DELAYED, prolonged vaccine reaction

[Rico4]

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are going through this, it is very scary with so little information available. Trust your instinct that it is related to the vaccine. My cat had an initial 24 hour reaction and he had a delayed reaction with a fever but who knows what else these stacked vaccines can cause. I would recommend buying Virbac Rebound recuperation formula for cats on Amazon to help him recover faster and hopefully stimulate his appetite. It’s packed with vitamins and nutrients, if he doesn’t eat it by itself mix with a cat food broth or syringe it into his mouth. With rest, prednisolone and fluids your kitty will hopefully recover with time. It took 2 weeks for my cat to get back to 50% himself and 6 weeks for him to fully recover. I now give him Homescape daily thrive hemp and tumeric oil in his food (also on Amazon) to help naturally fight what inflammation is still lingering in his system. Keep us updated on your cats recovery.

Ask your vet for a box of Purina Proplan Hydra Care supplement pouches too. Keeps cats hydrated and has a lot of calories.

 

[BtwnStars]

Sorry to see kitties still dealing with this. I wanted to update since my last post beginning of October...

My little guy did recover and is back to himself. I last posted a Monday when I was still trying to figure out what was going on and trying to get (fight with) my vet to help.

He didn't get much better Tuesday and Wednesday I called them again because he still had fever and was very lethargic, was losing weight and trouble walking (apparently this is what happens when fever attacks). I demanded he be seen again and they got me in. This time I took the contact info that the vax manufacturer had given me and I also took a video of him having trouble getting around. This seemed to get the vet's attention most bcz all they see is a scared, compliant little cat curled up on their bench.

They gave him more fluids and got in touch with the manufacturer. The contact was in a meeting. She agreed since nothing else was working to start him on prednisolone. We also did another blood test to rule anything out again. Blood panel was all normal, all his functions, etc.

After we left, I got a call a little bit later from my vet, couldn't have been more apologetic after she spoke to manufacturer. My vets never heard of this or were familiar with it. I wish the manufacturer would educate them better. It is the 4th thing added for chlamydia that the body is reacting to. Which if they were actually infected with, is usually an eye thing between momma and kitten and can be treated easily with topicals. In addition to the steroid, they ordered him a special antibiotic that they shipped to me. I think it was doxycyclene.

I kid you not, after the first dose of steroid he was already showing improvement. Thursday he was better, but still looking sore. He started the antibiotic on Friday and was eating more and seemed better. By Saturday he was feeling better bcz he wasn't as compliant taking medicine/syringe, his eyes were brighter and he was more alert. On Sunday he climbed the cat tree to his favorite top resting spot. By Monday he was chasing other cats, eating well and spitting the antibiotic out.

It didn't even take a week for him to be back. I was so frustrated that he had to endure being ill for so many days when a simple does of steroid could have helped. Everyone is lucky it did not cause him any permanent damage or organ issues because I would've sued them all.

I settled with the manufacturer and they covered costs. All I want is for vets to be more educated on this so they don't discredit it. My vet acknowledged that they would be looking into and changing the type of vaccines they administer to all of their cats. They said something to me about doing his vaccines a different way. We'll see.. at this point I am not administering any more unnecessary vaccines.

He is his normal crazy self again and we survived! I lost days of work to it because I had to be here to administer fluids and give round the clock care. We all lost sanity, hair, etc, with worry. It was not fun at all.

I credit the first doctor that saw him in the ER for giving me the tip about the fever and reaction to vaccine. Without which I probably would have never known. Unfortunately, I've spoke to other ppl this happened to with not great outcomes.

My advice would be to be persistent with your vet and get them on steroid as soon as possible. Keep detailed notes of all of their symptoms. Syringe fluids and broth (there are many types on the market for cats these days) to keep something in them. Ask for vaccine info as far as manufacturer, type, lot, and contact them to open a case.

 

[BtwnStars]

Our 4 month old Maine coon kitten Mukset just received rabies, leukemia and distemper shots all in one day on Friday. His reaction wasn’t delayed as at 24 hours he threw up and has not eaten since. We brought him in Monday for fluids, ani inflammatory shot and onsir to take home. Two days later still hasn’t eaten and ever since the shots is very lethargic and can barely move. He was in patient all day today in IV and being force fed every hour with an appetite stimulant. We are now home, with instructions to force feed him every hour hoping his appetite returns to normal.

