kitten so sickly after vaccine...help!

Hi, I'm new to the site, so thankful to find a place to learn more about my brand new kitten, first cat ever . I've had him 5 wks and love him dearly. Briefly, b/c I def want this one point answered, and I'll start another thread to ask the other question I have later:  is it dangerous for my little guy to have 4 fvrcp shots? I am reading differing info online! Some articles say it should only be a series of 3 shots, then given annually. Others say boosters every 3-4 wks until 4 months of age, is that no matter when the vaccine schedule started?...help! My male kitten is 14 wks old. When I adopted him from the spca they gave me a very detailed health history. He had his initial fvrcp shot at about 5 wks old, the 2nd shot at 8 wks old, (I adopted him when he was 9 wks old) and they advised me to get him a booster at 11 wks old, which I did. Then I received a reminder in the mail from the private vet clinic that I took him to that he needed ANOTHER booster, so I diligently took him in for that, since I needed to go in for his monthly Revolution treatment anyway. He seemed ok when we left vet, but now he is super tired, lethargic, and depressed/mopey! It is stressing me out!! He stares off into space sometimes if he's not sleeping and curls his paws underneath him and lays all curled up. He NEVER has done that since I've gotten him. He always splays himself out all relaxed-like when he's tired. Was this 4th shot bad for him?? Did the vet administer it incorrectly? She had all the paperwork from the spca in there from when I brought him in the last time, I know they photocopied it for their file. Isn't it her job to be on top of how many he's had?

 I should also state that I had made the vet appt not only for the fvrcp (which the vet clinic told me I was due for) and the Revolution treatment, but I had brought Boone in because he had what I thought was anal prolapse (a red, raw-looking anus after defecating, but which eventually subsides after a few hours) and because he had seemed to urinate in the box somewhat frequently (7-8x/day). The pee also looked a bit thicker than normal, not a lot, but a little. So I wanted that all checked out. The vet took a urine sample and said he might have a "urine infection" and said his butt looked "irritated", and she said not anal prolapse. But she wanted a stool sample and said they analyze both the stool and urine to check for parasites/infection. I said, then shouldn't we wait for test results and not give fvrcp today? And she said, it's fine, and ordered a vet tech to administer the booster. What with Boone being so sickly, lethargic and sad, I am really worrying. While I've been waiting for any kind replies from anyone out there, I did more research online and it says the fvrcp should only be given "to healthy animals"!! Uh, my kitten is not healthy if the vet is testing for things which are causing anal irritation and a bladder infection, right?? I am incredibly stressed out and wondering if the stupid vet did more damage than good Boone is so mournful and sad looking. Just stares up at me and sighs.....

** Thank you for any and all input!! Sleepless mom to new kitten here ...completely worried. Just a last footnote, Boone was perfectly full of bounce and vigor prior to the vet visit yesterday. Just had that troubling red, raw anus (which I was wiping after he pooped and which seemed to help it subside back "inside" more quickly, and then the frequent peeing issue. (And yes, he had been straining to poop about a week/week and a half ago and I started adding pumpkin to his wet-only diet and that helped with straining A LOT.

5 weeks is very young for any vaccines, but I know shelters often start the series early because the kittens there are more likely to be exposed to disease. Kittens normally get a series of 2-4 FVRCP shots with the last one at 14-16 weeks of age. Stopping at 11 weeks might have left your kitten unprotected in the long run. IMO the vet should have waited to give this last one since your kitten wasn't quite well. Have you told them about how he's acting?

I agree, I would have held off on him getting a vaccine with a suspect UTI and possible parasite.

Yes, there are different protocols for vaccines depending on age of your vet, if it is a shelter, etc.. The main reason is that we are unsure at which point a kitten looses the immunity of the momma cat. If the kitten still has mom's immunity, the vaccine really doesn't take.

Our rescue typically administers the initial vaccine at 9/10 wks of age (depending on health of the kitten at the time) and again at 15/16 wks of age (we split the FVRCP/Rabies vaccines up in the event there is a reaction.)

With that said, we do not house cats in large colonies or in large rooms with crates, so the risk of exposure for kittens is very low. A shelter environment is very different and many vaccinate as early as 4 wks to give kittens' immune systems a boost.

I would definitely phone your vet and tell them about your Kirsten's symptoms.

Sometimes some fluids and a B12 shot or cerenia (for nausea) are needed to help them perk back up.

Our kitten was lethargic, depressed, and very sleepy after the second set of shots (first that we actually went with her to get). She bounced back after about a day and a half.

