Adverse reaction to cat vaccinations ?

[Chiliwillow]

Eddie is a 9 y/o neutered male. He had his wellness check, blood work, and vaccinations (Defensor 3, Felocell 4, and Leukocell 2) 3 weeks ago. All blood work was normal. He has had all core vaccinations since he was a kitten and was vaccinated for FIV prior to it being discontinued in the US. On the way home he pooped and vomited but he was fine until 6 days later when he became lethargic, had fever, and wouldn’t eat or drink. I took him to the vet and they gave him a fever reducer and an injection of 2 week antibiotic. He was better until the fever reducer wore off later the same evening. Back to the vet and a 2 night hospitalization with IV fluids. They tested him for FeLV with a Snap test which came back positive. They sent him home him on Orbax antibiotic and said the infection could be anything since he had FeLV and the previous antibiotic and the Orbax would hopefully take care of it but further blood or urine test would not be helpful. He continued to decline and returned to vet 3 days later and they gave him a steroid injection and sent him home on prednisolone and continued Orbax. I determined the Orbax was not effective and discontinued it and he improved over the next 3 days. I decided I owed it to the boy to take him to a cat specialist where he was given a full examination, blood work, and urinalysis. They also did another Snap test which was negative for FeLV but positive for FIV. Several days later when blood work and urine results came back white blood cells were elevated and he was a little anemic. The test for FeLV and FIV were both negative. She had me start the Orbax again due to wacky white blood cell counts. He was still eating and drinking but sleeping most of the time. About 30 minutes after the Orbax he became lethargic again, growling, and seemed to be hallucinating. By morning those symptoms had resolved. He currently is just on the Prednisolone which has been tapered down for the last 2 days and is doing well except for fatigue which is mostly likely due to the anemia. Multiple questions here. Why was blood work before vaccines normal and so wonky 3 weeks later? Conflicting results on 2 different Snap test with one positive for FeLV and the other positive for FIV and bloodwork the was sent to lab negative for both? What’s with the weird reaction to the Orbax? 2 vets don’t think it’s a reaction to vaccines and think further testing is warranted. Another vet I consulted with feels it’s most likely related to vaccines as the cat was healthy and blood work and urine was normal prior to vaccination. He recommended to continue with prednisolone tapering down and doxycycline to cover anything that the antibiotic injection or Orbax might have missed and retest blood 4-5 days after finishing medication. Opinions?

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site! Sorry that what brought you here is this stressful situation for both you and Eddie.

You have been extremely proactive with Eddie and he is lucky that you are his pet guardian. I am by no means an anti-vaxxer and in the case of myself personally have taken a number of voluntary adult vaccines. With my cats, and the dog for that matter, I am a little different and only give the FVRCP and rabies. I gave whatever the current FeLV vaccine was years ago to one cat and she had a reaction, so I never used it again.

Does Eddie have any kidney or liver issues? Orbax has a number of side effects and, like many drugs, it hits those with certain problems more severely and takes longer to clear from the system.

Hopefully others will come along and give you their opinion. I am certainly not a vet and cannot dx what happened to poor Eddie, but since you asked for opinions, I am with the vet who feels it is vaccine related for the same reasons that he put forward.

I hope that Eddie makes a quick recovery and you are able to get some definitive answer.

 

[Chiliwillow]

Both vets said kidneys and liver values were normal. This is the 3rd day of decreased Prednisolone and he had he first dose of doxycycline this morning and is tolerating both well. This is the 1st morning since vaccinations that he has come to wake me up at 5:30 for his breakfast which is his normal routine and he has been more active today, almost back to normal. His primary vet initially wanted to run blood test for tick borne diseases but after the 1st snap came back FeLV + decided it wasn’t necessary. My understanding is that the doxy is treatment of choice for tick borne diseases so if that is it maybe the doxy will take care of it. I will ask for more blood work to determine the status of the FeLV and FIV since he has had 3 test with conflicting results and also to see if his WBC’s are returning to normal. It’s my understanding that stress can effect some blood valves particularly WBC‘s. This it the 4th time I’ve given Eddie up for dead. I found him on the center stripe of a West Texas highway as a kitten, he was beat up but recovered. He was catnapped by a lady and held hostage in her apartment for 2 months but his microchip saved him when she took him to the vet. When we moved to the country a year ago he busted out the screen door and disappeared for 3 days and I was sure the coyotes ate him. Now this but I guess he’s got a few more lives left in him.

 

[fionasmom]

Eddie is beautiful and certainly looks no worse for wear given his hair raising life so far. I am glad to hear that he seems to be recovering. A lot of possibilities, stress, tick borne illness for which doxy should help if you suspect that. Rerunning the tests is a good idea at this point and I wonder if things are returning to normal as time passes. I am just going to put this out there; my cat vet will never give more than two vaccines at one time. I don't think that this answers your question but maybe it was a piece of the puzzle.

