I'll try to make a long story short.

Our female (fixed) cat is 8-1/2 years old.  When she was 3-1/2 years old she had a very traumatic experience.  The best explanation we got (eventually) from our vet was that she suffered a stroke.  I came home from work on day and she was sneezing and her 3rd eyelids were 90% closed.  We took her in to our regular vet and she said she had a respiratory infection and started her on antibiotics immediately.  I was suspect to the diagnosis as she didn't have any discharge from her eyes or nose, but she was sneezing/sniffling.

Later that night she was getting drastically worse.  We sat her in her favorite bed late at night and we went to bed ourselves.  I woke up at 1am and found her nearly un-responsive and she was laying in #1 and #2.  I woke my wife and we rushed her to the E.R.  She had a fever of 105 deg.F and the vet did an x-ray.  both those were fine and the vet get her a dose of Medacam (sp?) to reduce her fever, (after the fact and researching Medacam I wasn't impressed), but it lowered her fever and the vet said it was still likely a respiratory infection.  He gave her some fluids and sent us home. 

Needless to say, it was a looong night.  I checked on her every half hour and she was walking in to walls (headbutting) and not with it.  I kept putting her back to bed but I could tell she was in serious pain.  Early the next morning we took her back to the vet.  I noticed her right side was un-responsive to touch and the vet agreed.  They thought it was possibly toxoplasmosis and changed her to clinda-cure (again sp?) for what ended up about 2 months.

Those two months were terrible.  She couldn't walk right, she couldn't balance or do anything for herself really.  I had to help her go to the litter, eat, put her to bed, move her around, pretty much everything.  We kept taking her back to the vet for hydration, because she wouldn't drink any water.  She stayed in one spot away from activity unless I got involved. 

Very slowly we saw improvements.  I literally made her play and forced her to use her "bad" side for a sort of therapy.  Originally, her "bad" side seemed to have no sensation and I think she was literally blind in 1 eye.  She had muscle twitches and spasms too.  Fast forward about 2 years and she made a pretty decent recovery.  I think she can see well, she has some feeling back on her right side, her twitches and spasms are 99% gone, but she still has some sneezing/wheezing intermittently.

That brings me to now.  Her last vet appointment was about a year ago and it's time to go back in.  She HATES the vet, the car, other animals, other people.....it's soooo stressful.  It's literally a bloodbath for everyone involved.  They have to muzzle and strap her down to a board to draw blood, give shots etc.  I've always been of the thought taking her in for vaccinations and such is a good thing, but after some research, I'm finding that might not be the case.  She's been tested for everything possible and always gets a clean bill of health now (other than residual effects of her probable stroke).  The vet even says her lungs sound good even though she sneezes and sometimes wheezes.  All the tests come back negative.  They do tell me she has a very slight low white blood cell count thought.  The vet says she's basically a miracle and that our dedication saved her life.

In all honesty, she's pretty good now considering where she's been.  Anyone observing her from a distance probably wouldn't notice anything wrong with her.  She does have a slight limp, and when she sits, she sometimes "knuckles", but she looks good and healthy.  Oh yeah, one more thing, she seems to have lost most of her ability to vocalize.  She can very slightly purr, hisses just fine (LOL), and only meows when REALLY excited and its a very faint meow (maybe once a week).

When she goes to the vet she's lethargic for 24-48 hours after.  I've always suspected the vaccinations as the cause.  Being 8-1/2 years old, having had all the shots up until 7-1/2 years old I'm wondering if it's really necessary to keep putting her through the annual vet visits?

She is 95% indoor and we have a fenced in back yard that she goes outside here and there in the summer.  After her stroke, she can't climb the fence or anything, so when she is outside, she is close and usually even under direct supervision.

Besides the vet visits, we always gave her Revolution in the Spring/Summer/Fall....she seems to tolerate that well.  One of the thoughts of her stroke was that it could have been heartworm and larva may have made it t her lungs and/or brain since cats aren't a natural host of heartworm.  But who knows really....I'm not spending $3,000 for an MRI after the fact that probably won't prove anything.

What would you do?   Would you continue to take her to the Vet for vaccinations?  Would you continue Revolution?  I'm thinking I've had enough of stressing her and us out with the vet, and buying Revolution online.

Sorry, it ended up a pretty long story anyway!

I have two 3.5 year old cats. They haven't been vaccinated since they were a year old. After their last round of shots, my girl cat had a mild reaction in the form of being sluggish and lacking appetite for 24 hours, and this was enough for me to decide no more vaccines. They are also indoor cats. As for Revolution, I also don't use any sort of flea or heartworm preventative and they have never had any fleas or worms of any sort, not even tapes (knock on wood). However, we live in New England, so that may help.