Thank you to everyone for all your input!! It means so much, you have no idea! I have been up all night worrying, and it helps to know other cat parents' experiences!! Yes, momto3cats, I left the vet 2 msgs in the middle of the night b/c Boone was so miserable looking. She left me a voicemail this morning and said "some lethargy" is normal, but if he is looking really bad I should call back to bring him in and they'd "give him something" to combat the lethargy (I guess the B12 shot that CatPack referred to. Frankly I don't want to go back to that vet b/c I think they should have held off on giving him the booster to begin with until he was deemed 100% healthy, and prob he'd be just fine now, as he was before the vet trip)

I am also becoming worried b/c his eyes seem sunken in, literally, as weird as that sounds. His eyes look sunken in and just off. He looks like he's aged, as silly as that may sound. Is this normal? I called the spca vet clinic this morning and made an appt with them (their first available was Monday afternoon) to address his red anus/possible UTI and for them to check him out from being so sickly after the vaccine. The very nice receptionist at the spca clinic said that it is normal for some cats to be lethargic and in pain from the vaccine and that the pain would in turn lead them to be sad and withdrawn. When I mentioned the sunken eye look, she said, "It's just like humans. When we're sick, our eyes get sunken in and haggard looking, and that's what is probably happening with Boone. But if you feel he's really declining and if he isn't eating at all or isn't using the litterbox , then you should take him to the ER and not wait until Monday." Does this sound right to you? Has anyone else had their cats get a "sunken-eye" look after a vaccination, or ever? Did the eyes return to normal? Thank you momto3cats, CatPack and NewYork1303 for your responses! )

That sounds right to me. If he is eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom he will probably perk up. Mine was sick right before her shot as well so it could be both things bugging him at the same time. If you are really worried, taking him to get a vitamin shot probably wouldn't hurt, but that's your choice.

NewYork1303, when you say your kitten was lethargic, depressed and very sleepy after the second set of shots, did you mean REALLY depressed? B/c my kitten is. Like he doesn't purr anymore. even if I'm petting him, and he used to always purr when I pet him. He's more than just a sleepy kitty. He just looks up at me with this truly pained look in his eyes, like life is just not worth living. He looks SO SAD. He is also really hot to the touch. Is this something I should be concerned about? He's hot all over. And I think his third eyelid may be starting to show

p.s. Your kitty's pic, NewYork1303, is so cute!!

He definitely sounds like a kitten with a bad URI or feline herpes (because of the eyelid part). The heat is worrying. Can you check to see if the cat has a fever? Is the inside of his ears more red than they were before? (I'm assuming this is the tabby in the picture and not a black cat like my kitten so the inside of the ears will be more noticeable). Are there any vets in the area that do drop in appointments or same day ones, but aren't emergency vets?

Our kitten was very lethargic, didn't really purr, but really wanted to be laying on us all of the time same as when she was ill. She definitely was terrifying me with the way she was looking. She just wanted to sleep and didn't want to play.

The cat in my picture is my three year old cat. He loves being outside among the ferns like in my profile pic.

Oh! Also if you want to talk directly at someone and have them notified use the @ before their name like @kittengirl

Kittens can sometimes become lethargic/sleepy/slightly feverish, just like a human baby.  We just kept our 2nd kitten and her apart, so she could rest. She slept more than usual that day and

bounced right back the next day.

Thank you so very, very much to everyone for your input. It really helped me get thru these first cat owner worries! Boone seems almost back to his old self, about 80% there. He is less hot, too. I still do think the fvrcp booster was too much to his already ailing system though. I have an appt at a diff vet on Monday, so I'll be going there to get his red anus evaluated. The vet who gave him the booster shot called back and said his urinalysis came back clear and free of crystals and he doesn't have a UTI. I figure he just must pee a lot (7-8x/day). (Cats can have idiosyncrasies like humans, right?) But his red, raw-ish looking anus after defecating is troublesome...has anyone else's cat had this problem? The vet I saw Thurs said it was NOT anal prolapse, just an "irritated" anus. But then again, she is the one who ordered the vaccine booster when Boone wasn't 100% healthy...

Unfortunately it's a bit of a crap shoot about giving vaccines.  I have given them to kittens that weren't 100% healthy, but that's because I felt the risk of contracting disease was higher than the risk of compounding existing illness with immune response.  Usually, my deciding factor is temperature.  As long as kitten doesn't have a fever, I'll vaccinate.  HOWEVER, these are kittens that are at high risk of contracting disease because of coming from a crowded shelter environment.

