Close

You must be logged in to love this post! Please sign in:

Close

You must be logged in to follow this post! Please sign in:

Rockrose (Rockland, Maine) on 08/20/2015
0 out of 5 stars

My 19 year old Maine Coon cat recently received his annual combo vaccination (distemper and rabies). Over a period of days he gradually became weak, could barely stand up and lost interest in food. He vomited several times which wasn't that alarming because he was always prone to barfing. The weakness and anorexia were very unusual for him. I gave him fluids a little at a time with an eyedropper, an appetite stimulant and a tiny amount of antacid every day. He didn't eat much but would take tiny amounts of food from my hand. At first the only things that he would eat were treats. I offered him all kinds of food and finally he did show a strong interest in eating raw fish. So he got to eat raw salmon until he would eat other things. It took a few weeks for his appetite to return to normal. He'd lost weight and is now gaining it back very slowly. I believe that he had a toxic reaction to the vaccination causing his kidneys to be overwhelmed or shut down for awhile. I talked with a friend who lives in the same region about it. She told me that the exact same thing happened to her 8 year old cat a few months ago, with extreme weakness and lack of appetite starting the week after getting the combo vaccine with the illness continuing for a month. I wonder how common this sort of adverse reaction is in cats or perhaps if the 2015 vaccine is bad.
REPLY   1      

Replied By Becky (Lincoln, Il) on 12/07/2016

I took my 8 year old cat in last Friday to get his yearly shots, since then, he has been vomiting his food up, everything and everytime. I Know the vet will never agree that there is a reaction to the shots, but if an animal doesn't do this regularly and then they do it after a shot or medication, duh, that is the cause. What can we do????
REPLY   1      

Replied By Hilary (Philadelphia, Pa) on 12/12/2016

My cat also had a similar reaction. The vaccine company, after multiple contacts, admitted that this was a "rare" but known side effect. My cat recovered, but now a year later, she has complete heart block secondary to scarring on the heart. I question whether this is related to the combo vaccination.
REPLY   1      

Replied By Becky M (Southbury Ct) on 09/25/2017

Do you have any details on the "rare side effect"? In July of 2016 I took my cat to vet for her vaccination and within a week she was vomiting constantly, bile. It took over a month for her to recover, I didn't think she would. I took her back to the vet right when the vomiting began to happen and the vet insisted it was not the vaccination and that she had a hair ball. She did an X-ray and saw something and decided surgery to remove the stuck hairball was best. The next morning she did emergency surgery and found no hairball.. did another X-ray..saw nothing. ($3,000 later)We ended up switching her to a hypoallergenic prescription wet food. She had been great all year, healthy. I had to take her back for her yearly vaccine last month. They only reason I did is because the vet would not prescribe her food if I didn't come for her yearly checkup. The vet gave my cat the rabies shot. She was lethargic after, which I expected. Now a month after the same vomiting is happening, started yesterday. She will not eat or drink, just vomiting up bile. She is 9 years old, and has never ever been sick, only the 2 times after her rabies vac.
REPLY   2