cat reaction after vaccination (eating, male, dogs, vaccine)

[Rmx Christina]

Hello,

I found a stray cat, and had him for about a month now. I got his test and rabies shot. All his test results came out fine! I was so relieved. He was opening up to my husband and I. Then, I took him to the vet to get his distemper. Yogi wasn't himself that night. He was as energetic and playful and seemed a little off-balance or disoriented. Actually it looked like he hadn't moved from his spot the whole night. The next morning I found him in the same area. He felt really warm so I rushed him to the vet's office early that morning. Of course calling later, I find out that they didn't check on him until four hours later!! Anyways, it seemed that he was reacting from the distemper vaccination. When I picked up Yogi that evening, he seemed a little "not himself" but his fever went down.

It's been a week, and he still doesn't seem to be the same cat. He always kind of twitched, but he seems to be doing more.

I'm upset at the vet and don't feel like taking him back there.

Does any have any recommendations or similar experience?

[ShelbyGirl1]

From what I have read, and in talking to others who have expeirenced this, a bad reaction to vaccinations, is not all that uncommon. But, it usually does occur within a few hours of the vac. and normally does not linger for that long. I would seek out the advice of another vet. Keep us posted....I would love to hear the outcome!

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

I had a cat who reacted to the anesthesia during neutering - he was like yours for days and then was never his original self. I had another one who would be almost comatose after vacinations, just lying on the floor drooling. After 2 times of this, I made them give her the shots one per week and it was better, but she still reacted to the rabies. Since she NEVER went outside, I finally stopped the rabies and she didn't have any more problems. My vet knew, and it is illegal, but I would always say something like, oh, we'll come back later.

[ShelbyGirl1]

You should never give multiple shots at the same time. Just for this very reason. I have always gotten one at a time...spaced a week or two apart.
If it were up to me...I would never even vaccinate my pets! All of my cats are indoors and the odds that my dogs bring something to them is a chance I would be willing to take. Unfortunately, it is the law as far a Rabies go and secondly, if you EVER want to board them they must be up to date. We have been evacuated twice for hurricanes and all of my guys had to be boarded...so they must have their vacs.

[Phoenix lady]

I'm not for vaccinating animals either. Heard of many problems after.
To RMX Christina, twitching sounds neurological. If she had it before you got her, has a good vet checked her for any neuro problem?? A vaccine could exacerbate it, but I think it will lessen in time. I wouldn't vaccinate her ever again either!! Leave her w/ a pet-sitter (they never demanded I do it) or a vet hospital who knows her history. Tell them what happened and that you don't want her to have another vaccine. When it comes to my pets, I've always been rather vocal on their behalf!!
If she's eating and peeing and all the rest, along with playing a bit now and then, she should be okay. Keep us posted.

[luvmycat]

My mom just had a similar experience...her cat Ollie had a bad reaction to his last rabies shot the other day, and he didn't want to eat, (only tuna would tempt him into a few bites). She was very worried, but he started feeling better/eating more after a few days...if he's still in bad shape, I'd second the motion to get another vet.'s opinion. Please keep us posted & good luck!!!

[CLTKing]

I had the same problem with my grown cat. After his distemper vaccine, he was very lethargic for a whole week, running high fevers. The vet said it was the distemper vaccine giving a few days earlier. Since that event, I have not vaccinated either one of my cats for any diseases except rabies. The rest are just money sucking campaigns by the vets, especially distemper.

[Laura707]

I have a friend (big burly guy) who has 2 cats that he just adores. The female has always been real sickly. She was so sick when he got her that she went streight to the vets and the vet would take her home with her everynight, she was there for over a week.

Fast forwards to adulthood and when she got her shots one time, she had a extreemly bad reaction to one of them... He was out of town and had taken them to a new vet out of town. When he got back to town, he took her back to her usual vet and told her about the reaction to one of the shots. They decided that they would never give her more than one shot and she would stay at the vets for 24 hours after each shot to watch for a reaction and get treatment if needed. I forget what the last shot was but that was the one she had the reaction to so the vet kept her for 48 hours.

I had, for years, begged a neighbor of mine to give me a cat that she badly neglected. It took me 2 years to talk her into it but she finally gave her to me. The cat was nearly starved to death, eaten up with fleas to the point that she had lost about half of her fur and was in terriable shape. I had her at the vets as soon as they opened the next day. She was tested and given all her shots. The shots like to have killed her because of the poor condition she was in. She just laid for 2 days and screamed when you touched her and was burning up with fever. On the thrid day, she came around and was better and is now the sweetiest cat I have and extreemly attached to me. Her problem was just due to the poor condition she was in already, she has had her shots since and did great.

[Woof Woof Woof!]

I do not vaccinate my animals for this reason. So ridiculous that these drug companies brainwash people into thinking they MUST get vaccines every year.

[eastidahomom]

Originally Posted by Rmx Christina

Hello,

I found a stray cat, and had him for about a month now. I got his test and rabies shot. All his test results came out fine! I was so relieved. He was opening up to my husband and I. Then, I took him to the vet to get his distemper. Yogi wasn't himself that night. He was as energetic and playful and seemed a little off-balance or disoriented. Actually it looked like he hadn't moved from his spot the whole night. The next morning I found him in the same area. He felt really warm so I rushed him to the vet's office early that morning. Of course calling later, I find out that they didn't check on him until four hours later!! Anyways, it seemed that he was reacting from the distemper vaccination. When I picked up Yogi that evening, he seemed a little "not himself" but his fever went down.

It's been a week, and he still doesn't seem to be the same cat. He always kind of twitched, but he seems to be doing more.

I'm upset at the vet and don't feel like taking him back there.

Does any have any recommendations or similar experience?

I had a similar situation but not with vaccinations. My cat became ill and I took him in to get checked. He seems to get sinus infections almost as often as I do. They gave him a shot of antibiotic. When I got him home and let him out of his carrier, he appeared intoxicated because he was stumbling around. I called to see if that was normal and they told me to get him right back in. The vet said that it was the first time in 20 years he'd seen a cat have a reaction to what he'd given him but it was in fact, a bad reaction to the antibiotic.

Mind you, this cat was wild before I got him and has had a few health issues, probably due to malnutrition early on and a malnourished mother.

I'm sorry I can't offer suggestions, but I figure it doesn't hurt to let people know that our beloved little animals can have reactions just as we do.

Good luck with the cat.