If Boone has already had at least one vaccine past the 8 week mark, I would have waited on a booster until he was well.  Unfortunately not everybody thinks these things through.  I would support your choice of looking for another vet that will listen to your concerns.  I'm assuming Boone is now indoors only and not around other ill cats, so in my opinion, the booster definitely could have waited.  Good news about the urinalysis and yes, some kittens do pee that frequently.  They have little bladders.  As long as he does not strain to urinate or cry while urinating, he's likely fine on that end.

As far as the rectal/anal irritation, is he having diarrhea or constipation?  Did the first vet get back to you on the fecal analysis? Again, straining or vocalization, along with missing the litter box, are your cues that something is amiss.  If the fecal is clear and the conclusion from more than one vet is that he is just 'sensitive', I would recommend Animax or similar ointment to put on the irritated parts.

I don't notice in my kittens that they are under the weather after a vaccine--only that they sleep more than usual.  When I wake them, they seem pretty normal if a bit drowsy.  But I also don't do more than one vaccine at a time, and they're given in a low-stress environment--rather than going to the vet and freaking out about that, I just draw up the vaccine, hold the kitten, and administer.  I did have one kitten, over the past 5+ years, develop a limp in the affected limb.  Vet gave her...something, I don't remember what, some sort of anti-inflammatory combo he'd cooked up, I think.

But as a human I can remember feeling kind of out of it after vaccines as a child, so I shouldn't be surprised if some kittens do react that way.  Although I think again, between children and kittens, the stress of the office visit is likely a factor.  Children cry and carry on because of needles and the perceived pain, and kittens are in a strange place with strange smells being handled by strangers.

I would NOT recommend benedryl prophylactically in this case because if the main issue is lethargy following the vaccination, that will be compounded by the benedryl.  Diphenhydramine (benedryl) is for allergic reactions like swelling.

I would, though, mention all these concerns to the new vet.  That he had the booster and didn't react well with fairly extreme lethargy and dysphoria, including the sunken-eye look.  Was he drinking during this period?  I'm more apt to associate the sunken look with dehydration.  You can check his hydration by making a tent of his skin with thumb and two fingers at the scruff of the neck. (ask vet to show you if you don't get it from the description)  A well-hydrated cat will have skin that snaps back fairly immediately.  If it settles back more slowly, he is dehydrated.  If it remains tented for a few seconds, dehydration is severe.

Just speculating...if the frequent urination continues into adulthood, you may be looking at kidney issues or diabetes.  Uncommon in a young cat, but polyuria (frequent or profuse urination) isn't normal.  Then again, my Great Dane has PU/PD (she pees a lot, drinks a lot) and after $300 of testing kidneys, urinary system, and blood sugar, she just likes to drink a lot.

Last thought on the matter--it's really important that you find a vet that will listen to you and your concerns.  If the vet insists on doing something that you're not comfortable with--find a different one.  And let them know that you felt the vet wasn't listening to you or your concerns about your pet.  The upside of veterinary medicine being a business is that they are dependent on keeping customers (relatively) happy.  Your money and your business is valuable, so don't give it to a vet that doesn't give YOU what you want or need.  Don't mistake a vet being brusque for knowing what they're doing--a vet who REALLY knows what they're doing is usually happy to explain their reasoning and why it is the correct course of action.  (I'm thinking of a few vets I know in particular who are like that with clients...guess what, only one of them actually knows what he is doing, the other three are bullies).

Yes, Boone is an indoor-only cat; I live in an apt. I adopted him at 9 wks old and he'd already had two fvrcp shots by then and actually the schedule the spca gave me at the time of adoption said he was only due for one more, NOT two more fvrcp boosters before he was 16 wks old. (I'm still very upset that the vet gave him that booster when he had the mysterious red anus. And I am beating myself up about letting her give it to him It could easily have waited a few days or a week, if she was hell bent on giving him another unneeded fvrcp--it was only 3 wks to the day since his last one and I read the next shot can be given every 3 or 4 wks) And the reason I am still so worried about the extra shot being given is Boone is still acting weird. Yesterday I wrote he was more energetic than in the 24 hrs post-vaccine, but he is still--now we're more than 3 days since the vaccine--not as active as he was before we went to the vet. Even with his red anus before, he was chipper as could be, climbing the window screens, getting into everything, I literally had to have eyes on him all the time. Now, I can leave my phone charging and he doesn't care about the cord (unheard of before the vet visit!!), he doesn't race around as much as he used to and he just stares off into space sometimes looking sad, which he never did before. He was just a normal kitten before. When he was asleep, he was asleep. But when he was awake, boy was he awake! Hyperactive! Now when he wakes up he is a little playful, but he gets tired out easily. He stops playing after 10-15 mins, when before he would self-entertain with his toys and race around the apt for a good 45 mins to an hour straight. And he's hiding more now.