I’m not sure what brand of shot he received but it is definitely related and we are just hoping he pulls through at this point and starts eating, he was only 6 pounds and has already lost a pound . He does not have a fever and bloodwork was normal. We are very scared and feel hopeless and it hasn’t even been a week. He is normally so happy and playful but just looks in so much pain.

Aww, this may be a normal reaction with the timing, but still scary. Can they give you some high calorie cat food, it's called Recovery by Royal Canin. It's supposed to be enticing to cats. There are also lots of different types of broths on market now, try to syringe feed some of this or mix wet food with some water to syringe feed.

I am surprised they would administer the shots this way all at once to such a young cat. Mine were spaced out over a few weeks. Look into the type of distemper shot and if it includes the chlamydia virus.

I hope he gets better soon!

 

[BtwnStars]

Rico update: Day 15 after onset of symptoms and 26 days post vaccine. He started to slowly get better around day 12 and we have weened him off of his steroid. He was getting prednisolone; 2.5mg twice a day for 3 days, 2.5mg once a day for 3 days and 2.5mg every other day for 3 days. He’s doing ok for not having the steroid in his system but definitely not his full playful self yet. The steroid was the only drug we’ve had him on during this, no pain meds, no appetite stimulants. Zoetis told the vet (because they wouldn’t directly give me a treatment plan) that Doxycycline could help but since his blood work didn’t show any active infections I decided to not start him on the antibiotic. I’d say he’s about 75% back to normal and the missing 25% being his rambunctious, playful, jumping all over the house self is still not back. He seems to get winded pretty quickly right now, I’m sure from the almost 2 weeks of sleeping off this inflammation/fever haze will do that? I’ve ordered a hemp+turmeric oil on Amazon that’s supposed to naturally help aches, pains and inflammation so we shall see. I’m trying to be hopeful that he will make a full 100% recovery and this will soon be behind us. Best wishes, Miranda & Rico (4 yrs old)

I am glad to see Rico was doing better and hope he's back to himself. I think the only reason my guy made such a recovery is because he was very young and otherwise healthy/sturdy cat.

 

[Natalieanne]

Ask your vet for a box of Purina Proplan Hydra Care supplement pouches too. Keeps cats hydrated and has a lot of calories.

I am glad to see Rico was doing better and hope he's back to himself. I think the only reason my guy made such a recovery is because he was very young and otherwise healthy/sturdy cat.

Sorry to see kitties still dealing with this. I wanted to update since my last post beginning of October...

My little guy did recover and is back to himself. I last posted a Monday when I was still trying to figure out what was going on and trying to get (fight with) my vet to help.

He didn't get much better Tuesday and Wednesday I called them again because he still had fever and was very lethargic, was losing weight and trouble walking (apparently this is what happens when fever attacks). I demanded he be seen again and they got me in. This time I took the contact info that the vax manufacturer had given me and I also took a video of him having trouble getting around. This seemed to get the vet's attention most bcz all they see is a scared, compliant little cat curled up on their bench.

They gave him more fluids and got in touch with the manufacturer. The contact was in a meeting. She agreed since nothing else was working to start him on prednisolone. We also did another blood test to rule anything out again. Blood panel was all normal, all his functions, etc.

After we left, I got a call a little bit later from my vet, couldn't have been more apologetic after she spoke to manufacturer. My vets never heard of this or were familiar with it. I wish the manufacturer would educate them better. It is the 4th thing added for chlamydia that the body is reacting to. Which if they were actually infected with, is usually an eye thing between momma and kitten and can be treated easily with topicals. In addition to the steroid, they ordered him a special antibiotic that they shipped to me. I think it was doxycyclene.

I kid you not, after the first dose of steroid he was already showing improvement. Thursday he was better, but still looking sore. He started the antibiotic on Friday and was eating more and seemed better. By Saturday he was feeling better bcz he wasn't as compliant taking medicine/syringe, his eyes were brighter and he was more alert. On Sunday he climbed the cat tree to his favorite top resting spot. By Monday he was chasing other cats, eating well and spitting the antibiotic out.

