DELAYED, prolonged vaccine reaction

[Minicat9]

Hi, my rescue kittie, 12 weeks old, had similar symptoms which developed nearly 2 weeks after first vaccs. Limping on one rear leg and temp so high she had to spend 2 nights at vets on IV. She now is much back to her norm so after 2 weeks but has developed eye problem, red and sore and has cream from vets. Vet has not done any bloods yet.

 

[Luminita]

Update. At 3 weeks after the first vaccination, I went to the vet with the Mars kitten to administer the booster. Mars was found to have a fever. The vet also did medical tests. The coronavirus test came out positive and, due to neurological problems - ataxia and generalized tremor - the veterinarian says he suffers from Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP). It seems that the problems that appeared after the first vaccine were not side effects, but problems caused by coronavirus.

 

[Ktgpenny]

I just want to take a minute to thank all of the contributors on this thread. Without which, my cat Gus probably would not have been diagnosed with a delayed reaction to the Felocell 4 vaccine. On February 8th I took my six year old cat in for a wellness exam. This included his FVRCP, rabies shots and a blood panel to have on file. The vet told me he’s a healthy cat, bloodwork was normal and I took him home. He was rescued as a feral kitten and has only been an indoor cat, and going to the vet stressed him out so badly, we only took him for emergencies. Like when he had urine crystals, etc. Long story short, he’d never had routine vaccinations. So at this appointment since he was reaching middle age I thought I’d be a diligent pet owner and get him up to date on his shots and bloodwork. Anyway, about a week after receiving his shots, he became increasingly withdrawn, hiding more than normal but I shrugged it off because he’s such a skittish cat in general. Another week went by and he was sleeping a lot, and wasn’t eating his wet food, which I shrugged off again because he prefers the dry kibble which he has access to all day. Finally, on February 27th he was lethargic, withdrawn and oddly limping. We called our vet and ended up getting him seen on Tuesday, March 1st. The limping was really odd to me since he’s indoor only and nothing had changed in his routine except getting examined and vaccinated on the 8th. A delayed vaccination reaction never crossed my mind, I only thought that a reaction would be seen within the first 24 hours but upon googling it, I came across this thread, and everything started clicking into place. On the intake paperwork I wrote that I was concerned it was a delayed reaction. The vet called me later in the day and at first didn’t seem like she was going to consider the possibility of a reaction but after I asked her what the name of the vaccine was and confirmed that it was the Felocell 4 vaccine, I told her I’d like to pursue an adverse event report with Zoetis. Long story short, the vet hospital contacted their Zoetis rep and my vet bills were covered by the company. He ended up having to be on fluids, antibiotics and a pain med and an appetite stimulant. Within those three weeks he had dropped a whole pound of weight, going from 13 to 12 pounds. The vet wanted to do a full work up to make sure everything else was ruled out, which involved more bloodwork and X-rays, all of which came back normal. If it hadn’t been for stumbling across this thread I’d have had a sick cat, and a large vet bill to pay and no answers. But luckily, after doing a bit of my own research, I’m happy to say he made a full recovery and it’s written in his file that he can’t have that vaccine ever again. I just wanted to thank everyone for your experiences before mine so I was able to be an advocate for my cat. This is such a rare reaction that I don’t blame my vet for being skeptical at first, but I’m glad she took me seriously and with supportive care, Gus is now 100% again.
The only odd after effect I’ve seen is he now has a gray ring of white hairs around his eyes. He used to have a very dark face and now it’s all speckled. Did this happen to anyone else’s cats? I’m chalking it up to stress and the high fever he had but it’s so strange. Anyway, so sorry for the book, but I really did want to express my thanks for this thread’s existence! I’ll include two photos, one is now with all of his gray hairs and the other is the before photo of his dark face.