Why has my cat changed?? Did the vaccine do it? Did the vaccine plus the trauma of the needle plunging into his bladder do it? (Btw, why couldn't I have gotten a sample at home? Why did it have to be done so urgently that minute? I have no idea how they acquired his urine sample. They just whisked him away to "the back" and said they had to do it there. I am going to call today when they open and ask how they got the sample; did they squeeze his bladder manually or do the needle method? B/c from what I'm reading online, it may be easier and more efficient for the vet, but it's not the most fun thing in the world for the patient. And I don't understand why I couldn't be present to comfort Boone while they did whatever they were doing. That also upsets me. I know I should've spoken up, but again I'm a first time cat owner and I so trusted these people that they were doing what's best for Boone and he wouldn't be returned to me all changed! He still seems sad and not his normal happy, peppy self.

To answer your wonderfully detailed questions Kat, no, he does not strain or cry while urinating. He does sometimes go in the litter box and then jump out tho' and I'm not sure if I should be concerned about this. That only happens a couple times a day, I think. He does not have diarrhea. He was straining while pooping a few weeks ago, but I've been giving him pumpkin since then and that's helped enormously and he doesn't strain at all anymore and his poop is normal looking. I didn't see him drink during the post-vaccine period, so I'm not sure if he was dehydrated. He rarely drinks. (I'm thinking of getting a cat fountain...does anyone have feedback on whether that really does encourage cats to drink? I'm spending so much money on investigating his health that I don't want to buy a fountain if it's all just a sales pitch that it helps cats drink...thanks for feedback!!) I do know the tenting test with the skin to see if he's dehydrated and whenever I checked him, the skin went back down as normal.

I will def mention all these concerns with the SPCA vet I see today, including what happened at the previous vet, but it's SO hard to get all the concerns out in the time allotted. They always seem to be in such a rush, in general. And the SPCA clinic I'm going to has a strict rule that patients can only see the vet for 15 mins. So I hope I can cover everything in 15 mins!! I will definitely stand my ground and not allow any action to be taken unless I completely agree to it.

I am just so worried b/c I want the old Boone back! I'm stressed out all the time about this when I'm at work, and if I think about "he'd be fine if I hadn't taken him to the vet", I get all worked up and start to cry. He's my first cat and a lovebug and I want to do right by him!

Has anyone had the experience of their cat "changing" after a vaccination? Or a visit to the vet?

Oh! I meant to mention in the last post that I did BRIEFLY adopt another kitten about two weeks after I adopted Boone. I thought she'd be a nice playmate for Boone. She was only in our home for two days total. So Boone's exposure to her was short. (I decided it was economically unfeasible to keep both of them unfortunately, but the feral cat foundation I adopted her from had told me if it didn't work out, I could bring her back, so I know she went back to loving people who would find her a good home)

Anyway, I'm not sure if that is relevant, it may be, as she was a feral and she was only about 11 wks old, so perhaps she transmitted something to Boone? Boone's "irritated" anus didn't occur until after I'd had her in the house...

I don't know if it's appropriate, but if I'm allowed, I'd like to post a picture of Boone's bottom to see if anyone else has had that?

To my untrained eye, it looks to me like it could be a partially prolapsed anus, but that first vet thought it was just "irritated". I think prolapse b/c it eventually "goes back in" after a few hours....

I've never heard of a cat changing due to a vaccine. I would worry a bit about him at this point. 

Also, I believe that there is some way to hide pictures that are graphic, so that only those who see them can see them. 

I'm not sure how this can be done though.

Is a picture of a cat's anus considered "graphic"? Don't want to offend anyone if it is!

Yes, I am very worried about him now. I don't understand why he didn't bounce totally back after a good 24-48 hrs :-/

I just hope the vet today takes the necessary time with him and doesn't just breeze in and breeze out

I know that there is a way to make something a spoiler in the thread, this would hide the picture until someone clicked on it. It appears next to the quotes when you hit more at the top of the post. It wouldn't likely offend anyone, its just not everyone might want to see it.