Possible delayed vaccine side effects?

[pipaythekitten]

I just recently had my cats vaccinated - i initially opted for the 4in1 first, but the vet said they can do both the 4in1 and the anti rabies together in the same day. I said yes. The first few days were ok - my cats were normal - playing, eating, drinking etc.
Fast forward to 4 days later, I noticed one of them, Pumpkin, looking weird with his fur sticking up all over his body, and I saw this at night. Didnt think that much of it that time. He continues to be well the next days - still playful as normal, etc. On this same time though, my other cat, Callie, had constipation issues and had to have an enema, and with that I needed to isolate my other cats from her because they tend to bully her and I dont want to stress her out even further. I let Callie roam around the house as normal while we had the rest of the cats in a separate room where they could still play and sleep as usual.
We thought that stressed Pumpkin and the others out - because a few days later they were just looking sad and just sleeps mostly all day. They would eat, then go back to sleep, which is very unusual for them. This has been a week after the vaccines. Now im thinking they could be experiencing delayed side effects - with Pumpkin having it worse - and it might be due to the 2 vaccines given at the same time. Again, we just attributed the lack of energy and interest in playing with being stressed out due to them being isolated in a separate room, so we thought we’d monitor first for a few more days to see if it resolves
At this point it has been 2 weeks since the vax, and Pumpkin is still sleepy all day. I also noticed he is reluctant to move, and a bit warm to touch, which i didnt notice before. He eats and drinks still, but with lessened appetite. Im planning to take them back to the vet on Tuesday (today is sunday) since my favorite vet is available by then.
I also have him on Lysine and B complex vitamins to help boost his immune system now, hopefully that helps a bit.
Any insights is appreciated!!! Thanks for reading and making it this far

 

[di and bob]

it takes a while for the vaccines to start boosting up the antibodies to kill the viruses, etc. It could very well take a week. I had one cat that reacted mainly to the rabies vaccine, he was almost exactly like you describe your cat doing. It is like our babies getting vaccines, they get fussy, may develop a fever, sleep a lot, and lose some of their appetite. as with our vaccines too, it could get sore at the injection site. what you are describing is pretty normal, some cats build up a bigger response to the antibodies being prodiced and have the symptoms you descibe. your little one should have these symptoms for as long as a week, then get better. His body is working very hard right now. Vaccines are wonderful though even though they may produce some adverse symptoms for a while, i know for certain that when panleukopenia, disemper, swept through our feral colony and neighborhood, that was what saved our cats, none got sick and SO many died. If he goes over a week have the vet check him out, it wouldn't hurt.

 

[pipaythekitten]

Thank you so much. Yeah I also believe vaccines are important, tho i wish they didnt come with side effects! I’m just so worried because the side effects started late. To add (though i dont know if this is valuable), they had the Vanguard Feline RCP + Ch shot, aka Felocell 4. I just started reading other experiences from cat owners and they too had delayed reactions to the vaccine.

the good thing is all of them have appetite, even if it was somewhat lessened over the last couple of days. I’ll bring Pumpkin to the vet tomorrow to have him checked (to be sure, because im so worried)

 

[pipaythekitten]

update: i havent brought them to the vet today yet - they’re doing better I think so I can wait until tomorrow or next day.

question - have you had any experience with a lump forming on the injection site? I noticed a lump on his leg today - and immediately thought of the sarcoma induced by the vaccine.. i have had cats vaccinated before, but i dont remember them developing any kind of lump, or maybe i just didnt pay close attention. Is this normal 2 weeks after the vaccine?