It didn't even take a week for him to be back. I was so frustrated that he had to endure being ill for so many days when a simple does of steroid could have helped. Everyone is lucky it did not cause him any permanent damage or organ issues because I would've sued them all.

I settled with the manufacturer and they covered costs. All I want is for vets to be more educated on this so they don't discredit it. My vet acknowledged that they would be looking into and changing the type of vaccines they administer to all of their cats. They said something to me about doing his vaccines a different way. We'll see.. at this point I am not administering any more unnecessary vaccines.

He is his normal crazy self again and we survived! I lost days of work to it because I had to be here to administer fluids and give round the clock care. We all lost sanity, hair, etc, with worry. It was not fun at all.

I credit the first doctor that saw him in the ER for giving me the tip about the fever and reaction to vaccine. Without which I probably would have never known. Unfortunately, I've spoke to other ppl this happened to with not great outcomes.

My advice would be to be persistent with your vet and get them on steroid as soon as possible. Keep detailed notes of all of their symptoms. Syringe fluids and broth (there are many types on the market for cats these days) to keep something in them. Ask for vaccine info as far as manufacturer, type, lot, and contact them to open a case.

The vet hasn’t mentioned a steroid like this which is a little concerning. I just checked and it was Zoetis. I will definitely raise a case and ask the vet tomorrow about a steroid and this thread!!

 

[Natalieanne]

Aww, this may be a normal reaction with the timing, but still scary. Can they give you some high calorie cat food, it's called Recovery by Royal Canin. It's supposed to be enticing to cats. There are also lots of different types of broths on market now, try to syringe feed some of this or mix wet food with some water to syringe feed.

I am surprised they would administer the shots this way all at once to such a young cat. Mine were spaced out over a few weeks. Look into the type of distemper shot and if it includes the chlamydia virus.

I hope he gets better soon!

Thank you for the response! They gave urgent care hills prescription food to mix with some water to force feed and mentioned putting him under for a feeding tube but at this point will advocate for a steroid and stronger antibiotic first thing tomorrow. It really doesn’t appear to be normal loss of appetite just seems something seriously wrong

 

[Rico4]

Thank you for the response! They gave urgent care hills prescription food to mix with some water to force feed and mentioned putting him under for a feeding tube but at this point will advocate for a steroid and stronger antibiotic first thing tomorrow. It really doesn’t appear to be normal loss of appetite just seems something seriously wrong

Hello,
Did his blood work show an active infection? They tried to get my cat on the antibiotic doxycycline but since his blood work didn’t show any infection I opted to not add yet another medication that causes even more side effects. The reaction to the vaccine is not an infection but severe inflammation and the only thing that will work is the prednisolone, fluids and lots of rest.

 

[Natalieanne]

The vet hasn’t mentioned a steroid like this which is a little concerning. I just checked and it was Zoetis. I will definitely raise a case and ask the vet tomorrow about a steroid and this thread!!

As an update, the vet is giving my lot number for leukemia and distemper and I already have rabies info which I will raise a case with Zoetis. The vet hopes this works but still isn’t sold and indicated it may be FIP, my opinion is it is clearly the adverse reaction to the shots. I asked they call in the meds regardless and will be picking up liquid prednisolone and doxycycline at the compound pharmacy this afternoon. Really hopeful this will work along with the continued appetite stimulant (mirtazapine) and will also see if we can get some subcutaneous fluids to administer at home as needed. Still force feeding today but does seem more alert (probably due to being on IV all day yesterday) will keep everyone posted and thanks for the responses and support.

 

[Natalieanne]

Hello,
Did his blood work show an active infection? They tried to get my cat on the antibiotic doxycycline but since his blood work didn’t show any infection I opted to not add yet another medication that causes even more side effects. The reaction to the vaccine is not an infection but severe inflammation and the only thing that will work is the prednisolone, fluids and lots of rest.

He is not showing an active infection and blood work normal aside form very high white blood cell count which they said could be vaccine reaction or a small infection brewing they cannot detect. I was also wondering if I should hold off on the antibiotic but ordered it anyways. Maybe we just start with prednisolone. Thanks for mentioning, I feel like I’m on my own at making these decisions at this point.