That is a beautiful drawing of Eddie....yours? He was kind enough to claim it and sit on it.

 

[Chiliwillow]

I definitely will only have one cat vaccination at a time now. I read that the reaction to the Felocell 4,which is rare, appears to only happen when multiple vaccinations are given at once. I’m an artist and enjoy using Eddie as my subject when my inspiration is lacking.

 

[Chiliwillow]

I definitely will only have one cat vaccination at a time now. I read that the reaction to the Felocell 4,which is rare, appears to only happen when multiple vaccinations are given at once. I’m an artist and enjoy using Eddie as my subject when my inspiration is lacking.

 

[fionasmom]

Eddie is certainly a worthy subject and I hope is better today. Now that the subject has been broached, I am going to add that my cat vet will absolutely never give more than two vaccines no matter the inconvenience to the owner or the distance they have to drive back for the remaining vaccines. In the case of younger kittens, he firmly believes that you can kill them with multiple vaccines given simultaneously.

 

[BlackCatOp]

I can hopefully shine some light on the Felv/fiv tests results. So since you mentioned he has previously received the FIV vaccine, he therefore has antibodies to FIV. The SNAP FIV test is antibody based so that probably explains why he tested “positive” on that test. The reference lab test is PCR based so since your boy does not actually have the disease he would test negative.

Glad your boy is feeling better. I’m not convinced his event is directly related to vaccination as most vaccine reactions occur soon after the injection. However, it’s possible the stress of the visit compounded a underlying issue??

Also, if your boy does not go outside, the FeLv vaccine is not considered core so that would be an easy way to eliminate one vaccine. And then rabies and FVRCP only need to be done every three years.

Hope Eddie continues to improve.

 

[Chiliwillow]

I can hopefully shine some light on the Felv/fiv tests results. So since you mentioned he has previously received the FIV vaccine, he therefore has antibodies to FIV. The SNAP FIV test is antibody based so that probably explains why he tested “positive” on that test. The reference lab test is PCR based so since your boy does not actually have the disease he would test negative.

Glad your boy is feeling better. I’m not convinced his event is directly related to vaccination as most vaccine reactions occur soon after the injection. However, it’s possible the stress of the visit compounded a underlying issue??

Also, if your boy does not go outside, the FeLv vaccine is not considered core so that would be an easy way to eliminate one vaccine. And then rabies and FVRCP only need to be done every three years.

Hope Eddie continues to improve.

That is what the literature I reviewed about FIV testing implied and also what the cat specialist believes. She also thought that perhaps the vet or vet tech read the test upside down which would explain the FeLV + result. She showed me the snap test she did on him and it appears to be an easy mistake to make. Reviewing the literature on vaccinations the one that would be the most likely suspect would be the Felocell 4 which does indicate a rare but delayed reaction to the vaccine with onset 7-21 days after the vaccination consisting of lethargy, fever, and anorexia. It is more likely to result when multiple vaccinations are given at once. What has me stumped is the completely normal blood work prior to the vaccinations and the wonky blood work 2 weeks later which is what makes me return to a vaccine reaction. He is doing well now and I’m inclined to finish the Prednisolone and doxycycline and then have all blood work redone. He also won’t have multiple vaccinations done at one visit to vet.

 

[fionasmom]

Please let us know how he does as you finish the meds.

 

[Chiliwillow]

Eddie just returned from vet. They ran another CBC and all had returned to normal. Vet want to do another PCR for FeLV and FIV in 90 days but said he is most likely negative based on the previous PCR being negative for both. He did finally say it looks to be a adverse reaction to the Felocell 4 vaccine but it’s difficult to prove. Still weaning of of the Prednisolone but he is tolerating well.

 

[fionasmom]

Good news! Thank you for posting. I am with your vet on this.....difficult to prove, but I agree with him.

 

[Meowmee]

