vaccine reaction and behavior

[aorticorbit]

hi all

I took my sweet kitty to the vet for her annual on Wednesday and they gave her an FVRCP and a rabies vaccine since she was due. I don't know which vaccine caused it, but she ended up having a pretty bad reaction. Itching and excessive grooming, vomiting, fever, no appetite, and her behavior changed pretty radically. Lots of crying and sitting in unusual places and refusing to be on my bed. I gave her Benadryl that night and again that morning and called her vet, who called me back to confirm that evening that it was a vaccine reaction and that I should have been giving Benadryl (not helpful). the benadryl helped, along with a steroid topical spray I was previously given for her food sensitivities, and her itchiness definitely went down. she seems a lot more comfortable. but her behavior is still bizarre and unlike her. she still won't sleep in my bed, at night now she's begun yowling at 5 or 6 am, and instead of spending all her time with me like before, she spends it downstairs, sitting on the couch alone. she doesn't play, she doesn't cuddle, and she doesn't come up to me for affection anymore. it's breaking my heart, and stressing me out, and I haven't been able to get a full night's sleep in over a week. before, she was attached to my hip, always following me around and hanging out with me. now I feel like they gave me back the wrong cat. She's not like herself and I don't know what to do. is she still uncomfortable? Am I doing something wrong? I would give my vet a call but they're closed for renovations, and I'm thinking of finding a new vet anyways because the first time I called they told me she had a behavioral problem and were going to prescribe gabapentin despite me saying she's never had behavioral issues before this vaccine visit and her symptoms lessened with the Benadryl. I'm exhausted and sad and I don't know what to do to get my cat back. if anyone has had experiences with this please let me know how I can make things better. thank you.

 

[stephanietx]

I would definitely seek a second opinion. I'm not sure if anything can be done since she's already had the shot and the body has to absorb it, but I'd not get her vaccinated again in the future to avoid this kind of reaction.

 

[FeebysOwner]

See if a family member, friend, neighbor, or co-worker can recommend a vet for a second opinion - or check to make sure your vet doesn't have a back-up vet noted on their answering service, while they are close for renovations. It probably would be a good idea just to see if there is anything else you can do for your cat, or if you just have to wait it out.

There have been other members who have written about reactions to vaccinations with their cats. Some have said the reaction can take days to pass, and others have stated that their cat even had delayed reactions - several days after injection. There has also been notes about varying strains/brands of vaccine that may cause a reaction - it seems to be more prevalent with the rabies vaccination. So, it might be beneficial for you to get the names of the specific brands that were given to your cat in an attempt to avoid those particular ones in the future. As noted above, it may be possible to refuse vaccinations in the future due to adverse side effects, but you need to make sure it is on her pet records that she did have a reaction as proof - this would be especially essential in the case of rabies vaccinations as they are bit harder to get a vet to agree to stop giving them given most states have laws requiring them (even then, a vet can 'override' the law if there is reason to believe additional vaccinations could cause issues).

Other members have also begun to spread out the needed vaccinations, so they are not done all at the same time.

 

[aorticorbit]

See if a family member, friend, neighbor, or co-worker can recommend a vet for a second opinion - or check to make sure your vet doesn't have a back-up vet noted on their answering service, while they are close for renovations. It probably would be a good idea just to see if there is anything else you can do for your cat, or if you just have to wait it out.

There have been other members who have written about reactions to vaccinations with their cats. Some have said the reaction can take days to pass, and others have stated that their cat even had delayed reactions - several days after injection. There has also been notes about varying strains/brands of vaccine that may cause a reaction - it seems to be more prevalent with the rabies vaccination. So, it might be beneficial for you to get the names of the specific brands that were given to your cat in an attempt to avoid those particular ones in the future. As noted above, it may be possible to refuse vaccinations in the future due to adverse side effects, but you need to make sure it is on her pet records that she did have a reaction as proof - this would be especially essential in the case of rabies vaccinations as they are bit harder to get a vet to agree to stop giving them given most states have laws requiring them (even then, a vet can 'override' the law if there is reason to believe additional vaccinations could cause issues).

Other members have also begun to spread out the needed vaccinations, so they are not done all at the same time.

I guess I'm just wondering if another vet could even do anything for her, since her issues seem more behavioral now and I don't want to spend $300 at a new vet for new patient intake exams and whatnot only to be told there's nothing that can be done. I wonder if she associates me/my room with the vaccination reaction? She's friendly when I go downstairs to hang out with her but she doesn't want to be in my room and won't approach me anymore. Is there anything I can do to maybe stop the negative association? I try giving her treats and I still feed her dinner upstairs but she runs away before I can get the treats bag open/after she finishes eating. If I lock her in the room with me she cries until I let her out. Should I post on the cat behavior forums and see if anyone has any ideas/experience there?

My city/state doesn't require rabies vaccinations so I'm definitely going to consider refusing the vaccines in the future. I believe they gave her the one-year booster but I'm going to call them and ask for the specific vaccine brand they gave her just for my records. I was reading other posts about vaccine reactions and have heard promising things about the Purevax rabies shot, but at this point, I'm so worried about giving her anything else I might just refuse it. I just don't know what vaccine caused the reaction, she's had both FVRCP and rabies previously and neither ever gave her any problems.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
It's supply chain related, at least it was earlier, where providers of vaccines are having to send vets different "recipes" for lack of a better word.