 

[Rico4]

He is not showing an active infection and blood work normal aside form very high white blood cell count which they said could be vaccine reaction or a small infection brewing they cannot detect. I was also wondering if I should hold off on the antibiotic but ordered it anyways. Maybe we just start with prednisolone. Thanks for mentioning, I feel like I’m on my own at making these decisions at this point.

Trust your instincts and do your own research! I was so thankful for this thread when I went through it with my cat because the Vet had no clue and wasn’t educated on these “under reported or falsely reported” adverse reaction cases. Obviously they are way more common than we are told. My only advice with the prednisolone is make sure you follow the dosing because it’s hard to ween them off of it and see them regress a bit but the long term affects of this steroid aren’t good either. I believe my cat was on it twice a day for 3 days, once a day for 3 days and then every other day for 3 days and once he was done with the dosing, he did regress a bit but eventually came back around on his own. I didn’t give him antibiotics given his blood work didn’t show an infection…despite being prescribed antibiotics which they couldn’t give me a good explanation why. I do want to mention, I did receive a pay out from Zoetis (they make you sign a contract that you won’t sue them once payment is accepted) and I was also told by my vet that they received money from Zoetis as well. Goes to show that at the end of the day this is a business and the health and safety of our animals isn’t anyone’s priority but our own! Don’t sign the contract until you are 100% sure your pet has made a full recovery. Keep us updated!

 

[fionasmom]

I am surprised they would administer the shots this way all at once to such a young cat.

stacked vaccines

I am not a vet, but this may be part of it. My cat vet will not administer more than 2 vaccines at at time and I personally allow only one. This may not work for everyone, especially if there are time or distant constraints.

File a report with Zoetis. I did over Convenia and one of my boys and it is a good first step; as others have reported there might be further help from them.

 

[Natalieanne]

Trust your instincts and do your own research! I was so thankful for this thread when I went through it with my cat because the Vet had no clue and wasn’t educated on these “under reported or falsely reported” adverse reaction cases. Obviously they are way more common than we are told. My only advice with the prednisolone is make sure you follow the dosing because it’s hard to ween them off of it and see them regress a bit but the long term affects of this steroid aren’t good either. I believe my cat was on it twice a day for 3 days, once a day for 3 days and then every other day for 3 days and once he was done with the dosing, he did regress a bit but eventually came back around on his own. I didn’t give him antibiotics given his blood work didn’t show an infection…despite being prescribed antibiotics which they couldn’t give me a good explanation why. I do want to mention, I did receive a pay out from Zoetis (they make you sign a contract that you won’t sue them once payment is accepted) and I was also told by my vet that they received money from Zoetis as well. Goes to show that at the end of the day this is a business and the health and safety of our animals isn’t anyone’s priority but our own! Don’t sign the contract until you are 100% sure your pet has made a full recovery. Keep us updated!

Musket got his first dose of prednisolone last night and showed improvement within hours. Today he is eating and drinking on his own and showing more personality. He is still weak and tired but hope the trajectory continues. I am a little unsure of the dosage - he was prescribed .5ml liquid every 12 hours for 15 days. That seems like a long time and no tapering instructions. I had a call out to the vet to see if we should ween him off after a couple days and how to do that but haven’t heard back. The only other thing that is concerning is that his back legs seem pretty stiff. Did anyone else have this symptom and did it eventually improve?

 

[Rico4]

Musket got his first dose of prednisolone last night and showed improvement within hours. Today he is eating and drinking on his own and showing more personality. He is still weak and tired but hope the trajectory continues. I am a little unsure of the dosage - he was prescribed .5ml liquid every 12 hours for 15 days. That seems like a long time and no tapering instructions. I had a call out to the vet to see if we should ween him off after a couple days and how to do that but haven’t heard back. The only other thing that is concerning is that his back legs seem pretty stiff. Did anyone else have this symptom and did it eventually improve?

Yes, my cat had stiff/sore back legs, mostly the one that was injected with the vaccines. He would get a slight limp in that leg and it lasted for 4-6 weeks. Once he’s weened off the prednisolone, most likely will still have a little stiffness in his leg(s) so I have been giving my cat a tumeric/hemp oil supplement that naturally fights the inflammation and relieves pain and has seemed to really help him. The brand is Homescape pets daily thrive on Amazon. My cat just went through this in November/December so the trauma is still really fresh for me. It was a really scary time and my cat and I will do what we can to help the other kitties out there!