 

[fionasmom]

Welcome to The Cat Site to you and Gus! He is certainly one handsome boy. Thank you for posting your story and I am glad that the information that you found here was instrumental in getting treatment for Gus and in getting the bills picked up by Zoetis. The OP is still active on the site, so hopefully will see this. It is good that your vet supported you quickly and took your observations seriously.

jstie

 

[Ktgpenny]

Welcome to The Cat Site to you and Gus! He is certainly one handsome boy. Thank you for posting your story and I am glad that the information that you found here was instrumental in getting treatment for Gus and in getting the bills picked up by Zoetis. The OP is still active on the site, so hopefully will see this. It is good that your vet supported you quickly and took your observations seriously.

jstie

Thank you! I hope our story helps someone else that sees it. It was definitely an experience that I hope to never go through again. But now that Gus is on the other side of this and recovered, I do joke about how I always knew he was “special”!

 

[jstie]

Yes, I'm the OP on this. I am so glad that sharing our experience in detail has helped so many others who have had this happen. I am NOT glad that so many vets don't seem to be cued up on this. But I AM glad that some of them have listened and taken measures and hopefully can better serve their clients and patients. My vet now gives ONLY unadjuvanted vaccines (there is some idea that it's not the antigen material but the "other" ingredients in the vaccine solution that may be the trigger), and we avoid "stacking" vaccines (giving more than one on a single day) so as not to overstress the immune system. I wish I had thought / known to pursue reporting to Zoetis for some reimbursement, but I was just too glad to have our Pawnee well again. She passed away from a combination of kidney failure and systemic histoplasmosis, but I still wonder if the histo blew out of control because her immune system was just permanently damaged from the vaccine ordeal. I hope, wherever she is, she knows what a heroine she is, to help so many people and kitties survive this scary, drawn-out, miserable problem! We will miss her always.

 

[Ktgpenny]

Yes, I'm the OP on this. I am so glad that sharing our experience in detail has helped so many others who have had this happen. I am NOT glad that so many vets don't seem to be cued up on this. But I AM glad that some of them have listened and taken measures and hopefully can better serve their clients and patients. My vet now gives ONLY unadjuvanted vaccines (there is some idea that it's not the antigen material but the "other" ingredients in the vaccine solution that may be the trigger), and we avoid "stacking" vaccines (giving more than one on a single day) so as not to overstress the immune system. I wish I had thought / known to pursue reporting to Zoetis for some reimbursement, but I was just too glad to have our Pawnee well again. She passed away from a combination of kidney failure and systemic histoplasmosis, but I still wonder if the histo blew out of control because her immune system was just permanently damaged from the vaccine ordeal. I hope, wherever she is, she knows what a heroine she is, to help so many people and kitties survive this scary, drawn-out, miserable problem! We will miss her always. View attachment 414198

I think delayed vaccine reactions go under reported, that’s why I wanted to reach out to Zoetis. It was just a pleasant surprise when they offered to cover my bill. I think maybe delayed reactions happen more than 1% of the time but vets may not be putting two and two together. If I hadn’t found this thread, I have a feeling my vet would have chalked it up to just a weird virus, run a few tests (finding nothing) done some supportive care and just told me to let it run it’s course, and I’d have never known what it actually was. How many other pet owners are in the same boat, never knowing that it’s a delayed reaction and therefore not reporting it to the manufacturer? Luckily my vet did end up listening to my concerns and it all worked out. I hope in the future more vets do the same. Pawnee was beautiful! She is a kitty hero, there’s no doubt in my mind about that. Your post really helped Gus out and I’m eternally grateful!

