Sick kitties

[murasaki]

Yesterday my cats went to their new vet for the first time and were given part one of the feline leukemia vaccine.

One cat, Neko-chan, is terrified of vets and struggles and leaves, ahem, presents in her carrier though I think it's nerves and not revenge.

Anyway, I get both of them home after the shot and they want nothing to do with me for awhile. That I'm used to. However, they've also been very lethargic and didn't eat their dinner. My other kitty, Kushi, is on a diet for her weight problem and she didn't come running when I got the food out. I took the bowl to her, she ate two bites and went back to sleep.

Neko-chan stayed on my bed the entire evening and night. Usually they're very nocturnal and go back and forth looking out windows and such all night. Kushi spent her night on top of the kitchen cabinets.

They got up with me this morning, and seemed a little perked up for a few minutes, ate a little of their food that I left out. However, one is now curled up on the couch next to me, the other is back on the bed.

The vet didn't mention any side effects from this shot, so I'm rather concerned. I plan to call back when they open this morning. Has anyone else had this reaction to the feline leukemia vaccine from their cats? I would just feel better if I knew the lethargy and loss of appetite are within normal parameters.

--naomi

[nicholmere]

As you said, definitely contact your vet, but I think the reactions are normal.

When our kittens had their very first shots the vet warned us about the lethargy, and she was right. Previous balls of non-stop energy suddenly stopped. They were dozy for at least the rest of the day and on into the next.

[murasaki]

That's vet said too, until Neko-chan started vomiting all over the place. They said that was definitely not normal and if she does it again tonight after having dinner, to call them back in the morning and drop her off.

Kushi seems to be doing much better, though she's crashed out again.

Thanks for responding to the thread--it's relieved my mind a little.

--naomi

[nicholmere]

I'm glad my experience provided some reassurance.

Do you have The Well Cat Book by Terri McGinnis? It's a great cat reference text. I just looked at it for comments on vomiting as a result of the vaccination, but it didn't mention it as a side effect. However, the book did have more than you'd probably ever want to know about the different types and causes of vomiting.

If the vomiting is bad (frequent) during the evening/night you may not want to wait until the am. I guess it depends on your vet's night schedule. We can call our vets' emergency line, leave a voice-mail, and then they call us back. I've never had to do it in the middle of the night, but I have called pretty early on a Sunday to ask about wasp stings (Paris' paw puffed up enormously). Our office is great, they've never charged us for the phone calls, but they do charge extra for visits outside of office hours.

Katherine - sending get well wishes to your kitties

[murasaki]

Neko-chan is doing much better today. No more bouts of vomiting and both of them were fairly active last night.

I don't have The Well Cat Book but thanks for turning me onto it!

--naomi

[taurusmoon]

Whew. Glad to hear it.

It's so frustrating when a pet gets sick. They can't tell you what's wrong. Only that something's wrong. Almost borders on passive aggression.

Sara

[hadassahchana[$]]

Naomi,

I missed this earlier! How upsetting for you! Our little guys also got quite lethargic recently, but it was due to an upper respiratory infection that just wouldn't go away. They finally ended up on an antibiotic for a month. However, they weren't diagnosed at first just because the symptoms were so similar to a typical reaction to shots that the vet missed the infection.

Fortunately, both are now back to climbing curtains and bugging the daylights out of our older cat.

BTW, does anyone here have any experience with getting new kittens and older cats to become used to each other?

Cindy

[murasaki]

Thanks for the concern! They're doing much better today.

The best way, I think, to get older and younger cats used to each other is do it in increments. That's not always possible. I've found that the adjustment is also much easier if they're different sexes.

If the old/young cats have territory issues, make sure they each have their own food bowl and litter box (a battle over the litter box is not fun).

If the younger cat starts hiding under furniture or not coming out of its "safe" room, you'll have to work with it and teach it hunting skills so that it will gain confidence. I know this sounds corny, but it worked with the kitten my friends integrated with their old tom.

I hope this helps!

--naomi

[ebrown2]

Yeah! Healthy kitties are good!


I hope your little angels keep getting better.