Swelling Around Recent Rabies Vacs Injection Site

[Dacatchair]

4 days ago my 6.5 month old kitten was neutered and given a killed 1 year rabies vaccination.

He is a late generation Savannah and has a short sleek coat and long lean muscular build, so his underlying body structure really shows. Yesterday I noticed he has a raised swollen area on his side over his rib cage which is about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide, maybe 1/4 inch raised. It the type of swelling and lump that would happen if you really banged your head. I don’t see any swelling on his back legs or thighs suggesting that was the injection site, and am guessing the vet, who is older and possibly not up to date with currant norms, gave him the rabies shot in his side, and that is the cause of the swelling?

I decided to wait and see how it is when they open Monday, as I usually seem to have some loose end I need to call them about, and I get the feeling they are a bit bugged by that and see me as a bit of a drama queen. So I want to avoid crying wolf as much as possible as I want them to respect me when I really need help. And other that this slightly swollen area he seems to be recovering as expected.

He was pretty out of it the first 2 days and still not 100 % yesterday, but late yesterday and today he has been racing around and wanting to play, and today he seems entirely back to normal, except for the lump.

As he had been very lethargic and mostly sleeping the days after the rabies shot and surgery, when I first noticed the swelling, I don’t think he got the lump by something that happened here.

So, a couple questions...

Could he have gotten an injury when he was being neutered? He doesn’t seem tender in the area as far as I can tell. But cats can hide things pretty good.

Does anything else cause this type of symptom, but the cat otherwise seems fine and normally high energy and playful?

Assuming this was the injection site, does him having a swelling reaction around the very recent injection site of his rabies shot mean he is significantly more likely to develop a cancer around the injection site, or is some swelling around the injection site a normal reaction that will clear up in a few days or weeks and it is just more visible on my cat? How long does it normally take for the swelling to subside?

I am quite upset thinking he was probably injected on his side as I have read it is standard practice now to inject on a back leg as if a cancer developed on a back leg, it is not impossible to treat. And I am scared the swelling may be a sign he is more likely now to develop a cancer.

Unfortunately I live in a rural location and this is the best vet available. And in many ways they are a really excellent vet. But it is really hard having to work with a team that seems to frequently know less than I do (or than I think I do) (having the internet to do in depth research on specific things they often have never heard of) as then I am in a position of being a back seat driver, and get treated like a nuisance.

Hearing from people with experiences with rabies shots causing localized swelling, and how long this can last without it being a sign of trouble, would be appreciated...

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Gosh, even the old fashioned Vets usually gave the vaccine injections between the shoulder blades, so I just can't imagine this being the issue. AND, normally what will happen is a lump about the size of a pea, maybe a little larger, but nothing likek what you have described. One of mine got a lump at his injection site once (scared me just about to death), but it resolved by itself after a few weeks, which is often the case.

I would CALL the Vet and tell them what is going on and ask if there is any way something happened while he was "under". Also let them know he is not acting his normal self. Lethargy after vaccine is only normal for the first 24 hours .

 

[Dacatchair]

Thank you for sharing your own experience!

My vet is not open on the weekend except for emergencies, and this almost certainly isn't one. My cat was only slightly lethargic after 24 hours and by yesterday afternoon (48 hours) he was totally back to normal racing around wanting to play with his typical energy. He seems totally fine except for this lump...

Here is a picture showing the lump.


Has anyone ever seen a reaction like that to rabies vaccine?

And if I search google images for -feline vaccination injection site -I do see a few images like the one in the link below, which seems to suggest some vets do vaccinate where my cat has a lump...

What is a cat vaccination?

 

[Furballsmom]

as then I am in a position of being a back seat driver, and get treated like a nuisance.

Absolutely don't let them do that to you. Number one, you care a great deal and want to know what's going on, they need to respect that and if you have to tell them that (gently) then so be it.
Number 2, you're a paying customer
Number 3, they need to get used to their clients being more and more educated, thanks not necessarily so much to the internet since there's a lot of iffy to flat out bad info there, but to sites like this, and if you have to tell them THAT, (gently) then so be that.

Something that might help is to literally take your phone or whatever and show them the research you've found about such and so issue, and ask them what they think. Sort of a way of getting them on board with you being a caring pet owner (You'd think they'd love you since this, from their perspective, would probably mean they'll see you/get paid more often) thereby bringing them into the loop of where you're coming from.

What would happen if you flat out asked them if they see you as a drama queen? What if they don't actually see you this way? Or it's one of the vet assistants that does and that doesn't matter as much as getting answers for your cat's health?

Anyway, you first need to find out where the injection was given. It's reasonable to wonder since there's this big bump, and also because you're saying the injection was adjuvanted? You have very valid concerns.

He was pretty out of it the first 2 days and still not 100 % yesterday

ok - there's a big difference between very lethargic for a couple days and what you are saying in your second post of only slightly lethargic for one day.

According to all pets medical website, if swelling occurs at the vaccination site and;

• grows larger after 1 month

• bigger than 2 centimeters (0.79 inches)

• persists for more than three months

Then it's cause for a biopsy.

Hang in there, good luck, talk to your vet and let us know what they say.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Thank you for sharing your own experience!

My vet is not open on the weekend except for emergencies, and this almost certainly isn't one. My cat was only slightly lethargic after 24 hours and by yesterday afternoon (48 hours) he was totally back to normal racing around wanting to play with his typical energy. He seems totally fine except for this lump...

Here is a picture showing the lump.


Has anyone ever seen a reaction like that to rabies vaccine?

And if I search google images for -feline vaccination injection site -I do see a few images like the one in the link below, which seems to suggest some vets do vaccinate where my cat has a lump...

What is a cat vaccination?