Eddie is a 9 y/o neutered male. He had his wellness check, blood work, and vaccinations (Defensor 3, Felocell 4, and Leukocell 2) 3 weeks ago. All blood work was normal. He has had all core vaccinations since he was a kitten and was vaccinated for FIV prior to it being discontinued in the US. On the way home he pooped and vomited but he was fine until 6 days later when he became lethargic, had fever, and wouldn’t eat or drink. I took him to the vet and they gave him a fever reducer and an injection of 2 week antibiotic. He was better until the fever reducer wore off later the same evening. Back to the vet and a 2 night hospitalization with IV fluids. They tested him for FeLV with a Snap test which came back positive. They sent him home him on Orbax antibiotic and said the infection could be anything since he had FeLV and the previous antibiotic and the Orbax would hopefully take care of it but further blood or urine test would not be helpful. He continued to decline and returned to vet 3 days later and they gave him a steroid injection and sent him home on prednisolone and continued Orbax. I determined the Orbax was not effective and discontinued it and he improved over the next 3 days. I decided I owed it to the boy to take him to a cat specialist where he was given a full examination, blood work, and urinalysis. They also did another Snap test which was negative for FeLV but positive for FIV. Several days later when blood work and urine results came back white blood cells were elevated and he was a little anemic. The test for FeLV and FIV were both negative. She had me start the Orbax again due to wacky white blood cell counts. He was still eating and drinking but sleeping most of the time. About 30 minutes after the Orbax he became lethargic again, growling, and seemed to be hallucinating. By morning those symptoms had resolved. He currently is just on the Prednisolone which has been tapered down for the last 2 days and is doing well except for fatigue which is mostly likely due to the anemia. Multiple questions here. Why was blood work before vaccines normal and so wonky 3 weeks later? Conflicting results on 2 different Snap test with one positive for FeLV and the other positive for FIV and bloodwork the was sent to lab negative for both? What’s with the weird reaction to the Orbax? 2 vets don’t think it’s a reaction to vaccines and think further testing is warranted. Another vet I consulted with feels it’s most likely related to vaccines as the cat was healthy and blood work and urine was normal prior to vaccination. He recommended to continue with prednisolone tapering down and doxycycline to cover anything that the antibiotic injection or Orbax might have missed and retest blood 4-5 days after finishing medication. Opinions?

I am not sure what is causing all of this but the blood test for fiv/ felv is supposed to be more accurate. But if he had an fiv vax he may test pos for it. I am not sure what those last three things are you listed, parasite treatments? They could have affected him as well. If a cat is sick, which he could have been already but not showing clear signs, it is usually not a good idea to give vax but to skip them until he/ she is better etc. For instance for my Wizard, we stopped all vaccinations when he was assumed diagnosed with lymphoma in his bowels. We just treated for that then and his crf.

Did they do bw to see if he actually had a bacterial infection before starting all of the ab? If he was given convenia that could be causing problems. It played a large role the death of my beloved cat. She had cancer but was given that long acting antibiotic when she had no actual bacterial infection. She became extremely lethargic, developed a high fever, stopped eating and developed severe anemia, within 9 days she was gone. She also received her vaccines 2 months before all of this started, before the cancer was evident and began prolly. My former dvm of 20 years lied about everything.

 

[Chiliwillow]

Defensor 3 is rabies, Leukocell 2 is FeLV and Felocell 4 is for FVR,FVC,FPL, and FPV. They did do blood work and urinalysis prior to vaccinations and all was normal. He became extremely ill about 5 days later with high fever, lethargy, and anorexia which is a side effect listed by manufacturer of Felocell 4 that occurs in 1% of cats. I was making him sleep on cold packs, hand feeding him bits of food, and syringing water into his mouth. Blood work 2 weeks after vaccinations had low RBC and extremely high WBC. As of today all blood work and urine is normal, he is eating and drinking, and his normal spunky self. It is concerning the conflicting results on the three FeLV and FIV test that were done as he was so sick and miserable I was considering having him put down. The vet said he would consider the blood test done by lab most reliable which was negative for both FeLV and FIV but will run them again in 90 days to make sure. I’ll be very careful and have only one vaccination at a time in the future and have it listed on his history that he can’t tolerate Orbax which is the original antibiotic he was given.

 

[Meowmee]

Defensor 3 is rabies, Leukocell 2 is FeLV and Felocell 4 is for FVR,FVC,FPL, and FPV. They did do blood work and urinalysis prior to vaccinations and all was normal. He became extremely ill about 5 days later with high fever, lethargy, and anorexia which is a side effect listed by manufacturer of Felocell 4 that occurs in 1% of cats. I was making him sleep on cold packs, hand feeding him bits of food, and syringing water into his mouth. Blood work 2 weeks after vaccinations had low RBC and extremely high WBC. As of today all blood work and urine is normal, he is eating and drinking, and his normal spunky self. It is concerning the conflicting results on the three FeLV and FIV test that were done as he was so sick and miserable I was considering having him put down. The vet said he would consider the blood test done by lab most reliable which was negative for both FeLV and FIV but will run them again in 90 days to make sure. I’ll be very careful and have only one vaccination at a time in the future and have it listed on his history that he can’t tolerate Orbax which is the original antibiotic he was given.

I am glad he is feeling better High wbc can be caused by something other than infection. I will be more cautious about automatically giving an antibiotic unless there is a clear diagnosis. I have just lost another kitty who was diagnosed with fhv causing eye damage (no cultures done etc. ) and it turned out to be cancer. In her case though the eye damage made her vulnerable to infection so she did need it. She was on clavamox but would not eat it 2 x a day so she was switched to orbax.

It does seem like he could have reacted to the vaccine, but that may be because he could still have an underlying chronic condition. That is good your dvm is retesting him. I usually try to split out the vax as well.