Argenine is produced by the body while lysine is not.
Lysine for cats eyes.
Effectiveness of dietary lysine supplement in cats with enzootic upper respiratory disease.
The herpesvirus is dependent upon an amino acid called argenine for reproduction.
But herpesvirus is sneaky.
L lysine is an important dietary supplement for cats because not only does it treat feline herpes but it also helps to prevent the symptoms.
Infected cats sneeze have a runny nose and eyes and feel poorly for a few days to a week or so but then they recover uneventfully.
Feline herpes is highly contagious amongst cats causing upper respiratory infections and a painful eye discharge called conjunctivitis that can lead to blindness.
Once a cat is infected the body can never completely eradicate it.
L lysine is an essential amino acid commonly used to treat herpes infections which cause cat conjunctivitis since the herpesvirus will favor the amino acid lysine over argenine.
L lysine has long been administered by veterinarians as a mode of prevention and treatment of feline herpesvirus also known as fhv 1.
In fact only one study noted that it helped cats with conjunctivitis symptoms from the herpes virus but that was a seriously small study of eight 8 cats.