My Run-in with Lysine Liquid for My Cat
Alright, so let me tell you about trying out this lysine stuff for my cat, Whiskers. He started sneezing like crazy a while back, you know? Not just a little ‘achoo’ here and there, but full-on sneeze attacks. And his eyes got a bit watery. Wasn’t sure what was up, maybe just a little cold.
I poked around online a bit, saw folks talking about lysine. Seemed like a common thing people give their cats for sniffles and eye gunk, something about helping with viruses, I guess? Didn’t want to jump straight to vet meds if it was minor. Saw they had pills and powders and this liquid stuff. Pills? Forget it. Whiskers turns into a furry ninja Houdini if you try to give him a pill. Powder seemed messy. So, liquid it was.
Went down to the local pet supply place. Found a few bottles of lysine liquid. Grabbed one that looked straightforward enough. Got home, looked at the instructions. Seemed simple: a certain amount once or twice a day. Okay, manageable.
Giving it a Go
First time, I thought I’d be clever and mix it into his wet food. He gets a bit of wet food in the morning, his favorite part of the day. Measured out the dose with the little dropper thingy that came with it. Squirted it right into the middle of his salmon paté. Mixed it up real good.
Put the bowl down. Whiskers trotted over, sniffed it… then looked up at me like I’d just insulted his ancestors. He took one hesitant lick. Then another. Then he just walked away. Great. Just great. He wouldn’t touch the food.
Okay, plan B. The next day, I decided direct approach was needed. Got the dose ready in the dropper. Gently cornered Whiskers when he was sleepy. Tried to squirt it into the side of his mouth. Well, that went about as well as you’d expect. Some went in, some ended up on his chin, some on my hand. He gave me the dirtiest look and zoomed off to hide under the bed.
- Tried mixing with tuna juice – slight improvement, but still suspicious.
- Tried putting it on his paw for him to lick off – he just shook his paw and splattered it everywhere.
- Tried a different brand after the first bottle ran low – this one was apparently chicken flavored. Slightly better reception, but still not exactly welcomed.
Sticking With It (Sort Of)
I kept at it, mostly using the dropper method followed by lots of apologetic petting and maybe a treat bribe. It wasn’t fun for either of us. I tried to be consistent, aiming for once a day because twice was just asking for trouble and resentment.
Did it work? Honestly, it’s hard to say definitively. His sneezing did seem to lessen after a couple of weeks. The really bad sneeze attacks stopped. His eyes cleared up a bit too. Was it the lysine? Was it just his little cold running its course? Who knows?
The main thing I noticed was the struggle. Getting that liquid into him was a daily mini-battle. Some days were easier than others. Sometimes he’d take it okay, other times it felt like I was wrestling a tiny, furry alligator.
Eventually, after maybe a month or so of inconsistent wrestling matches, his symptoms were pretty much gone. I stopped giving him the lysine regularly. Maybe it helped get him over the hump, maybe it didn’t do much at all. For me, the hassle of administering the liquid was a big factor. If he gets sniffly again, I might try it, but I’m not looking forward to the administration part. It’s definitely not as simple as just putting a bowl down.