I personally would leave her alone, unless something else occurs with her health. As mentioned, she needs time to recover both physically and mentally.

Don't approach her, let her come to you. You could try some Cat Music too.

I'll post this in case it's helpful and you can forward it to the vet.

Clusters of suddenly sick cats roil some veterinary clinics

 

[Antonio65]

My vets always told me that rabies vaccine should not be administered at the same time of the other vaccines.
They told to wait at least 2 weeks between them.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I wonder if she associates me/my room with the vaccination reaction?

I highly doubt it. I think she is still not feeling her best and is reacting in certain ways due to that. I agree about somewhat letting her be, with regard to your room for now, and she will more than likely come around with some time. Posting to the Behavior forum probably won't help much, because this isn't a typical behavioral issue if it is in fact connected to her still feeling a bit under the weather. I truly think she will resume her usual routines with some more time to recover from any side effects from the shots.

Keep us posted!

 

[aorticorbit]

Hi
It's supply chain related, at least it was earlier, where providers of vaccines are having to send vets different "recipes" for lack of a better word.

I personally would leave her alone, unless something else occurs with her health. As mentioned, she needs time to recover both physically and mentally.

Don't approach her, let her come to you. You could try some Cat Music too.

I'll post this in case it's helpful and you can forward it to the vet.

Clusters of suddenly sick cats roil some veterinary clinics

thank you for the article and the information. the cat music only made her more sad i think lol, but i appreciate it anyways. I think for now I'll just do my best to leave her be. it's hard and it's making me really sad, especially since she used to be so affectionate and always stuck to my side, but i don't think there's another option. i worry i'll never get my kitty back to how she was before. idk. hopefully she feels better in the next few days :/

 

[Furballsmom]

She should come around . She didn't like cat harp music with purrs in it?

 

[aorticorbit]

I highly doubt it. I think she is still not feeling her best and is reacting in certain ways due to that. I agree about somewhat letting her be, with regard to your room for now, and she will more than likely come around with some time. Posting to the Behavior forum probably won't help much, because this isn't a typical behavioral issue if it is in fact connected to her still feeling a bit under the weather. I truly think she will resume her usual routines with some more time to recover from any side effects from the shots.

Keep us posted!

thank you for your advice. i wish i knew what she was feeling so i could make her feel better. do you happen to know how long it would take for her to recover? i read about delayed vaccine reactions occurring 2-3 weeks after vaccination, but nothing about how long the recovery timeline is. i'm just worried about her and worried our relationship is broken beyond repair i guess.

 

[aorticorbit]

She should come around . She didn't like cat harp music with purrs in it?

no, she just started meowing louder lol. to be fair, she's a really jealous kitty. maybe she got upset that other kitties are having a better time than her

 

[Furballsmom]

LoL silly little girl

 

[FeebysOwner]

do you happen to know how long it would take for her to recover?

I think that may vary from cat to cat, given the side effects vary as well. If she has particular toys or blankets that she likes, I suppose you could take them in your room when you are in there and see if that entices her. If she is spending time in a specific room rather than your room, you could try to sleep there for a night or two just to see what she does. These ideas are not forcing anything on her, just maybe helping her head in the 'right direction'.

 

[aorticorbit]

I think that may vary from cat to cat, given the side effects vary as well. If she has particular toys or blankets that she likes, I suppose you could take them in your room when you are in there and see if that entices her. If she is spending time in a specific room rather than your room, you could try to sleep there for a night or two just to see what she does. These ideas are not forcing anything on her, just maybe helping her head in the 'right direction'.

since i live in a house with roommates, all her favorite blankets and toys are in my room. my room used to be her most favorite place to hang out, but now she just sits downstairs. i bring her upstairs to eat, which she does happily, but right afterwards she goes out the room and downstairs. im gonna just try to keep feeding her up here and letting her do as she wishes, and hopefully with some more time she'll feel better. i really appreciate all your advice

 

[Furballsmom]

im gonna just try to keep feeding her up here and letting her do as she wishes, and hopefully with some more time she'll feel better. i really appreciate all your advice

This sounds perfect, bless your heart!

 

[aorticorbit]

hi yall, just wanted to give a quick update. kitty is doing a bit better, still not her usual self but she's at least okay with spending time in my room and played and purred a little bit today. we did lots of pets and butt pats and she seems to be in better spirits, although still a bit itchy. im calling the vet tomorrow to see if they can just prescribe me something to stop her itching, as the steroid spray is only really supposed to be used on open wounds and i can't imagine she still needs benadryl almost a week after the initial reaction. she's still a little agitated, still yowling in the mornings to be let out, still won't sleep on my bed and still doesn't really cuddle up with me anymore but im trying to take it as a two steps forward, one step back situation. progress is progress, no matter how small. at least we got to do butt pats today. thank you all again so much for your advice, i really can't express how much i appreciate it <33