Sneezing after Vaccinations

[kittymomof5]

Is this normal?
My 1-year-old, Jake is constantly sneezing now after I got his annual shots. It was done Saturday and he started to sneeze on Monday and still again today. Should I worry?

Background: I have 5 cats, two strays that are FIPV positive and one other also positive. Jake was tested last December for FIP and was negative (things could have changed now though) and my oldest one we never had her tested. After the strays showed up in the household in Dec, Jake started to sneeze just like this but it went away a few weeks later after we had him tested.

I am assuming he just has had a bad reaction to the vaccines this time? Although I do not recall him being this way after he got his first set of shots in july 2002 when he was a kitten.
Has anybody else heard of this? I'm thinking because he has been exposed to the corona virus that his immune system is weaker now?
I'm paranoid when it comes to this FIP thing, I asked my vet before she gave them their shots if this would in anyway effect them if they have been exposed to the corona virus, she said the vaccines they gave them would be ok because it protects them from the other diseases.

The shots he got were:
-Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis
-Feline Calicivirus
-Feline Panleukopenia
-Feline Chlamydia
-Feline Leukemia
-Rabies

Does anybody know if this a reaction to any of those?

 

[sandie]

Usually in a multi cat household that has had problems with upper respiratory infections, they can re occur at any time. Sometimes the stress of the vet trip can lower the immune system as can the vaccine itself. Sometimes the vaccines can produce flu like symtoms for 24 to 78 hours as well. Just keep an eye on him and make sure it doesn't get any worse

 

[kittymomof5]

Thanks for your reply.

I'm hoping he will recover soon after the vaccines kick in. Jake is the only one out of all of them that usually sneezes.
I keep all bowls clean and make sure they get their vitamins and minerals as I am trying to keep them all healthy as possible. Maybe it's just too much for him to handle? He was a little stressed in the car on the way to the vets too, like you said.
I think this may be the last time I give him these vaccines. Even when he's not sick with a cold, he sneezes.... I should have known better! I mentioned to the vet that he sneezes the odd time before she gave him the shots and she didn't think anything of it.

My oldest one got her's done at the same time and she's fine. She's been getting them for 10 years without problems. I guess vaccines are good for some and others it just makes it worse?! Why can't they make these safe for all of them?

 

[sicycat]

That is SUCH a cute picture

I just have to say um wow, that's alot of vaccinations

Did they give them all at once??

 

[sandie]

All of those vaccines listed would be 2 or 3 injections. Usually the
Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis
-Feline Calicivirus
-Feline Panleukopenia
-Feline Chlamydia

Is one vaccine, and will sometimes have the leukemia included. The Rabies is always seperate.

 

[sicycat]

Where I live they only give

Rabies
Leukemia
Distemper

 

[kittymomof5]

LOL, ya that is a classic picture of him!

Yes, she gave all of those vaccines to him at once.

As long as I have had Kitty, she's 11, they have been giving her the same shots each year which include all of these also (even though she is an indoor cat, I've questioned that many times and she still tells me to do it). She mixes all of them together before hand and then gives them this mix in one shot then the rabies separate.

Why, is this not normal? I live in Ontario, Canada. Maybe they have different rules/laws here that those are mandatory, I don't know. Is this a lot of shots at one time? Kitty has never had a problem with all those at one time.

Update on Jake: I went to the vets to pick up some food today and mentioned that Jake is sneezing from having his vaccinations done and they thought that was odd. They said that they have never heard of that before. She told me to give him liquid Benadryl(she thinks it might be an allergic reaction) and wait 24 hours and if it doesn't clear up then bring him in to be checked. I don't even know how much to give him! I asked them and she said just a drop! What is a drop??
Does anybody know about how many cc's to give him?

I think it's time for another vet.

 

[sandie]

I need to know how much he weighs and how many mg's are in the liquid benadryl. I don't have any liquid here at the house, and I don't remember.

 

[kittymomof5]

I gave him .05 cc of it when I got home around 6pm just to be safe (it was barely a drop).

I bought Benadryl Elixir (It was the only liquid there). It says 12.5 mg per teaspoon. He weighs 12 lbs. (He's skinny but muscular)

He spat it out the little drop that I managed to get in. (He actually acted like I was killing him by gaging and liking his lip-which scared me, but I guess it just tasted bad) I don't know, I don't think this is right to give him this.
Any ideas on what I should do? Do I keep giving it to him every 6 hours like it says for humans or should I just leave it and wait the 24 hour period the vet told me too to see if he gets better?

Poor guy.

Why hasn't anybody ever heard of this sneeze reaction after vaccinations? What is wrong with him?

Maybe he had a cold before I took him, but he didn't show any symptoms of it or else I wouldn't have taken him! He was normal before he got the shots that's all I know.
*sighs* This is so frustrating....

Thank-you for your help.