 

[Chean]

I think delayed vaccine reactions go under reported, that’s why I wanted to reach out to Zoetis. It was just a pleasant surprise when they offered to cover my bill. I think maybe delayed reactions happen more than 1% of the time but vets may not be putting two and two together. If I hadn’t found this thread, I have a feeling my vet would have chalked it up to just a weird virus, run a few tests (finding nothing) done some supportive care and just told me to let it run it’s course, and I’d have never known what it actually was. How many other pet owners are in the same boat, never knowing that it’s a delayed reaction and therefore not reporting it to the manufacturer? Luckily my vet did end up listening to my concerns and it all worked out. I hope in the future more vets do the same. Pawnee was beautiful! She is a kitty hero, there’s no doubt in my mind about that. Your post really helped Gus out and I’m eternally grateful!
View attachment 414200

I am so glad I found this thread. My 3yr old cat is going thru the same thing. A week after vaccination started to loose appetite (he used to be always hungry and love food), running a temp and a week now from onset of symptoms, I notice he is walking slowly. Saw from the posts some symptoms include limping. Seems recovery is long based on the post here . Did the limping eventually improve?

 

[jstie]

I am so glad I found this thread. My 3yr old cat is going thru the same thing. A week after vaccination started to loose appetite (he used to be always hungry and love food), running a temp and a week now from onset of symptoms, I notice he is walking slowly. Saw from the posts some symptoms include limping. Seems recovery is long based on the post here . Did the limping eventually improve?

Hi - poor kitty! I'm the OP on this. As in people, fever makes you feel achy and sore all over. At her worst, Pawnee would hobble around in obvious pain. She spent a day here and there at the vet's, where they would run a slow intravenous drip for half a day. The fluids bring the fever down, and she'd come home moving much better, eating, etc. Her recovery took a month, but she was an older cat, so maybe your guy will bounce back more quickly. Fluids, steroids, and pain management (buprenorphine) were the mainstay of treatment and coaxing her to eat. It was during this illness that she successfully pulled off the legendary Chicken Sandwich Theft, after a day on fluids at the vet. My husband made a chicken sandwich, then turned away to get something to drink. He sat down, bit into the sandwich... Hey! There's no chicken in here! Pawnee had deftly snatched the chicken piece - without disturbing the sandwich - and was scarfing it down in the living room! So, support, love, care, and patience. All the best to you and your kitty.

 

[Chean]

Hi - poor kitty! I'm the OP on this. As in people, fever makes you feel achy and sore all over. At her worst, Pawnee would hobble around in obvious pain. She spent a day here and there at the vet's, where they would run a slow intravenous drip for half a day. The fluids bring the fever down, and she'd come home moving much better, eating, etc. Her recovery took a month, but she was an older cat, so maybe your guy will bounce back more quickly. Fluids, steroids, and pain management (buprenorphine) were the mainstay of treatment and coaxing her to eat. It was during this illness that she successfully pulled off the legendary Chicken Sandwich Theft, after a day on fluids at the vet. My husband made a chicken sandwich, then turned away to get something to drink. He sat down, bit into the sandwich... Hey! There's no chicken in here! Pawnee had deftly snatched the chicken piece - without disturbing the sandwich - and was scarfing it down in the living room! So, support, love, care, and patience. All the best to you and your kitty.

Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement. It is painful to see this happening and I can truly imagine what everyone went thru. I am also worried of the cocktails of meds, my boy has reacts to steroids (will loose appetite until the med wears off) so quite a limited option.

 

[Alldara]

Don't beat yourself up! You got the vaccines to keep her safe. Reactions are rare and you can never know, but she's more likely to pull through a vaccine reaction than the disease itself.

Sounds like you did a great job caring for her.

 

[Chean]

Thanks. Praying he will recover soon.

 

[FosterFurEver]

I am so glad I found this thread. My 3yr old cat is going thru the same thing. A week after vaccination started to loose appetite (he used to be always hungry and love food), running a temp and a week now from onset of symptoms, I notice he is walking slowly. Saw from the posts some symptoms include limping. Seems recovery is long based on the post here . Did the limping eventually improve?

I don't know if I put this in my posts about Dash, but she had a limp. They basically ignored me when I was talking about it, even though I brought it up more than once. It did go away not soon after she came home from the vet with antibiotics, so I have no idea what caused it. But yes, it went away.

 

[Chean]

I don't know if I put this in my posts about Dash, but she had a limp. They basically ignored me when I was talking about it, even though I brought it up more than once. It did go away not soon after she came home from the vet with antibiotics, so I have no idea what caused it. But yes, it went away.

