vet visit

I took Bassett to the vet today for her annual shots and physical. I am going to Oregon on Tuesday morning so I wanted to make sure her shots were totally up to date. Other than a weight problem, Bassett is very healthy! The vet said she has beautiful teeth :D Anyway, last year when Bassett had her shots she had a severe reaction to the vaccines. For 24 hours, she was throwing up and ran a high fever. When I went to the vet this time (it was a different vet this year - it's a cat hospital so I have three vets, really :p ) she said that if Bassett doesn't go outside and niether does Tilly, I shouldn't have Bassett vaccinated at all. I told her that even though they are indoor kitties the come across the border with me and I forgot to mention that my parents have four cats and two dogs that don't get shots (I know I know.. I've told them it is a risk but they won't listen to me). Anyway, the vet then said that in situations like this one, where kitties have reactions, the best way to deal with it is to bring the cat in very early in the morning, do a preventative shot of cortizone to help with the allergies, wait an hour, and then give the vaccines. Then, Bassett has to stay at the clinic for at least 2-3 hours so the vet can monitor her. She asked if I was agreeable to it, saying that she knew it sounded paranoid but it's better to be paranoid than to have a sick cat, and I said absolutely, whatever is best for Bassett. I was so touched by how caring this vet was. Last year, when Bassett was throwing up all over the house, I called the vet and he told me to "wait it out." At least this vet is concerned for her. So we go back tomorrow first thing (I didn't even know my vet was open on Saturdays) and Bassett will be well cared for! I feel bad about two trips to the vet because she gets so scared, but I'm happy that we are doing everything we can to keep her from feeling sick.

Has anyone else had cats with a bad reactions? Has anyone heard of cortizone as a prevention? I'm very curious about all these things.

What a great vet! How nice for Bassett and you, too! Give that one greetings from us at Pet Talk!

I haven't heard about cortisone for a preventative for that kind of a reaction but it can be used for allergies, vomiting, and it helped my cat Pepper recover from his illness. It sounds like you have found a very good and caring vet. Good luck. My cat Sunny had a sneezing reaction to the FIP vaccine and he developed a fever too. Now I only get the FVRCP shots for my furbabies. They are also indoor only cats but they do go to a salon to have their nails clipped. Good luck with Bassett and please keep us posted. :)

You are a good cat-mom to be concerned about the vaccine issue!

My indoor-only cat, who is never, ever around any other animals has been reduced to only 1 shot by the vet. However, if I bring in another cat, I'll have to change that.

Also, I want to remind folks about the issue of vaccine-induced sarcoma in cats. Although this doesn't apply to Bassett, there are times when cats develop tumors especially near their shoulder blades on the back of the neck due to vaccines being injected there. Your vet should be injecting the shots in the front or back legs instead of the scruff of the neck on the cat. I don't mean to scare anyone, but this is a deadly cancer that took my tuxedo girl Daisy when she was only 6 yrs old.

Getting shots is a very very good idea - for human AND fur babies- as long as you are informed !

Thanks everyone for the advice. I will ask about the scruff of the neck shots tomorrow - that is where they have always been done before. Except for rabies, which she had in her leg, but that was at a different vet office all together. This is a great hospital dedicated to cats. They even have a resident feline who was attacked by a raccoon.. they fixed him all up and now he has a nice home!

I will let you know how Bassett is doing tomorrow night :D

Good to know. {{{hugs to Bassett (and her Mommy)}}}

Bassett did very well at the vet today! She went in at nine and I picked her up at 12:30. The vet was VERY pleased. I asked about the sarcoma and she said that they were very aware of it because it had been around for years, and so I was confident that they were careful and watchful :D When Bassett came out she was very alert and affectionate, and usually after a vet visit she huddles at the back of her cage. When I brought her home I gave her her fishies and she drank a bit, used the box and went to sleep! :) She is doing great!

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and concern!! :D :D

Naomi

I'm so glad that everything went so well. :) Now hopefully it will also go well when you travel with her. :)

This reply is a little late, but my cat Mason had the same kind of allergic reaction to vaccinations. Our vet suggested we give him 1/4 of a 25mg benadryl tablet an hour or 2 before his vet visit. It works wonders! And you don't have to pay all that extra money for cortisone shots.

Thanks for that tip! I don't think I paid that much extra tho.. the whole bill only came to 50 bux :D But I will definatley ask about that!

Sounds like you have a great vet!

Nomilynn, that's great that your vet really listened to your concerns and seems to care about your cat. My Marius had a very very bad reaction to his shots a little over a year ago now, and I've been afraid to bring him in ever since! He had the same type of reaction as your Bassett. He was vomiting all over the place and running a fever, but what really concerned me the most was that he started vomiting up blood. Now, I know that isn't normal, and I have never, ever had a cat have a reaction like that to shots!! Needless to say, I was a bit stressed out and calling the vet in frantic tears wondering what was happening to my cat! They didn't seem too concerned and even asked me what color the blood was. The whole ordeal was really traumatic to me, and probably to poor little Marius too! My cats are inside only and we don't travel. I know I'm probably a bad mom by not bringing him in this year, but I was really scared about him going through that again. Thanks for the pointers that your vet suggested! If I can prevent such bad reactions in my boy, I'd be more than happy to get his booster done!
**hugs** to you and Bassett. I'm glad the visit went smoothly!:D