment was even more irritating when I tried it again, so it was time for something else. Latest treatment is Ofloxacin drops and L-lysine supplements. We have used this for just over a week and his eyes are still very irritated. There is still some occasional clear mucous-like strings across his eyes. The rims of his eyes are red and slightly inflamed. The "third eyelid" is sometimes visible, he squints a lot, and there is a lot of tearing, which is clear, but turns brown on his face. He has developed a little gray spot on the cornea of his right eye, which seems to be the first eye to flare up and the last to clear. He does sneeze a little, but so does his brother, who does get a small amount of sand in the corners of his eyes, but that is all. The affected cat will be 1 year old on June 14th. He is not the lap cat that his brother is, but is generally affectionate, and follows our girls around for attention.

We've spent hundreds of dollars on this and my husband's work has slowed down significantly since we acquired these guys, so repeated vet visits are a hardship. We've been in contact with the breeder, who will talk with us about everything else, but will not return any of our messages about the cat's eyes. It would be helpful if she could tell us whether we might be dealing with herpes or chlamydia. The vet has said that the tests are very expensive and many times unreliable. At any rate, in my uneducated opinion, I'm thinking that all these antibiotics surely should have cared for any secondary infection that might have been present.

Does anyone have experience with these conditions? If I finish these Ofloxacin drops and there is still inflammation, should I keep taking him for more antibiotics, or just assume it's a viral and give it time to run its course? How long should that typically take? I don't want to overmedicate him and possibly compound his irritation. I just feel so bad for the poor guy!

IF it would turn out to be chlamydia, I've read that humans can contract conjunctivitis from them. We encourage the children to wash their hands often, but might we be endangering our children by keeping a cat that might possibly be infected with this?

Thanks for your patience in reading this post and thanks in advance for any insight you can offer.

Rachelle