Vaccination side effects?

My cats were given their rabies, distemper and feline leukemia shots this morning. They were fine the first few hours--bright, alert and eating a snack when I left for lunch. When I returned this evening, I noticed they hadn't eaten all of their late afternoon snack (from autofeeder). And they've been sleeping since. They usually complain if we do not have our nightly play session by 9pm. Not so tonight. They also won't eat their dinner. One of my cats, who usually only goes every 48 hours, has already had two bowel movements. The last one was very soft and just outside of the box.

I've read that cats can feel a bit down a day or two after vaccine shots. When should I worry? I do not detect a fever (but's that's by touch, I do not have a thermometer). Should I force feed them tomorrow or just let them be?

Tough, since tomorrow it's Sunday. Offer them their food and see if they'll eat on their own. If they're not improving within 24 hours (from when they had their shots) you should probably try to get a hold of a vet at least so they're aware of the situation.

IMO, this happens from the feline leukemia vac and/or getting so many at once. If you don't want to worry about this in the future consider cutting out the feline leukemia vac or at least getting it done separately from the other vaccinations - or even go so far as to breaking them all up to be given over two week intervals.

I will post about the conversation I had with the vet about the "core" shots. I wish I had done more research before the visit. What an idiot and now my cats suffering.

But for now, I'm going to focus on getting them better. I found them this morning in the same places I left them last night. One on the sofa and the other in the stroller. Dory, left the sofa when I went to her. She used the litter box but didn't leave anything. She used the box 3 times last night so I think she's evacuate everything but her tummy is still rumbling.

The last time they ate a proper meal was Saturday morning. It was their wet meal. They also got kibble snacks at early and late afternoon. I'm going to make a very soupy wet meal and see if they will eat/drink it. If not, I'll use the syringe. I offered them water first thing in the morning but it was refused by both cats.

Strange, 24 hours after the shots would be right about now since we had a 9:15am appointment on Saturday. If the cats do not have fevers, can I wait and monitor?

I tried to feed Josie but she increased her crying and started to hiss. Her vocalizing is something I haven't heard before, a combo of whining and low rumbling meow. I read that one reaction from vaccinations is that cats do not want to be touched. Dory isn't vocalizing in the same way at all. She did come running out when Josie was making the racket. And now she's outside of the cardboard box Josie is hiding in.

I wonder if I just let them be for a few more hours and see if the effects lessen rather than stress them out with feeding.

I am not an expert by any means but if I read your post correctly, you have and vet apt this morning?

It does seem odd they they would all react to their vaccines.
I had a kitty who reacted to the rabies vax with some very strange neurological symptoms and have read about other members with similar reactions.
You might want to take your sickest in to be checked...
then you can discuss the best treatment for all your kitties.

No the vet appointment was yesterday morning. It's Sunday here and the vet office is closed.

The cats were fine up until yesterday afternoon. And even when I got home at around 7pm, they still came to the door to greet me and hung out in the building lobby. But they started to sleep soon after and have been lethargic and grumpy since. One has had diarrhea. No fever and vomiting. So the most obvious signs that something was wrong has happened within the last 12-14 hours.

It is rare that all of them would have a reaction, what kind of vaccine was it (live / modified live etc & was it purevax - I wonder if there could be something in the aduvent)

I would at least call a vet and ask about the symptoms, it may be common with the Leukemia shot (I don't give it, so have no experience) since it is a harsher vaccine

Originally Posted by icklemiss21

It is rare that all of them would have a reaction, what kind of vaccine was it (live / modified live etc & was it purevax - I wonder if there could be something in the aduvent)

I would at least call a vet and ask about the symptoms, it may be common with the Leukemia shot (I don't give it, so have no experience) since it is a harsher vaccine

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I have to agree...
if your kitties health deteriorates further, you need to find a vet available on Sunday if possible.

After your kitties recover from this...
you can learn about the new vaccine types and the protocols that are now recommended.
I wish you and your sweeties well.

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know the specific types of vaccines. The rabies were for 3 years.

The cats are up and alert. One did a bit of grooming. The other is looking out the window. Obviously not their usual selves but they have emerged from their slumber a bit. They are not eating the kibbles I've left out for them. I usually do not free feed at all.

I did give them a couple of syringes of pedialyte each. They weren't happy with it but they did allow me a couple of shots before getting really grumpy. I'm going to do this every hour or two to see if hydrating them will speed their recovery. I'm also heading out to pick up some baby chicken or turkey food. If they won't eat it out of their bowls, then I'll syringe.

They do not have fevers and they're breathing normally. I will feed and hydrate by gentle force until they eat on their own. If they remain stable, as they seem to be now, I think we can wait until Monday morning when the vet will open at 8:30.

I think both of them are ill because they both got all the vaccinations at once. It's hard on kitties to get over this.

Do you at least have a emergency number you can call if necessary?

