HELP!

I have a 1.5 year old pure bred siberian cat. This Saturday I took him in for his annual rabies and FLV vaccination. The rabies shot was a 3 year merial live canarypox virus. My kitty seemed fine after. But by nighttime he looked very off. He wouldn't eat wouldn't move and he just came over to us fell on the floor and curled into a ball like he was in massive pain. At this point I freaked out and rushed to the hospital. There he perked up but he was going crazy like he was having a panic attack. Very unusual for my extremely brave and friendly cat. The Dr. At the hospital mentioned that he had low grade fever and he is stressed. Most likely reaction to the vaccines and it should pass in a day or two. We went on our merry way. After a day or two the fever went away the hunger came back and he was more active. BUT! A bizzare syndrome. His stomach and back would twitch, his tail would swing fast, he will start furiously licking himself in the back and tail end, his ears would flap and then all of a sudden he would bolt like something is coming to get him. After the episode he would be very scared. These episodes repeat themselves many times during the evening. Our vet doesn't really know what is going on as these are not mentioned as vaccine side effects. From googling the symptoms I came upon "feline hyperthesia syndrome" and the YouTube videos appear to show exactly what my cat is going through. However, this syndrome is apparently not a recognized thing yet. Does anyone have experience with this? Will this go away? Is there a way to help my motek get more comfortable and ease his symptoms? Hes like a different cat when it starts happening. And because it's happening so often I'm really concerned he will become depressed and his quality of life will be terrible. Please help!!!

It sounds like he has had an allergic reaction to the vaccine which is manifesting as hyperesthesia.  I am not a vet, but I did have a cat who was allergic to rabies vaccine and was treated by the vet with a shot of steroids and some fluids to help flush his system and something else (like benadryl) for allergy.  He had developed hives and frantic itching and was darting around as if something was biting him.  He recovered and "no rabies vaccine - allergy" was put on his chart. 

I had a dog who had odd reactions to vaccines (aggression toward other dogs, hyperactivity, increased sensitivity, etc. not the normal allergic/anaphylactic reactions). So that's probably what caused it. I don't know if an allergy medication would help in a case like that. But the effects do wear off eventually, depending on how sensitive he is. In the future, you may want to separate his vaccines so you know which one he's sensitive to, and limit how often the vaccines are given, possibly getting a full medical exemption, if needed.

If the hyperesthesia attacks don't clear up soon, I have heard that gabapentin works well for cats with nerve pain.  You might ask your vet about it. 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I have a question about the steroid use. Given the vaccine was a live one, and it takes about 14 days to fully develop antigens, would it be dangerous to use steroids at this point as they are immunosupressing?

I can't answer that.  You would have to ask a vet.  My vet was more worried about my cat's growing allergic reaction than he was about what counteracting that would do to the rabies vaccine.

I would NOT use steroids until the vaccinations have done their job building up those antigens. All I know is a human friend of ours got a shingles vaccination (live virus) and she had just completed chemo which suppressed her immune system. She died. It was so tragic and I still don't know how it happened. But it can happen, especially if you get vaccinations from someone who doesn't know your history, so be careful. 

Di and Bob said:

I would NOT use steroids until the vaccinations have done their job building up those antigens. All I know is a human friend of ours got a shingles vaccination (live virus) and she had just completed chemo which suppressed her immune system. She died. It was so tragic and I still don't know how it happened. But it can happen, especially if you get vaccinations from someone who doesn't know your history, so be careful. 

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I agree. A live virus is tricky. You want to mount an immune response.

Searching this forum I found posts identical to mine, however there were never any mention of a resolution. I am hoping it is because their animal recovered and they lost interest. Therefore, in anticipation of future users I want to keep this thread alive and discuss any progress made. Yesterday, with the advise of the vet we initiated our first treatment option - flea medication. Motek being an indoor cat and it being winter over here, I am quite skeptical. Add to it that to me, there are no visible fleas on him and the vet could not see any either. In spite of that, last night and today so far he had the fewest amount of episodes yet. So I am optimistic and hopeful that his symptoms are temporary.

