Vaccine Reaction

[BamCat]

I have a neutered male cat who is about five years old.  When he got his annual vaccines (ENT-FVRC and FELV) last year, he had a somewhat negative reaction.  About 10 hours after the vaccines, he became extremely lethargic.  He would not get out of bed to eat dinner or to eat breakfast the next morning.  Because he had never reacted this way before, I called the vet, and he told me to bring him back in.  The vet gave him an antihistamine injection in case he was having an allergic reaction to the vaccines.  He was eating and back to normal several hours later.  The vet doesn't know whether the antihistamine helped or if he would have been fine anyway.

I am concerned about how he'll react to this year's vaccines.  I plan to have titer testing done to see what vaccines are necessary this year, but if he needs them could the reaction be worse than last year?  He does go outside (we found him roaming the neighborhood when we moved into our house, and he loved the outdoors too much for us to make him an indoor-only cat); so vaccines are necessary.  Thank you.

[opus88]

hi...I had a cat b4 that also had reactions from vaccines. she would bleed profusely frm the rectum. the following year my vet tried a different mixture(not sure what?)
and same but worse...she passed 2 large clots. I immediately took her back 2 vet and all he could thk it was is again a reaction of some sort.  his recommendation we d/c all vaccines with her, we were fairly safe in doing so as she was an 'indoor' pet....she was abt 4 at this time and I finally had to put her down at apprx 6 years old.
she had a lfetime history of IBS with blood in her stools (only) and defecation all over the house....I tried all my vet could recommend for years with no avail. prednisone did work but just for awhile..than she became ill and lethargic and I had no more options to help and had to put her down.
where this was associated with the reaction to the vaccine I don't know.. I hope you get some good answers...
I was told by Thomas the vet tech on this forum that all vac's except for rabies need only be given every 3 years...and that would sure be easier on all our pets.
good luck

[April2]

My 1 year old cat had a vaccine reaction to her rabies shot last year. I was told from now on to bring her in early and they will give her a benydryl shot first and wait awhile before giving her the vaccine. She got the vaccine that's supposed to last 3 years so at least we won't have to take her back in. Still, I kind of dread it so I understand how you feel. Your vet needs to be aware of your cat's reaction and be ready to counter that the next time, possibly with a anti histamine first. You vet should know about that. Best wishes for you and your kitty!

[Thomas Dock, Vet. Technician]

Thankfully, adverse reactions to vaccines are fairly rare in our pets, but they are very worrisome when they do happen!

As opus said, all states in the US now recognize the option for veterinarians to administer a 3 yr rabies vaccine and the major veterinary organizations also recommend vaccinating no more frequently than 1x every 3 years for feline distemper and rabies (the core vaccines).   Unfortunately, because it is a killed type vaccine, feline leukemia needs to be boostered annually.

As others have said, premedicating with an antihistamine can be helpful.  Another option is to rotate the vaccines so that he doesn't receive all his "shots" at the same time.   This means more trips to the veterinarian for you, but it is much safer for the cat.  Titer testing is also helpful, but it has limitations as well.  A "high-titer" test doesn't necessarily mean that the cat will be able to fight off an infection, but a "low titer" doesn't mean he needs vaccinated either.

Its a complex, controversial, and confusing issue!!  My best advice is to do titer testing, if you need to vaccinate, premedicate, leave the kitty at the veterinarian for the day and space out the vaccines.

Hope this helps!!

[BamCat]

Thank you all for the helpful advice.  I really appreciate the time you took to address my questions.  I think premedicating with Benadryl and spacing out the vaccines are excellent ideas, as is leaving him at the vet for observation after vaccinating.  Thanks again!