I would definitely knock off the vaccines. An indoor cat who has been receiving yearly vaccines for 8 years probably has all the immunity she's going to need for the rest of her life. But as for the revolution, you should do some research on the product before deciding if it makes sense for your cat based on where you live and her health history.

the American Association of Feline Practitioners recommends that most cat vaccines be given no more often than every 3 years

http://www.catvets.com/public/PDFs/PracticeGuidelines/VaccinationGLS-summary.pdf

http://www.catvets.com/guidelines/practice-guidelines/feline-vaccination-guidelines

If fleas are a problem where you live, of course you need to do something about them. It's not nice to make her itch all summer . But it doesn't have to be Revolution, although that is one of the better brands.

I wouldn't vaccinate her anymore either. At her age, after being vaccinated annually for so long, she should be fully immune. And if it stresses her that much to go to the vet's office, best to avoid that if it's not totally necessary.

Thank you everyone for the replies.  I'm glad we are probably good (and possibly better off) not going to the vet for vaccinations and such.  That will save a lot of stress for me and our cat.

Flees haven't been a problem for us, but I do worry about heartworm.  A lot of dogs get it in our area of Michigan, and our cat having a stroke for no explainable reason worries me that it could have possibly been from heartworm.  I've wondered if she actually did have heartworm and survived, if she'd be immune to that as well, but I haven't been able to find any good research on the subject.

Even if you choose not to vaccinate her going forward, it's still important for her to get an annual check-up, especially as she is approaching her senior years. Perhaps you could check into a vet that makes home visits?

I agree about using a flea preventative; and, if she's tolerated the Revolution well, no since in changing that.

**Also, it is my understanding that getting heartworm does not make an animal immune to them.**

Heartworms don't cause neurological symptoms. I suppose maybe they could cause a stroke if the dead worms caused a blood clot and traveled to the brain, though. Heartworms aren't generally common in Michigan but I guess local microclimates could prove to be more conducive to heartworm development. And, no, they don't get immune to them, I don't think anyone can be immune to worms . I would consider her low-risk for heartworms but if you think it's a viable risk it's fine to continue giving her Revolution.

Possible heartworm infection was just one of the things the vet through out there as a possible cause of her stroke.  The vet said since cats aren't a natural host, it's possible for larva (or dead worms) to end up pretty much anywhere in a cat.  The only other thing the vet had to offer was that it could have been a genetic abnormality and she was (and possibly still could be) a ticking time bomb.  It's been 4 years with no events, so I have my fingers crossed that we are done with strokes!

I'd consider a vet that home visits as a possible solution.  I asked our current vet about it last time and they said they don't do home visits.  Even with a home visit I think it would be bad though.  Under no circumstances is anyone else even getting close to her or touching her, let alone handle her for an examination.  My wife and I are the only ones that can pick her up, pet, scratch, brush, whatever, but we can't even handle her if someone else is around.  Everything changed when she had her stroke.

If something happens, or we notice something strange/odd, we'll definitely get her to the vet ASAP, until then, I think we may just hold off.

@cathasionu -- i agree with the other members replies.

i do want to mention something though. if you decide not to give the rabies vaccination, it's best to have your vet "on board" with this decision or at least aware of it and willing to work with you. my snick is a senior (will be 15 years old in august) with chronic kidney disease and IBD (she's had other serious medical issues as well) and had been having blood draws every other month for probably just over two years -- to keep a close eye on her kidney values, as well as her calcium level (another story, one of the other serious medical issues). snick had had all her vaccines on time for years. snick was gradually becoming more and more stressed with the blood draws, and i discussed this with our vet. our vet made the point that if snick hadn't been given the rabies vaccine and bit anyone, she would more than likely have to be "put down" (that's the law and if snick bit anyone while at the vet's office, they're required to call the rabies coordinator person at some or other state agency -- maybe the health dept, but can't remember). so we continued with the every other month blood draws, but at a certain point snick became so very stressed and upset during vet appointments that she did bite someone -- me, when i was going to pick her up to comfort her after the blood draw. i almost lost my snick that day, right then and there. we were very lucky that the rabies coordinator understood that snick is a senior, how the vet appointments/blood draws had caused her to become stressed to the point that she would no longer tolerate vet appointments or blood draws, and that although snick was late for her rabies vaccine (because our vet had delayed giving it for one month, due to snick having a UTI) she had always been vaccinated on time and has always been an indoors only cat. so we were given a 10-day at home period where i was to observe snick, watching for symptoms of rabies, and no other person was to have contact with snick. the rabies coordinator called to check in with me twice, and of course snick developed no symptoms of rabies. this was the point where my vet finally agreed that snick would no longer have vet appointments or any vaccinations, and she would be on at-home/hospice care under the supervision of our vet. our vet and i have a plan should snick develop any medical issue severe enough that she would truly need to have a vet appointment, which includes precautions that we'll take so there will be no opportunity for snick to bite anyone (of course, out of extreme fear).