So glad that things are settling down. If this was my kitty, I'd ask your vet for an exemption for future rabies vaccines. Then I'd run yearly titers and only vaccinate if they showed him to need that one thing. Separate vaccines as much as possible, giving a 2-3 month span between them. If you cat is indoor only, there is minimal concern of him picking common diseases but he does need to be checked via titers, as some things can be carried into your home via yourself, visitors or other animals.

Need to resurrect this thread.
My cat got better over time, happy playful. symptoms seem to have dissappeared with time.. mostly.
Under unfortunate circumstances that have nothing to do with his symptoms we had to rehome the cat 3 months ago. The move has been extremely stressful for him, and it seems like he never got fully settled. He became more aggressive. Especially when he is being picked up. Very hard biting. Very unlike him. Today apparently when he was being picked up from the couch it triggered a very strange behaviour in him. He started running around, exhibiting some symptoms of aggressive behaviour (looking like he's ready to pounce). Having his tongue out, mouth open heavy breathing, and then hiding away. It;s like he is panicking... taking him to the vet tomorrow. Any ideas? apparently he vomited a couple of days ago once but been fine since.
I'm worried about the rabies vaccine doing neurological damage to him. I'm also worried that he may have been infected by the virus? Although I understand it was delivered via live canarypox vector therefore not possible for him to develop it (any vets here that can confirm?).
Any other thoughts on what to look for? what it can possibly be?

Well if the vet rules out health issues I have heard of Prozac being used for kitties with bad stress.

Feliway diffusers help too.

motek said:

I'm also worried that he may have been infected by the virus? Although I understand it was delivered via live canarypox vector therefore not possible for him to develop it (any vets here that can confirm?).
Any other thoughts on what to look for? what it can possibly be?

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M motek - I'm not a veterinarian, and this shouldn't be construed as medical advice; (my Molecular Biology PostDoc was in Virology).

The hybrid (i.e. modified) live virus employed in feline rabies vaccines is incapable of infecting the patient with rabies. The immunogenic DNA transmits only particular antigenic proteins, which, in turn, trigger the immune response. Neither the recombinant DNA itself, nor the vector organism proper, have the capability to replicate in the cells of the vaccinated cat. If I were a veterinarian in this instance, I'd be more inclined to look into the adjuvant(s) in the vaccine rather than the vaccine itself, since, in nearly every case of the two most common serial side-effects - Feline Injection-Site Sarcoma and Feline Vaccine-Associated Sarcoma - it's the adjuvants which are to blame.

Disclaimer: this is a rendered opinion, and not medical advice in any fashion. The services of a DVM should certainly be sought whenever an health issue is observed in pets.
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1CatOverTheLine said:

M motek - I'm not a veterinarian, and this shouldn't be construed as medical advice; (my Molecular Biology PostDoc was in Virology).

The hybrid (i.e. modified) live virus employed in feline rabies vaccines is incapable of infecting the patient with rabies. The immunogenic DNA transmits only particular antigenic proteins, which, in turn, trigger the immune response. Neither the recombinant DNA itself, nor the vector organism proper, have the capability to replicate in the cells of the vaccinated cat. If I were a veterinarian in this instance, I'd be more inclined to look into the adjuvant(s) in the vaccine rather than the vaccine itself, since, in nearly every case of the two most common serial side-effects - Feline Injection-Site Sarcoma and Feline Vaccine-Associated Sarcoma - it's the adjuvants which are to blame.

Disclaimer: this is a rendered opinion, and not medical advice in any fashion. The services of a DVM should certainly be sought whenever an health issue is observed in pets.
.

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Thank you! That was very informative.

Also, we think we figured out the culprit for moteks current behavior - Vaseline. Apparently he was picked up by a person who's hands were covered in petroleum jelly. The Vaseline must have stayed on his fur for a while and was not doing him good. He is better now. But is still afraid of that persons hand. He eats and drinks fine and behaves fine. But he came up to smell that persons hand and immediately ran away.... so no more Vaseline.