Connie & Parker & Moonie
Member Since 2026
11/9 Moonie AMPS 183, +2.5 102, +6 101, PMPS 129, +2 128, +5.5 171
We took Moonie to another veterinary ophthalmologist for a second opinion today and we’re so glad that we did.
Moonie has been having recurrent eye inflammation and discharge since at least February 2024, well before we adopted her. Her medical history is littered with failed treatment attempts. Just in the 10 months we’ve had Moonie, we’ve tried Terramycin eye ointments, oral doxycycline, eye duct flush, and ofloxacin with oculenis lubricating eye drops.
I feel so dumb for not realizing it earlier but these are all antibiotics, not antivirals. And herpesvirus is the most common reason that cats have Moonie’s symptoms.
We had previously run a PCR that was negative for herpesvirus, and we didn’t realize that a negative test doesn’t necessarily rule it out.
And then we found something in her old medical records that made everything click. Her previous owner had actually been prescribed famciclovir (an antiviral) alongside ofloxacin, but discontinued the famciclovir after just four days because he was having trouble getting Moonie to take the pills. Her records indicated that her symptoms had improved during that brief treatment.
It all makes sense in retrospect. I feel terrible that I didn’t put the pieces together sooner. I wish we’d figured this out months ago and spared Moonie so much discomfort. But I’m also incredibly relieved that we finally have a promising new direction and a plan going forward.
It’s also interesting that her recurrent eye problems began just a few months before she was officially diagnosed with diabetes, and they’ve continued ever since. We’ve noticed that when her eyes are bothering her, her blood glucose is often harder to regulate. I wonder how much the two conditions have been affecting each other.
So we’re stopping the eye drops - thank goodness - and Moonie is actually really good about taking pills, unlike her previous owner’s experience!
Moonie’s blood glucose has been all over the place since we started the eye drops, presumably because of the stress. We’re going to give her a couple of days to settle back into her normal routine, with continued monitoring, before deciding whether her insulin dose needs adjusting.
We also discovered something else at today’s appointment. Moonie now weighs 5.8 kg, almost a full kilogram more than when we adopted her!
I feel terrible about that too, and I suspect the weight gain may be contributing to her increased insulin requirements lately.
We’re going to start documenting absolutely everything she eats so we can establish a proper baseline, and then work out an appropriate, gradual calorie reduction to get her back toward a healthy weight.
I told Parker that the three of us should go on a diet together so Moonie doesn’t feel singled out!
This is Moonie the other day, staring at us from under the coffee table while Parker and I ate shrimp tacos. Don’t let that sad little face fool you! She got her own boiled shrimp! Which, now that I think about it, might explain how she gained that 1 kg.
We took Moonie to another veterinary ophthalmologist for a second opinion today and we’re so glad that we did.
Moonie has been having recurrent eye inflammation and discharge since at least February 2024, well before we adopted her. Her medical history is littered with failed treatment attempts. Just in the 10 months we’ve had Moonie, we’ve tried Terramycin eye ointments, oral doxycycline, eye duct flush, and ofloxacin with oculenis lubricating eye drops.
I feel so dumb for not realizing it earlier but these are all antibiotics, not antivirals. And herpesvirus is the most common reason that cats have Moonie’s symptoms.
We had previously run a PCR that was negative for herpesvirus, and we didn’t realize that a negative test doesn’t necessarily rule it out.
And then we found something in her old medical records that made everything click. Her previous owner had actually been prescribed famciclovir (an antiviral) alongside ofloxacin, but discontinued the famciclovir after just four days because he was having trouble getting Moonie to take the pills. Her records indicated that her symptoms had improved during that brief treatment.
It all makes sense in retrospect. I feel terrible that I didn’t put the pieces together sooner. I wish we’d figured this out months ago and spared Moonie so much discomfort. But I’m also incredibly relieved that we finally have a promising new direction and a plan going forward.
It’s also interesting that her recurrent eye problems began just a few months before she was officially diagnosed with diabetes, and they’ve continued ever since. We’ve noticed that when her eyes are bothering her, her blood glucose is often harder to regulate. I wonder how much the two conditions have been affecting each other.
So we’re stopping the eye drops - thank goodness - and Moonie is actually really good about taking pills, unlike her previous owner’s experience!
Moonie’s blood glucose has been all over the place since we started the eye drops, presumably because of the stress. We’re going to give her a couple of days to settle back into her normal routine, with continued monitoring, before deciding whether her insulin dose needs adjusting.
We also discovered something else at today’s appointment. Moonie now weighs 5.8 kg, almost a full kilogram more than when we adopted her!
I feel terrible about that too, and I suspect the weight gain may be contributing to her increased insulin requirements lately.
We’re going to start documenting absolutely everything she eats so we can establish a proper baseline, and then work out an appropriate, gradual calorie reduction to get her back toward a healthy weight.
I told Parker that the three of us should go on a diet together so Moonie doesn’t feel singled out!
This is Moonie the other day, staring at us from under the coffee table while Parker and I ate shrimp tacos. Don’t let that sad little face fool you! She got her own boiled shrimp! Which, now that I think about it, might explain how she gained that 1 kg.
And I'm so glad she won't need any more antibiotics for now!
