sick after vaccine booster?

rubberboots

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We took our cat of 15 weeks in for the recommended vaccine boosters yesterday at about 1:30 pm for leukemia, rabies and FCPC (not quite sure what that is). The vet told me to keep an eye on him for a couple hours after to make sure there were no reactions, swelling, itching, redness. All was great we got home he didn't even skip a beat. All night he was playing eating and drinking when we went to bed at 10:00 pm. I got up this morning and he didn't even get out of his bed to greet me. I thought at first he was just having a lazy morning which he sometimes does. Then he usually sits outside our bedroom door and meowls until my wife gets up, he didn't even leave his bed. I tried to pet him and I could tell right away that he was irritated by this so I stopped. My wife got up and noticed that hardly any of the food had been touched through the night. I got his bag of treats and gave him a couple just so that he had something in his belly. about 5 minutes later he threw up and it wasn't a hairball I checked. It was a little bit of partially digested kibble and the treats that I had fed to him. Right now all he is doing is sleeping and I'm very worried. I called the vet and he's taking him in today in a couple of hours. I asked if this was common after vaccinations and he said that reactions would have happened within a couple hours of giving them. Does anybody have any tips or words of encouragement for me?
 

emilymaywilcha

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I recently started a thread called "Do indoor cats really need vaccines?" because some people are convinced they make cats sick. Vaccines for indoor cats - either how many boosters they get or if they get any boosters at all - is a controversial issue. The problem most widely known is fibrosarcomas - on-site skin cancer - and for this reason, FLV is always given in the left leg and rabies is always given in the right leg so the vet will know which shot is the cause. Indoor cats do not need the FLV vaccine unless they live with cats that sometimes go outside, so many people refuse to let their cats get it. That saves the human money and cats pain, so unless you have a cat known to have the feline leukemia virus and/or live where a local law mandates all cats and dogs to get the rabies shot, there is no reason to let a vet give an indoor-only cat the FLV or rabes vaccines.

I am not saying your kitty has skin cancer, of course. I just want you to know because of that risk you should reconsider having your cat vaccinated for rabies and FLV. It is very possible one or both of those vaccines made your cat sick. It is possible the other vaccine did it, but it is well-known the most dangerous vaccines are rabies and FLV.
 
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rubberboots

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Both of our cats go outside which is why we were getting them vaccinated for these two things. Thanks for the info though.
 
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rubberboots

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If they don't have to go outside, they don't belong there.
I appreciate the info you shared earlier but please don't lecture me on how you think I should take care of my cats. You don't want to get me started. They go outside because I don't feel it's fair or humane to keep them locked up inside.
 

kittylover23

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Honestly, I know a lot of people who let their cats outside and the cats are very healthy and happy. It does provide a good quality of life, because the cats have their own freedom IMO. Personally, I keep my cats inside but I understand why people do let their cats out.

When Cookie got the rabies vaccine, she slept for two days solid. A lot of cats have bad reactions to the vaccine, so it wouldn't surprise me if that's what is causing your kitty's symptoms. My cats haven't had the FeLV vaccine but that could be a trigger as well.

I would watch the kitty closely for today, and give the vet a call if you become worried. If it is just a normal reaction, it should go away within the next couple of days.

:vibes::vibes:

Edit: I found a site with some information about vaccine reactions. :) http://www.catinfo.org/?link=vaccines hope that helps!
 
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rubberboots

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Honestly, I know a lot of people who let their cats outside and the cats are very healthy and happy. It does provide a good quality of life, because the cats have their own freedom IMO. Personally, I keep my cats inside but I understand why people do let their cats out.
When Cookie got the rabies vaccine, she slept for two days solid. A lot of cats have bad reactions to the vaccine, so it wouldn't surprise me if that's what is causing your kitty's symptoms. My cats haven't had the FeLV vaccine but that could be a trigger as well.
I would watch the kitty closely for today, and give the vet a call if you become worried. If it is just a normal reaction, it should go away within the next couple of days.

Edit: I found a site with some information about vaccine reactions.
http://www.catinfo.org/?link=vaccines hope that helps!
Thank you for sharing and not lecturing. I took him to the vet already and he's running a temperature so they want to keep him for observation for today. The vet said it was because of the vaccines but he didn't say which one. We should be getting a call around 5pm.
 

kittylover23

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Aww, poor kitty. :( I hope he's alright, and let us know which vaccine was the one that caused it. Cats often react to these vaccines because it is like a foreign substance entering their body, and it's definitely possible that they could give him a temperature (especially since humans can get fevers from the vaccines we are administered, imagine how they could affect a cat).

Lots of vibes for you and your kitty. I definitely understand allowing him outdoors though, because I've had many outdoor kitties in the past. In our neighborhood there is an abundance of outdoor cats, and everyone pretty much knows each cat by name. :lol3:

Anyways, hope all is well. :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 

just mike

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Poor Baby - I sure hope the vet visit sheds some light on what is wrong.  Keep us posted on his progress if you can
 
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rubberboots

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Well, I don't think we will be going back to that vet. We tried calling like we were told to do and were told the vet was busy with an animal and he would call us back. An hour later he hadn't called yet so the wife wanted to just drive over there just so we could see our cat even if he wasn't able to come home yet. We never did see the Vet we never got an explanation all we were told is that he was given something to bring down the fever and keep an eye on him. We went back there to get him because the assistant said he was aggressive and the room the cages were in were stifling hot. Oh ya we were also told that he hadn't eaten or drank anything all day. So we get him in his carrier and bring him home (there was no charge) and when we let him out the very first thing he does is b-line it to his water and food dish. I didn't think he was going to leave any water for our other cat. We put out some wet food for him and he ate. I'm wondering if the water and food were put out just before we went there. Anyway there were just too many warning bells going off in my head so I'm going to listen to them.
 

kittylover23

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Ugh I had a similar experience with my past vet when my cat came in for an ultrasound. She was brought in at 8am and was supposed to be taken in at 10am (because she hadn't eaten anything for 12 hrs) but they pushed up the ultrasound until 3pm...no food.

Hope he gets better though. Positive thoughts and healing vibes sent your way. :vibes:
 
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rubberboots

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Well I got up this morning and he's back to his old self. As a matter of fact he just jumped up onto my desk and curled up in front of my monitor like he does every morning when I'm on my computer.
 
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