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side effects for feline vacinations2007-11-25 12:25:55

yesterday I took my one year old cat to a clinic to be vacinated he is kinda out of it sleeping alot seems sore do you know i can get info about this a good website thanks for any information

Answers:

It is a common thing for cats to be sore and to be more lethargic after having gotten vaccines.

The most obvious soreness is just due to the poke of the needle. The vaccines are put in the "dead space" or subcutaneous space between the skin and the muscles. This is why we can grab a handful of skin on a dog or cat while it's not that easy on a person, since our skin is stretched taut.

As for the lethargy. Vaccines are used to stimulate the immune system. They are a form (albeit a safe one) of the disease they are protecting against. So when an animal gets a rabies vaccine, they are actually being given rabies, although it is a killed virus and not able to become live.

When the vaccines are given, they make the immune system go "Ack, I've got to create antibodies against this foreign stuff in my system so it can't hurt me". It essentially turns the immune system on, gives it a triple shot expresso and 10 cans of Red Bull. The antibodies are what tell the specialized cells in the blood that it needs to seek out and kill the invaders.

And when you're immune system is being all used up by these vaccine creating super freak antibodies, it depletes in other ways. The energy level of your cat plummets, just like when you get a nasty cold or the flu. After a few days, the super crazed antibodies get all the caffeine out of their system and settle back down and your cat perks up again.

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the symptoms your cat is experiencing are normal. they will often have tenderness around the injection area, be lethargic, have little or no appetite, and may run a small fever. these symptoms should go away after a day or two. if they last longer than that, your cat may have an infection at the injection site or some other underlying condition that was aggravated by the vaccines. this is unlikely, but does happen occasionally. i wish i knew of a good website to tell you, but i don't.