 

[sandie]

For his weight, he would be getting a little over 2 1/2 mg's. Which means, 2 1/2 cc's of the liquid. It's actually given every 12 hours, so if you are giving it every 6 hours you would give him 1 1/4 cc every 6 hours.
If it's an allergic reaction to the vaccine, it may help stop the sneezing. If it's just a minor cold from the vaccine, it's not going to do anything. I havn't really found benadryl to work with cats orally. If there's a severe vaccine reaction such as vomiting,runny stool, problems breathing, rapid heartbeat, they give an injection of benadryl prior to the vaccine and it prevents the reaction.
Anytime a modified live vaccine is given, there's a possibility they can come down with a minor form of the illness. Even if the vaccine caused the sneezing, there's no way to be 100% if it was the vaccine, or if maybe he had something prior, and the stress + the vaccine caused it.
I agree though, another vet may be a good idea. The instruction of "a drop" is a bit bothersome!!

 

[kittymomof5]

Thanks Sandie,

You have been a great help! I'll give him another dose before we go to bed. Hopefully this will clear it up.
It's too bad we can't tell which vaccine is causing this reaction (if that's what it is) because she gave them all at once! I don't think I will be giving him anymore vaccines from now on, this is exactly what I was trying to prevent from happening when I asked her before giving the vaccines if they would be harmful to him.

Right now he sitting on my desk all drowsy, I can see a little tear running down his cheek. My poor Monkey!

I guess we'll see how he is tomorrow.

Oh, one more question (sorry). How can you tell if a cat has a fever? I heard somewhere you can tell by how hot their ears are? I don't have a therometer, but I'm thinking I should invest in one.
Jake's head and ears are hot at the moment but about an hour ago they weren't. This probably isn't a very acurate way to tell if they are running a fever is it? This happens on an off with him. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Thanks again for your help

Regards,
Jocelyn & Jake

 

[sandie]

Really, the only way to get an accurate temperature is a thermometer, and it's done rectally. If you decide to invest in an ear thermometer, you can take it that way.
More than likely the sneezing would have been from the rccp vaccine. I don't think I would eliminate the vaccine all together, but may go to an every 3 year schedule. Without the vaccine, he could come into contact with any of the virus's and it would be much worse if he wasn't protected.

 

[jcat]

On the subject of thermometers - I used to take our pets' temperature rectally, using a digital thermometer, but then decided to use an ear scanner (for humans). The readings were always roughly the same. Now I see that ear thermometers for pets are being advertised!

 

[kittymomof5]

Thanks, I'll look more into both thermometers. The ear one sounds a little easier for both me and the cats!

Sandie, I think I may get the vaccines every three years just for Jake. He definately is the odd ball here, I've never had a problem before with the others.
He is, btw sneezing less now. Hopefully it's clearing up! I'll maybe wait another day to take him to the vet. I'm not giving him the Benadryl anymore. He flipped out last night when I gave him another dose. He started to foam at the mouth and became very frighten of me. It's not worth it to put him through that. Poor guy.

Thanks for all your help guys.

 

[arleneyvette]

I had to stop having the vet give my cat theRhinotracheitis vaccine, because that vaccine sometimes will cause the kitty to get the virus and start sneezing. I did not want to take a chance of him getting an upper respiratory infection, so it's on his chart at the vet that he is not to receive this vaccine. He is an indoor cat only anyway. 

 

[belle8bete]

I once had a cat that would sneeze after she went to the vet office.  It was a stress response, or it was just that she was exposed to a cat cold while being stressed, not sure which.

Does he only sneeze after shots or just after vet visits? 

 

[toots15711]

I was told by my vet to give CHILDREN'S liquid Benedryl. She was 10 lbs. dose age was 5 ml twice daily for 3-4 days; once daily 2-3 days longer. She told me that if it was allergies (which she thought it was) you can give a daily maintenance dose daily. I opted to not go there because didn't want her to build up a tolerance. So: 1 ml/ 2 lb body weight is what was recommended. Symptoms gone after a week.

 

[stephanietx]

I have a cat with feline herpes.  She can't have the "R" part of the FVRCP shot because every single time she's had it, she comes down with a massive upper respiratory infection.  Also, some cats will break out with an URI about 7-10 days post vet visit due to the stress of the trip. 

 

[daisymeows]

Vet said to give my cat half a tablet of 25mg Benadryl every 12 hours for at least 36 hours following a bad* reaction she had to her rabies vaccine.

*She threw up all over the vet's office, her ears turned pink, and she had a 104 degree temp.

It's been a week since her shot and within the last 2-3 days, she's sneezing like crazy, eyes are very watery, isn't eating a whole lot and she's just not herself. We're going back to Vet in a few days..this sucks. I hate to see her miserable. 

 

[nemmett1971]

I'm reading your super old post.  My cat just had his vaccines this past weekend and he is sneezing too.  Did you have to end up bringing your cat in to the Vet for the sneezing or did the cat get better??  I just sent $300 for shots and really don't want to take him back again!  Especially with Christmas days away!

Thank you.

Nicole