some drawbacks to at-home/hospice care are that we can no longer monitor snick's kidney values or calcium level through blood work, medications that our vet prescribes aren't necessarily going to be the best or ideal medication (because the vet has only the symptoms that i relate to her and can do no tests), and close monitoring of snick is required for me (and i'm not a vet or vet tech, so might miss something -- though of course i do my very best).

the positive things that have come of snick being on at-home/hospice care are that she is so much more relaxed and stress free, she's only had two UTI'S during this time and those were quickly and easily treated, and her CKD has remained in stage 2 -- which i feel may be partly because snick hasn't been overly stressed or even stressed at all since last november. stress alone can cause illness in cats. i do give snick sub-q fluids at home, so we're still treating her CKD.

so if you make the decision not to vaccinate your girl (and i completely understand why, and agree with your thoughts on this), i'd strongly suggest having your vet 'on board' with this decision, have a plan should your girl ever absolutely need to see the vet (like a life or death kind of situation), and be aware that without having been given the rabies vaccine you'll need to be very careful and take preventative measures so there will be no opportunity for your girl to bite anyone (out of extreme fear, like at an absolutely needed vet appointment).

re the revolution flea treatment. i have continued to treat my snick using vectra flea treatment monthly during the warm weather months, but i'll be discussing this with our vet this spring. we have a second cat with us now, currently a foster, and he will have the vectra flea treatments monthly during this years warm weather months. i'll be asking our vet if the vectra treatments our boy will be getting might be enough that snick won't need the treatments applied to her -- with the thought that he goes everywhere in our home that snick does anyway. i'll have to see whether snick will need the vectra again this year, and if she's deemed healthy enough to have it.

If you're dropping all her vaccinations, quite rightly by the way, I'd stop her going out at all then you won't need to worry about fleas or worms etc.

Stewball said:

If you're dropping all her vaccinations, quite rightly by the way, I'd stop her going out at all then you won't need to worry about fleas or worms etc.

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I couldn't agree more with this.

CatPack said:

I couldn't agree more with this.

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Thank you.

Just as a side note to vaccinations, our indoor-only cats never needed a rabies vaccine until we moved to the US from Vancouver, B.C. (about 5 miles from our new home).

Of course, they never had fleas either until we moved here. If your cat doesn't go outside, you don't need to worry about fleas, but if she does go outside, you really should use Revolution or one of the other flea medications. Fleas carry nasty parasites that can infect your cat and you! And, if anyone does accidentally bring fleas into the house, it's an intensive battle to get rid of them. As the old saw goes, better safe than sorry.

Best regards.

I would keep her on the Revolution. As for vaccines I would put her on a 3-5 year vaccine schedule.

It sounds like she had encephalitis. Some bacteria or viruses are capable of attacking the brain/spinal cord and causing problems. That sounds much more likely than it being a stroke. Obviously it was a neurological issue as sudden onset blindness/loss of feeling is fairly typical of neurological problems.

If the neurological issues were not caused by infection, I would have expected to see her get worse, not better. Stroke would be rare in a cat that age.  Heartworms is rare in cats as well. There is a blood test for heartworms if you think it might be that.  But it sounds like an infection of some sort caused the original problem. Fever is rather consistent with an infectious origin as well.

http://www.merckmanuals.com/petheal...cats/meningitis_and_encephalitis_in_cats.html

Thank you for all the information everyone, it is very helpful.

As far as rabies, I can't find anything that indicates that the state of Michigan actually requires a cat to be vaccinated.  I found a few articles that actually described how the laws on cats in Michigan are so lax.  Is it a federal law?  Does anyone know for sure if cats are required to have a rabies shot in Michigan?

@Sarah Ann  - You know, you reminded me of something.  The same summer that our cat got sick (if I remember correctly it was July 14th), eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) was running rampant in Southwest Michigan and if I remember correctly, hundreds (or maybe more) of horses were dying.  I had friends that had to put horses down from it.  I just did a quick Google search and it looks like Cats, Dogs and Humans are vulnerable to (EEE) infections from mosquitos.  From looking it up, a person in my county (Kalamazoo) was even infected and hospitalized that same year (2010), and only a month later!  I never suspected, and none of the warnings from the state of Michigan or local news outlets ever said to be careful with your pets for possible infection.

After nearly 5 years, I think I now have a reasonable answer as to what happened to her!  Thank you for reading my story and offering your input.  I think you nailed it!

Administration of Rabies Vaccination State Laws

Last updated March 2015

https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Pages/rabies-vaccination.aspx

https://www.avma.org/Advocacy/StateAndLocal/Documents/Rabies state law chart.pdf