Mild cat flu after first vaccination?

[Den]

Nosodes are homeopathic vaccinations. My vet is fully supportive of vaccinating every 3 years and not vaccinating elderly/ill pets. But he is very anti nosodes. Says they are a waste of time and don't work. However, I do have her friend who gives nosodes to her pets (she gives the first set of vaccination then nosodes from then on) and they are all healthy and live very full long lives.

[Mark]

I will have a look later but the nasal ones are called nosodes. Apparently they are a lot safer.

[Jasmine]

Well, after careful consideration and weighing up all the risks, I have cancelled his appointment.

As I understand it, generally, diabetic cats are ok to have vaccs (and if you want to board them, they will have to be done).  The thing is, with Sweep and his acromegaly, we don't know how advanced the pituitary tumour which causes excessive growth hormone is.  Eventually, his internal organs will enlarge and it will be a question of which fails first.
(I forgot to add, he also has a mild heart murmur.)

The irony is, I was offered a free Fevaxyn Pentofel jab - which I have just discovered is an inactivated vaccine, but I declined this as it combines the two flu viruses; enteritis; FeLv and chlamydia, and I thought this would be just too much for his system.  Plus, my garden is cat-proofed and any potential introductions into the household will be tested for FeLV first. (This is also the vaccine I generally stay clear of as it was the one that gave Martha a bad reaction.)

I haven't heard of intranasal vaccines Mark, but did read on the Tricat manufacturers guidelines that the enteritis cover lasts for three years.  I don't know Sweep's previous vaccination history, but I have calculated that if he was done within the 18 months before I had him (and I have had him for 18 months myself now), the jab he has had could potentially give him cover for this for another 36 months.  This should see him out.  And as he has had a mild dose of flu now, he should also have some immunity towards this strain at least.
 
(Just want to point out , anyone reading this, and thinking I'm against vaccinations per se, this is not the case.  I have 3 other cats who are fully vaccinated, and currently have their boosters annually).

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

That tricat vaccine often gives very bad reactions and virtually every vaccine is Live, because they are more effective. I had a very long discussion with my vet about this after Misa had a bad reaction when he was new to me and I suggested a killed vaccine. He would not here of such a thing and said they were useless which is not true.

They may not be as effective and one was tried on my late Kocka cos she wasnt well enough to have a live vaccine but it still caused problems.

I would not have your cat vaccinated again , if it was my cat.

Another thing is that by now he will have a lot of natural defences  and I think he is showing signs of cat flu from the vaccination..............my opinion only of course.

[Mark]

Only healthy animals should be vaccinated."

 

Well that is helpful, not  - what constitutes healthy? - all that comment does is gets them off the hook. I am really nervous about getting Alice vaccinated as she is generally a sickly cat with undefinable health issues. Also Kylie is now 11 so not sure if it is safe to have her done. The fact that she is a fighter means I probably should though.

Here is the info on Tanya's CRF site. Apparently feline vacines are grown on kidney cells http://www.felinecrf.org/causes_of_crf.htm#vaccinations - it is something to do with them having an affinity for the kidneys. I only found this out when it was too late. I'm not saying the vaccs killed her but I'm sure her decline was rapid after them (she died within a month )

Also interesting to note that in America, they recommend vaccinations every 3 years compared to once a year here. Are we vaccinating too often?

Also, does anyone know if intranasal vaccines are available in the UK? - it says they are safer. The only intranasal vaccine I have heard of in the UK is for kennel cough for dogs.

[Jasmine]

As a footnote, just been reading the data sheet and it says:

"In some cases sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, and a slight dullness or reduced appetite may be observed for up to 2 days post vaccination.
Only healthy animals should be vaccinated."

 

[Jasmine]

Thank you Angie.

I have just checked and he has the Nobivac Tricat Trio which according to the manufacturer's details on the web is a live vaccine with:

live attenuated feline calicivirus, strain F9:

live attenuated feline herpes virus type 1, strain G2620A:
   
live attenuated feline panleucopenia virus, strain MW-1:
   
I think this finally puts the matter to bed really.

Mark, it's interesting to hear what you said about Willow (sadly), I had Martha (RIP too) with CRF vaccinated once and it nearly killed her. 

[Mark]

tbh, the whole vaccine thing baffles me. I am convinced that Willow declined rapidly after last year's vaccines - it was only afterwards that I read about them not being recommended for cats with CRF. I wish there was some definitive information available.

[Angiew]

Just got back from a cp training day and was surprised to b told while chatting to a vet that some types of vaccine are MLV - live vaccines. You have to ask your vet.
The RSPCA bloke talking about early neutering said that they routinely give 2nd kitten boosters, chip and neuter on same day and it brought some reaction from the audience about too much going on in one day - especially when a few were grumbling about reactions to vaccinations.

[Jasmine]

Thanks Gill, I am going to sleep on it overnight, but my instinct is to cancel it.

He is only 9 and a half years old, but is much older than his years due to everything he's been through.
He had a laminectomy at the age of 6 and is slighty disabled as a result: he often falls over when chasing the girls

After recovering from that, he developed diabetes and his original owners couldn't cope and signed him over to the CP - that's when I fostered him, and ended taking him on permanently when I was told he was not rehomeable (two injections a day and peeing in the house).

His diabetes has been practically impossible to regulate and in January, blood tests indicated that this is almost certainly due to a condition called acromegaly (a tumour on the pituitary gland responsible for the growth hormone).  We were offered a free CT scan to confirm the diagnosis by the RCVS - who are doing research into this, but declined the offer becasue we thought he had been through enough, and there was no way I was going to put him through radiotherapy treatment with little guarantee of success and a lot of risk.

He also has arthritis in his back legs, and a large polyp in his right ear; he really hasn't had the best of luck.

Now you can see why I was so reluctant to have him vaccinated and was surprised the vet agreed too.

I have had a quick word with someone at the practice, but they just said his symptoms were probably a coincidence and down to something else and that I should go ahead with it.  I don't know, the last time I had a cat sneezing, I was told (by a different practice) that this was probably due to an allergy/dust in my house.  Two days later, the kitten - who had just finished her course of injections, developed full blown cat flu.

I wanted to get him done just in case I had an emergency foster in the house sometime, and although my cats only have access to my garden, I know flu/enteritis can be bought in on shoes/clothes etc.

Life is never easy is it...

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

You dont say how old he is and I would be very careful if it was me.

I dont have Franta or Ducha vaccinated any longer cos of their age and Frantas health issues caused two vets to say he should no longer be vacinated.

Definately speak with vets and I am a bit surprised they agreed to vacinate him but then i am no vet lol and dont know all hi health problems.

Vaccinations really should not bring on cat flu at all and it sounds like he could be a carrier maybe and diabetic humans have compromised immune systems although the flu jab is not a problem

[Jasmine]

I finally decided to get Sweep (my diabetic cat with acromegaly) vaccinated against flu and enteritis in November.
(I have had him for 18 months now and he has had multiple health issues, so I wasn't even sure he would survive this long.)

He has had to start a new course, and his second jab is due on Thursday.

Problem is, a couple of days after he had the first jab, he started snuffling and sneezing occasionally.
He is almost better now, but at one stage watery snot was flying.
(I did keep a close eye on him: his chest and breathing was fine; he was eating well and didn't seem unduly perturbed, so I didn't contact the vets.)

I think he had a mild form of flu.

Question is: what will happen if he has the second jab; should he have the second jab?

I will of course be discussing this with the vet, but I wondered if anybody else has had a similar experience, been in the same situation and what did the do?