Thanks for the info.Good to know it will eventually go away. I am doing what I can to make him comfortable but its just heartbreaking .

 

[liloumeow]

Hello everyone, thank you to the OP and all for posting about your experiences, they were invaluable to me and I just wanted to share my experience as well in hopes that I can also help future cat owners dealing with this. Bear with me, I'm going to be as detailed as I can so future owners researching on this knows all the signs!

History/context:
- I adopted Lilou in June 2021. Age estimated to be 3-5 years old, looks like a Ragdoll but can't be sure. Did bloodwork and FIX/FELV tests, and she was all clear. Asked if we should vaccinate her, vet said to wait till she eases in and it was no hurry since she was 100% indoor single cat.
- Fast forward to 16 April 2022, I brought her back to the vet for her annual health check-up, bloodwork results were great. I decided to vaccinate her to be on the safe side in case I ever need to place her in pet boarding now that borders have opened.
Symptoms:
- She vomited 1x and had loose stools 1x on the day of her vaccine, about 1-2 hours after the jab. Didn't think too much of it, since it was just one-off and she was eating and playing fine.
- Fast forward about 5-6 days later, I noticed her appetite decreased and she was no longer interested in playtime. She was also avoiding jumping on chairs and tables, and was unstable in her landing if she did try to jump. She just kept sleeping all day.
- I also noticed she felt warmer to the touch, but I didn't take her temperature. I just thought it might be the weather (we live in very hot and sunny Singapore)
Diagnosis:
- I brought her to the vet on 8 May as she was due for her 2nd vaccination. But I was wary and told the vet all of her symptoms. Vet decided to do bloodwork (all good), haematology (all good), and xrays (not good). We also found out she lost weight from 4.2kg to 3.8kg.
- We found out she had a calcified disc in her spine (L5-6), a sign of intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) which is not so common in cats. Vet attributed her lack of appetite and activity to this and gave her an injection of Meloxicam + 0.25ml of meloxicam oral to be fed daily for next 2 weeks. I asked for a referral to a specialist for further diagnostics.
- 10 May we brought her to the specialist who looked at the x-rays and did a physical check and said while she does have IVDD it was likely not the cause of her condition. Instead, it looks more like a delayed, prolonged reaction to her vaccination done on 16 April.

I was not 100% sold and so did further research and found this forum. VOILA! EVERYTHING CLICKED! She had the Zoetis Felocell 4 vaccine on 16 April! And looking back on all the signs, I'm certain she's part of the 1% of cats who got the delayed prolonged vaccine reaction. I just wish my vet knew about this so I didn't have the spend so many sleepless nights researching on IVDD or vaccine reactions (I have already informed them about this, but they didn't mention about reporting the incident to Zoetis). The good news is she is starting to feel better again - her appetite has improved and she is more interested in playtime. She is still not 100% back to normal, but I'm hopeful she will be back to her playful self soon!

That's all, sorry for the flood of information, I hope this is all somehow helpful to someone.

 

[fionasmom]

Thank you for posting your experiences which may help others. Hopefully Lilou will make a full recovery.

 

[sweetpete]

