allergies to vaccines?

[Craigary]

Our cat had the requisite FVRCP vaccine shot today and then came home with severe vomiting soon after. After quick consult with vet they rightly said we should bring her back to monitor her. They gave her (Harmony) Benadryl which seemed to help and she didn’t have any other symptoms (no temp, vitals good, no hives) so I was able to bring her back home but she still hasn’t been totally right.
Vet said to just ease her back to food and she seemed ok with just a very small dose but then barfed again later.
And one of her feet seems to be bothering her a lot (shaking it like thumper the rabbit and obsessive grooming of it). Before end of day vet said at worse they can give her steroids but I kind of want her body to be rid of the other crap she got today first.
Agreed?
The vet also said we could give small dose of kids Benadryl tomorrow if still acting up. Instead of steroids. Of course the vet is closed for two days so am praying we don’t have to take her to a pet ER all of a sudden. (The vet said she wasn’t long term worried...)

does anyone know how long she might be feeling this way before it starts to wear off?

Also decided that we may not give her this vaccine again :/ or if we have to we’d want her to get Benadryl first.
She’s finally conked out so I’m hoping she stays still for awhile this time. Instead of conking her out before Benadryl seemed to make her more restless!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Sorry no one has responded to your post yet. How is she doing now? I hope to hear she is doing better!

 

[Craigary]

Thank you for asking! I should have updated here anyway. She's doing much better. What we think is, yes she has a vaccine allergy, and next time, if it's an absolutely necessary shot, we'd ask them to give her benadryl first. But what we also discovered is instead of making her really sleepy, Benadryl seemed to make her kind of loopy and restless (she was pacing a lot and licking her paws a lot that first night, which was worrisome). By the next day she was just sleeping all day, but did get up to have water and a little food, and she kept it down. And then two days later she's totally normal. We're glad we held off on steroids because that would've just made her loopier and more manic.

So long story short, she's okay now, but lesson is if your cat is allergic to a lot of things and/or hypersensitive, talk to vet first before getting shots, find out how necessary and ask if there's precautions they can take first. There's very low risk for something fatal here mind you, but even a 2% for allergenic cats chance scared me.

Anyway, thanks!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Just so you know, Feeby hasn't had vaccinations for years and years. But, she is 16+yo and indoor only (other than access to a screened in patio). She probably stopped getting boosters at least 5 or so years ago.

 

[Craigary]

Good to know. Yeah we’re tempted to not have her get these again even tho this was the one they said she should have. She only rarely and briefly goes in our yard —under supervision—because she’s deaf and has allergies. The other two cats are indoor too other than also going in our yard under supervision in fits and starts. so it seems silly at this point, especially if it makes her feel bad.

 

[Elphaba09]

Just so you know, Feeby hasn't had vaccinations for years and years. But, she is 16+yo and indoor only (other than access to a screened in patio). She probably stopped getting boosters at least 5 or so years ago.

Because my cats are 100% indoor, they only get the rabies vaccination because it is required by law in our area. A few years back, my cat Tara got her claw stick in the space between the hardwood floor planks. It completely ripped out that claw. While at the vet, she was in such pain that she accidentally bit me. I ended up at the ER a couple of days later with a huge hand and arm and cat scratch fever! The ER had to report it to the health department. I did not know I was late getting their shots, and they took her to quarantine for 10 days if I remember correctly. Because I have so many cats ("only" seven at the time), they would not let me keep her at home. It was very distressing for her and our family.

 

[coder205]

Our cat had the requisite FVRCP vaccine shot today and then came home with severe vomiting soon after. After quick consult with vet they rightly said we should bring her back to monitor her. They gave her (Harmony) Benadryl which seemed to help and she didn’t have any other symptoms (no temp, vitals good, no hives) so I was able to bring her back home but she still hasn’t been totally right.
Vet said to just ease her back to food and she seemed ok with just a very small dose but then barfed again later.
And one of her feet seems to be bothering her a lot (shaking it like thumper the rabbit and obsessive grooming of it). Before end of day vet said at worse they can give her steroids but I kind of want her body to be rid of the other crap she got today first.
Agreed?
The vet also said we could give small dose of kids Benadryl tomorrow if still acting up. Instead of steroids. Of course the vet is closed for two days so am praying we don’t have to take her to a pet ER all of a sudden. (The vet said she wasn’t long term worried...)

does anyone know how long she might be feeling this way before it starts to wear off?

Also decided that we may not give her this vaccine again :/ or if we have to we’d want her to get Benadryl first.
She’s finally conked out so I’m hoping she stays still for awhile this time. Instead of conking her out before Benadryl seemed to make her more restless!

I know what you are saying. The same thing just happened to my cat on Friday. He had an appointment and they gave him the the FVRCP and rabies vaccine. They told me he would be sore and lethargic but should be okay. We got home 40 minutes later and he threw up a lot. It was the color of light orange. I called the vet and they stated it was sometimes normal. The next day Saturday, he threw up again but this time it was dark brown and smelled like poop. It was horrible and I ran for the phone and they told me to bring him down. They gave him a shot of Benadryl and Prednisone. They told me to give him Prednisone and they gave me a syringe to put it in his mouth. Well I live by myself so needless to say he fought me like crazy and he threw up all the Prednisone. He still hasn't eaten since Friday and will not drink. He does have a fever. They said he will be better in a few days. Hopefully your cat is better.

 

[Craigary]

I know what you are saying. The same thing just happened to my cat on Friday. He had an appointment and they gave him the the FVRCP and rabies vaccine. They told me he would be sore and lethargic but should be okay. We got home 40 minutes later and he threw up a lot. It was the color of light orange. I called the vet and they stated it was sometimes normal. The next day Saturday, he threw up again but this time it was dark brown and smelled like poop. It was horrible and I ran for the phone and they told me to bring him down. They gave him a shot of Benadryl and Prednisone. They told me to give him Prednisone and they gave me a syringe to put it in his mouth. Well I live by myself so needless to say he fought me like crazy and he threw up all the Prednisone. He still hasn't eaten since Friday and will not drink. He does have a fever. They said he will be better in a few days. Hopefully your cat is better.

Oh no, so sorry to hear your kitty had this reaction too, sounds even worse than my Harmony! I'm sure he will be fine eventually, but it's not fun. IMHO sometimes it's the combination of stuff they get that all together can add to the discomfort especially if they have a sensitive system. We had to give Harmony Gabipentin before the appointment because she gets anxious or surly at the vet sometimes, especially with the drop off thing we have to do right now. But it had helped her before and she never had a reaction to it. But I think the combo of drugs, that + the vaccine + the benadryl, and in your case steroids, can really mess with their system more than whatever they're trying to help with. Please keep monitoring him, keep in constant touch with the vet and let them know if any other symptoms pop up, and try to get him fluids a little at a time, even if just spoon fed water. And let us know how he's doing!

I think for my cat she just needed time to sleep it off and rest til it was all through her system.