Wow...that IS quite a lump. And I learned something new today. Never knew anyone gave shots in that spot before. I'm guessing you are correct in that is exactly what this is, and as Furballsmom states, now watch for those items she posted (after you indeed confirm that was the injection site) And you might request that from now on they do vaccine in their leg, jut in case.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

...
Anyway, you first need to find out where the injection was given. It's reasonable to wonder since there's this big bump, ...
Hang in there, good luck, talk to your vet and let us know what they say.

Wow...that IS quite a lump. And I learned something new today. Never knew anyone gave shots in that spot before. I'm guessing you are correct in that is exactly what this is, and as Furballsmom states, now watch for those items she posted (after you indeed confirm that was the injection site) And you might request that from now on they do vaccine in their leg, jut in case.

The lateral abdomen was always where I gave my last cat her insulin shots (and buprenorphine, when she had pancreatitis), so yes, definitely check out if the vaccination was given near where the lump is showing up on your kitten.

 

[Dacatchair]

I agree that finding out where he got that rabies injection as a first step makes the most sense, and if it was given in the side I will definitely insist that any future injections be given in the leg. I am a little horrified they may not be aware of why that is usually the preferred injection site...

Looking at it this afternoon, it may be a bit less swollen today than it was yesterday. Which would be a relief!

Furballs Mom, I appreciate your advice and agree with your approach, but I already tried the equivalent of asking if they see me as a drama queen. A few months ago my previous kitten ended up dying after a long illness that was most probably dry FIP, and when I felt my concerns were being brushed off, or not approached in a way that made sense considering his symptoms, I already tried the part about asking if there was something in my communications style that could be changed to make it easier for them to respond to me. I just got reassured everyone was really really busy. Which is the problem. As we live in a rural area with few veterinary options, they take care of everyone's pets because it is the right thing to do, but they really do not want any more customers, and they are generally overwhelmed with having as many as they do. And when the vet at last has time to respond to questions, they never charge for very generous phone consultations, which I wish they would charge for, as then I would feel I was a paying customer with a right to possibly waste their time.

If I am going to be able to make sure my cat gets timely care I can see I need to get some better guidelines for the best way to discuss my concerns with them. I also need to find out what they see as an emergency, and what to do when I am not sure, as more the 1/2 the time they are not open and unless it is clearly life or death, getting any kind of appointment for even a serious illness takes at least one or 2 weeks.

Or maybe I need to find another vet that is non local who is available for paid phone consultations if I need to know if something is urgent.

 

[Furballsmom]

Looking at it this afternoon, it may be a bit less swollen today than it was yesterday. Which would be a relief!

Keeping our fingers crossed for you!!

 

[Dacatchair]

The swelling is almost entirely gone now and I can barely see it... so that is a relief. I will let people know of that was the injection site I case anyone else sees a similar reaction...

 

[Furballsmom]

That's a HUGE relief!! Thanks so much for the update!

 

[Dacatchair]

I talked to the vets receptionist today and she said they never give a rabies shot in the side in the area of the rib cage.

So whatever it was was probably not the rabies shot, but it is completely gone. So that is good but very strange...

 

[Furballsmom]

Ok, well, that's good to hear from the vet!
Very strange indeed. Hopefully never to recur!
Thanks again for letting us know

 

[warwick]

My 3 year old Aby had his annual booster and rabies vaccination in the scruff of the neck almost 4 weeks ago now. I am assured this is the still the corrrect injection protocol in the UK. Last Wednesday I notice a lump on the outside of his left shoulder blade, vet thought it may have been his microchip so they did an X-ray to check. It’s not his chip so they have removed the “mass” which is the size of a raisin to be checked. Currently worried sick and we have a week to wait for the results. I knew nothing about injection site sarcoma’s until this morning. Can I ask when your cats have had swelling from these injections how long they have lasted before disappearing. Desperately hoping for a positive outcome.

 

[Dacatchair]

I am sorry you are going through this and hope it turns out to be nothing serious.

Whatever it was that caused my cats very visible swelling went away after a couple days and has not come back.

Sending you and your cat good wishes...

 

[warwick]

Thanks, really quite worried.
His injections were about 3.5 weeks ago, and I only noticed last Thursday, took him to the vet Friday and in today for xrays and removal of the lump. A week is a long time to wait and I feel sick to my stomach that I may have inflicted this on him.

 

[Furballsmom]

The waiting is awful. Hang in there, and I'm sending you my thoughts and prayers!

 

[warwick]

Thanks for your kind words. My special little boy is curled up asleep on our bed....

 

[Dacatchair]

So yesterday I went in with my cat for the core FVRCP booster, and as he was due for a rabies booster in a month and I live quite a ways from the vet it was decided it would be OK to give him his rabies booster a month early. So I was there and got to witness my cat being given one shot in the side and the other shot on the other side in the exact location of the swelling. The spot the receptionist told me was never used for rabies injections.

I am consoling myself thinking that my cat is so deeply shy and traumatized by even small deviations from the norm, that the simplest vet visit really upsets him. So if he ever did develop a carcinoma at an injection site maybe euthanasia would be kinder than treatment involving an amputation.

It happened so fast I didn't really have a chance to object, and the vet already seemed a bit annoyed with me because I raw feed and the information I have did not entirely fit with his own beliefs.

But I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that most or all of the vets I have access to are either incompetent or out of date in a substantial number of issues. Or maybe they just think they know better than the American Veterinary Medical Association.

 

[FelisCatus]

Did they do a biopsy of the removed lump? That way you would actually know if it was a sarcoma.

 

[Dacatchair]

Felis catus not sure if your comment was directed at me... The lump on my cat went away in a few days, almost a year ago. Thankfully no biopsy was necessary. But rabies shots are generally given in a part of the body most easily removed, as they have been proven to cause cancer in small percentage of cats, and this makes the treatment a lot easier.