 

[Natalieanne]

Musket update, we are going in to get sub q fluid tomorrow and tutorial for how to do it at home. He did improve for a few days eating and drinking on his own but the last 24 hours isn’t interested in food. Second dose of his appetite stimulant was yesterday but started to syringe feed again because he will tolerate it and I can feel his spine and hips sticking out now from the 6 days of not eating. Hoping the food start to put weight back on. He is now the weight he was at 3 months old about 4-5 weeks ago. I am hoping this is part of the normal up and down and he may feel like this off and on for the next 4-6 weeks plus and we just have to continue to supplement and be patient. He is definitely not himself still or playful but at least alert and walking around.

 

[fionasmom]

Keep us posted.

 

[Rico4]

Musket update, we are going in to get sub q fluid tomorrow and tutorial for how to do it at home. He did improve for a few days eating and drinking on his own but the last 24 hours isn’t interested in food. Second dose of his appetite stimulant was yesterday but started to syringe feed again because he will tolerate it and I can feel his spine and hips sticking out now from the 6 days of not eating. Hoping the food start to put weight back on. He is now the weight he was at 3 months old about 4-5 weeks ago. I am hoping this is part of the normal up and down and he may feel like this off and on for the next 4-6 weeks plus and we just have to continue to supplement and be patient. He is definitely not himself still or playful but at least alert and walking around.

Hang in there! It’s definitely not a steady incline of good days but a rollercoaster of up and downs with more down days than good. Seeing your pet not act like their normal playful self is so hard and the amount of time it takes for even small improvements is several weeks. He will eventually get back to his normal self with care and patience. I was lucky that my cat was a hefty 15 pounds to start with so my thoughts go out to you with a small kitten. Thanks for the updates!

 

[Natalieanne]

Hang in there! It’s definitely not a steady incline of good days but a rollercoaster of up and downs with more down days than good. Seeing your pet not act like their normal playful self is so hard and the amount of time it takes for even small improvements is several weeks. He will eventually get back to his normal self with care and patience. I was lucky that my cat was a hefty 15 pounds to start with so my thoughts go out to you with a small kitten. Thanks for the updates!

Musket is still not improving, he eats occasionally on his own as of Friday and drinks but not enough. Vet is concerned as weight is slightly dropping now 4.7lbs and recommended we put him on feeding tube tomorrow. He got sub q fluids today and b12 shot. The main thing is the lethargy. He doesn’t move all day or night just lays there or tries to sleep and get comfortable. If he doesn’t improve after feeding tube they are not optimistic. The vet spoke to Zoetis today who said it was unusually
Long reaction and didn’t suggest any other treatment. Sounds like they will reimburse 2/3 their limit as 2/3 of shot given that day were zoetis and recommended I file another case with the other manufacturer.

 

[Rico4]

Musket is still not improving, he eats occasionally on his own as of Friday and drinks but not enough. Vet is concerned as weight is slightly dropping now 4.7lbs and recommended we put him on feeding tube tomorrow. He got sub q fluids today and b12 shot. The main thing is the lethargy. He doesn’t move all day or night just lays there or tries to sleep and get comfortable. If he doesn’t improve after feeding tube they are not optimistic. The vet spoke to Zoetis today who said it was unusually
Long reaction and didn’t suggest any other treatment. Sounds like they will reimburse 2/3 their limit as 2/3 of shot given that day were zoetis and recommended I file another case with the other manufacturer.

I’m so sorry, my heart hurts for you. Did Musket ever have a fever?

 

[Natalieanne]

I’m so sorry, my heart hurts for you. Did Musket ever have a fever?

Not really he had slight 102 last week then 101

 

[Rico4]

Not really he had slight 102 last week then 101

hmmmm. A fever symptom seems typical when there is a “delayed” reaction which tends to kick in a week+ after the vaccines. He’s had these prolonged symptoms immediately since receiving them? All of this blood work is pretty normal? Did he ever receive x rays or ultrasounds? Did he get a urine/fecal test? If he was fine before the vaccines and all of a sudden took a turn for the worse, it has to be related. There are so many unknowns with these vaccines that it’s awful our pets have to suffer. It seems you are doing what you can for this little guy and I give you so much credit for trying to be the voice for him. My thoughts are with you.