Have seen many of your posts on immediate (within a day) reactions to vaccines, but has anyone any experience with a severe DELAYED reaction? Pawnee (5 yrs old, spayed DSH) got a Felocel 4 FVRCP and an Imrab 3 rabies booster on April 30. She was totally, completely fine for 8 days. On Friday (a week ago today) she gobbled up her breakfast, seemed just fine, but got quieter and quieter through the day. Would not eat Fri eve or Saturday, Saturday eve temp at 104.5. Took her to emergency vet on Sunday - temp 105. CBC, basic blood panel and FeLV/FIV tests ALL normal. Got 250cc fluids subcu and Convenia. I asked vet about vaccine reaction and he said "very unlikely that far out." Regular vet (Best Vet in The Universe) saw her Monday and her first thought was vaccine reaction. Sure enough, Felocell 4 website says 1% of cats develop fever, lethargy, anorexia beginning 7-21 days AFTER vaccine was given, lasting an average of 12 days. She has spent the week on fluids (subcu and IV), prednisolone, and we've been coaxing her with every possible kind of food (incl KMR). She had one day of a normal temp (and she ate everything in sight), then it went back up, hovering between 103.5 and 104. She's still basically very lethargic, eats very little, feels like crap. Every blood test we've done has come in normal. We do really think this is vaccine-related, but if anyone has been through this, I'd be grateful for your input. It seems we just have to do supportive care, with fluids, steroids, and painkillers, and hang in there till it clears. But it's feeling like a very long haul, and it just kills us to see our tough, smart, active, healthy, opinionated, willful Pawnee in such straits... :-( She was a stray who adopted us, and has been allowed to continue life as an indoor/outdoor cat, and we do get bats in the house occasionally, so I thought I was being a good CatMom by getting her vaccines. I also made a mistake in getting the vaccines from the local vet where our vacation home is instead of from our usual home vet, who would not have stacked the vaccines. She had no difficulty with her first set of vaccines; this was her second vaccination since she's lived with us, and of course we have no clue what her previous history was. I'm beating myself up royally for all this, of course.

But if anyone has seen this happen and has any advice, we'd be so grateful...

I am almost certain my buddy Pete is dealing with this and it’s killing me! Everything you described has been happening with him. Meds, fluids, behavior. Prior to the vaccines he had no problems and 7 days later, vet visits, er visits, 105 temp, not eating, very lethargic. Can you please tell me what kind of food you used? He is hardly wanting to eat anything ;(

 

[Elvisrocks]

I am almost certain my buddy Pete is dealing with this and it’s killing me! Everything you described has been happening with him. Meds, fluids, behavior. Prior to the vaccines he had no problems and 7 days later, vet visits, er visits, 105 temp, not eating, very lethargic. Can you please tell me what kind of food you used? He is hardly wanting to eat anything ;(

My cat ate Tiki cat in the pouches. It is a mousse. Or weruva sells a gravy food in the pouches if your cat likes gravy. I use inaba churu treats for meds if you have meds to give. I know some people give baby food like chicken flavor but my cat never liked that. She went for the soupy mousse like packets by Tiki and weruva. Also Tiki cat broths are good to get some extra fluids in them(they aren't a full meal but a complement) Good luck!

 

[Elvisrocks]

I am almost certain my buddy Pete is dealing with this and it’s killing me! Everything you described has been happening with him. Meds, fluids, behavior. Prior to the vaccines he had no problems and 7 days later, vet visits, er visits, 105 temp, not eating, very lethargic. Can you please tell me what kind of food you used? He is hardly wanting to eat anything ;(

Also to add to my prior reply. I had to hand feed my presley for several days until she started eating again.

 

[jstie]

I'm so sorry you are going through this! It was so scary. I too just basically tried everything I could think of: baby food, Temptations treats (straight or crumbled onto other foods), bits of boiled chicken, canned human tuna. Had some success with Delectables purees. But there was no magic solution. One thing we did a couple of times: Pawnee would go to the vet's office, where they'd set her up on intravenous fluids on a slow drip, and hydrate her slowly for half a day. That would bring her temperature down, and when she came home, she'd eat like crazy. That was the infamous chicken sandwich theft: my husband set his chicken breast sandwich on the table, then went to get something to drink. He came back, sat down, took a bite out of his sandwich... the chicken was gone! And the rest of the sandwich perfectly undisturbed... while Pawnee was scarfing down the chicken in the living room! Anyway... are you giving subcutaneous fluids at home? Not as effective as the IV, but that also helped keep her fever down so she ate a little better. It took her a full month to recover, but she did. Good luck - keep us posted on how Pete is doing. It's a tough road, but they CAN come out the other side.