Catherine (Montgomery, Alabama/U.S.A.) on 03/19/2009

I make an 8oz. glass of warm water with 1/4 tsp. ACV and 1/4 tsp. seasalt...I use this myself, and test on myself before dropping in cats eyes/nose. These amounts aren't caustic enough to cause burning pain. Restraint and medicating are always unpleasant to cats. Mine have grown accustomed to it, although none of us enjoy the process.

Initially they were panicked and struggled...they feel they can't breathe I imagine... but speaking softly/calmly, giving breaks from restraint to pet and comfort between drops they have learned to endure it without a big fight. My cats were infected w/a calici virus outside the scope of their annual vaccines more than a year ago when I helped a friend find homes for kittens, so we have to do this often. My cats are not cured by any means, but the ACV 1 tsp. per can of wet food w/water added, same in water bowel, and the eye/nose drops help to keep the sinuses from becoming full of stringy mucus, and clear the eyes in a matter of 3-4 days when it manifests there.

Just as a warning to other cat lovers, I have always made sure the cats/kittens I've fostered were FIV/FeLeuk negative before allowing them into my home, even in a kitty condo not in direct contact with my babies, NOT GOOD ENOUGH! In this case I wasn't warned the kittens had been sneezing. For those who foster and rescue, I have learned from the heartbreak of having 4 beautiful, healthy cats become chronically ill, never, ever to allow any other cat/kitten into my home without total quarantine, in the kennel and in a room away from mine, with stringent disinfecting...of room and yourself; hands, shoes, even clothes if you hold the visiting cats or they sneeze on you. Even a cat that appears well can be a carrier of herpes/calici/rhino and other diseases. Recently a pet sitter friend had the same thing happen...no sign of illness in the cats she sat, but she carried herpes virus to her three cats, one of them elderly and at risk.

Hope this is helpful, Catherine