Reaction to the Rabies or Feline Leukemia vaccine?

mazie

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Please someone, tell me if it is normal for a perfectly healthy cat to be negatively reacting to a Rabies or feline leukemia vaccine?  It is not 2;30am, and something is wrong with my cat and I cannot go back to bed because I know something is wrong!  17 hours ago, my cat received her annual rabies and leukemia vaccine at the vet.  We came home, I went to work, got back home 9 hours later and discovered Katy acting very peculiar.  She would not eat any dinner, would not drink any water.  She has been laying on the sofa, basically unmoved since I got back home from work, 6.5 hours ago.  At bedtime, I went on to bed thinking maybe she is still upset with me for taking her to the vet, (not one of her favorite things).  But, this was not the case,  I tried to carry her to my bed, but she just hissed and growled, so I just laid her back down.  Needless to say, I am up for the night, typing to you before I lay down next to her on the sofa for the rest of the night.  It feels like morning will never get here so that I can call the vet.  Please, if this is normal for a reaction to those 2 shots given at the same time, please let me know.  I need to know something to get me through this night.  Sorry for  the rambling, Katy is the perfectly healthy cat, I am not used to her feeling so poorly (lethargic).  Thanks
 

denice

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Reactions to vaccinations are pretty common.  It sounds as if this is a pretty mild reaction.  My kitty had a reaction that involved vomiting and fever, he needed vet care to turn it around.  Hopefully your kitty will come out of this by tomorrow.  If she is still lethargic and particularly not eating by tomorrow I would call the vet.  Not eating for an extended period of time can cause issues with the liver.  The rabies vaccine seems to be particularly bad for causing a reaction.  That was the one that caused it with my cat and the vet tech told me that is the one that usually causes a reaction.
 
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mazie

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Thank you so much Denice.  I knew that it had to do with a reaction from one of those 2 shots.  I vet's office opens in 20 minutes, I will call them and tell them the situation.
 

LTS3

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It's normal
My Aby recently had both rabies and FVRCP at the same time and he was lethargic for a day afterwards. His appetite was fine and he used the litter box normally. He was back to his usual crazy self the next day.
 
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mazie

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Thank you LTS3 and Denice, your words made me feel better. The shots were given to her 27 hours ago.  I am keeping a close eye on her. 
 
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mazie

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Yes, and I am not happy about the fact that she loves the out of doors, but when I watch her in nature, it is obvious she belongs as a part of it.  I resisted for months, not relenting to her constant yowls at the back door.  She is so happy being an in and out side cat.  She is only 3 years old now, in time I figure she will want to be more of an inside cat.  And, yes that is why I make sure she is fully protected.  She is back to her old self now at 100 percent. 
 

msserena

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YAY! I'm glad to hear she's better.

You do know the statics between outdoor vs indoor cat life spans? The indoor ones live much longer because they are protected. My cats beg to be let out but I don't give in. I know they are outside creatures, all animals are, but there's diseases & things out there that can harm them. I love watching kitties outside, where I live you don't really see them out anymore, coyotes or the neuter scooter comes & scoops them up. When I was a kid though, I would pet all the neighborhood cats.
 

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I know things are better, but to echo everyone else yes they can have reactions to vaccines. I have a brother and sister from the same litter who both had severe reactions to the FVRCP vaccine. One became lethargic and would just lie in her bed. I touched her and she was so hot. I immediately took her to the vet. She had to be hospitalized for 2 days, given fluids to get her very high fever down. Her brother came down with sores in his mouth, an indication that he had been exposed to the calicci virus before I got him. The C in FVRCP is for calicci virus. He had to stay a night at the vet. So be very careful when getting vaccines. I would talk to my vet if I were you and see if she needed a shot of antihistamine prior to the vaccine injections next time you get them done. But definitely tell your vet about the reaction...that's a very important thing that needs to be charted in her health history.
 
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mazie

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I know things are better, but to echo everyone else yes they can have reactions to vaccines. I have a brother and sister from the same litter who both had severe reactions to the FVRCP vaccine. One became lethargic and would just lie in her bed. I touched her and she was so hot. I immediately took her to the vet. She had to be hospitalized for 2 days, given fluids to get her very high fever down. Her brother came down with sores in his mouth, an indication that he had been exposed to the calicci virus before I got him. The C in FVRCP is for calicci virus. He had to stay a night at the vet. So be very careful when getting vaccines. I would talk to my vet if I were you and see if she needed a shot of antihistamine prior to the vaccine injections next time you get them done. But definitely tell your vet about the reaction...that's a very important thing that needs to be charted in her health history.
Again, thank you all for your kind advice, and I did call the vet immediately the next morning when they opened.  They told me not to be alarmed, that this was normal, and to bring her in if I felt I needed to.  I watched her carefully that day, all day.  If my antenna would have gone up, to the vet I would take her, but by noonish, she was eating and drinking again, by later in the afternoon, back to normal.  I tell you all, I just can't shake the idea that all these cancers many of our cats are suffering is due to many of these vaccines we use to protect them.  It's a "Catch Can" (did I get that right) situation, like, dammed if you do and dammed if you don't.  I guess as pet owners, we just have to weigh the odds and protect our animals according to their lifestyles.  And again I say, life no matter how you look at it is a gamble, and we most certainly do not have control over everything.  (Unfortunately for people like me who are perfectionists, which is another one of those "stressors" in life.
 
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