When Sherman had his reaction he got very sore in the leg they gave it in, he was probably the most dramatic cat of mine that has had a reaction in that he cried and dragged his back end because he refused to use his sore leg. (it really wasn't quite that bad ) He had a low fever that would spike up some and his pupils stayed slightly dilated in light.

It's really your choice if you want to push and get treatment sooner or wait this through. But if it's not better by Monday you have to get them in that morning because you don't want them going without food too long.

Maybe try luring them into eating later with some water off of tuna mixed with their food?

Strange, if they aren't eating on their own by tonight, I'm skipping work and taking them into the vet first thing in the morning. Meanwhile, they will get some food by force.

There is a vet hospital a couple of miles away. If there is a drastic turn, I'll take them to the ER.

Even if they're fine by tomorrow and will not need vet attention, I'm considering a strongly worded letter to the vet. Our annual visit consisted of a routine check of the cats and their shots. All in all, the vet saw my cats for about 10 minutes. He did not warn me about the complications of multiple shots in one go. He did not even mention that cats may even have mild reactions from vaccinations. It was just, "Cats look great, here are their shots and have a great day". It's not his fault that my cats have reacted badly, he couldn't predict this. I'm just a little disappointed that he didn't bother to mention some possible complications. Especially as it seems like mild reactions are not at all uncommon. Why didn't he bring this up?

I like this vet and his office very much but I'm not happy with the annual check-up that we just got. I expect a little more diligence for $350.

Originally Posted by tdonline

I like this vet and his office very much but I'm not happy with the annual check-up that we just got. I expect a little more diligence for $350.

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Wait, you paid $350 for yesterday?!
I would be P.O.ed too!


I've never had any vet come out and say "hey, this vac combination could make your cat sick", but when confronted with a cat that has reacted badly vets will always say that it happens often. This is pretty much one of those topics that you have to push the vet to discuss with you and answer honestly. Doctors do this, too. I think they worry that they'll scare off their customers if they're blunt and honest about everything.
My vet doesn't do the 3 year rabies, yet (county doesn't accept it). Many on here will warn that it's more likely to cause side effects - some have even said that their vets did tell them this, so not all vets blow people off.

I'm glad that you have an ER option and plan if needed. I hope they do get better before you need to resort to more vet care, though.

It is not unusual to give cats all their shots in one day, apart from some people on here being very informed, the majority of people do give them all in one day - and its certainly common for rabies and FVRCP (the usual combo vaccine) in one day, but the Leukemia vaccine may have pushed them that bit futher

The 3 year rabies does contain adjuvent also, so that raises the possibility of side effects

The side effects of the Leukemia shot are

There are some potentially serious side effects from the leukemia vaccine that need to be taken into consideration when deciding to vaccinate a cat. Adverse effects from vaccination can include local swelling or pain, transient lethargy or fever, post-vaccination granuloma formation (a gathering of inflammatory cells that cause a benign lump), and most seriously, vaccine associated sarcomas. A sarcoma is a type of a mass that is comprised of cancerous cells. Sarcomas can spread from the site of the injection down into surrounding connective tissue, muscle, and bone

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More info here

Even if your cats are better by Monday, you do need to discuss what happened with your vet. I have one cat who has to have his shots spread out because he once had such a bad reaction of the Rabies shot.

Cautious good news. After my last post, I syringed another 6ml of pedialyte per cat. Afterwards, I offered a nearby plate of kibble to Dory and she ate it on her own! So I grabbed another plate (I left a few around overnight to encourage them to eat) and offered it to Josie but she wouldn't bite. I popped one into her mouth and that was enough to get her to eat the rest of the plate.

I went out and bought some baby chicken food. They wouldn't eat it on their own so I syringed 15CC per cat. What a mess but they did manage to eat most of the food. Dory did show interest in playing with plastic bags (her favorite solo activity) and she groomed after eating. She looks to be further along than Josie. But at least Josie is no longer crying strangely or staying away from me. She's actually right next to me and snoozing. They both are, I'm going to let them be for awhile. Afternoon is usually their heavy sleep time anyway so I'm not going to disrupt the schedule.

Thanks everyone for riding this out with me. I will definitely let the vet know about this. I've calmed down a bit so the letter or call's tone will be about informing the vet to note this for future vaccinations of my cats.

Both are fully recovered. Dory was back to herself by Sunday night. Josie was being a bit of a drama queen and when I woke up on Monday, she was still sitting in the stroller. And whining. So I picked her up and took her to the litter box. It had been awhile and I couldn't let her be for much longer. The doofus complained but did head towards the box once I dropped off her at the bathroom door. She did her business and that was that.

The one residual effect seems to be constipation. They haven't gone since early Sunday morning. Maybe it's because they went a day without food and the mild diarrhea messed up their schedule?

I am so glad that they are recovered.
I think that you are right about their constipation.
They are probably mild dehydrated.

Be sure that their vet charts their post vaccination reaction so it is in their medical records.