The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Xenot (Washington State) on 10/02/2016
Both of my cats received their 2nd annual rabies vaccine. The younger cat, a 16-month old Maine Coon kitten is doing just fine. However, the 14-year-old tabby is not. He already has health issues, such as arthritis, asthma, and an enlarged heart and takes a corticosteroid and benazepril for 2 of those issues. He is now laying on my bed and is very lethargic. He is not normally very active because of his age, the meds he takes, his health issues and the fact that the prednisolone has rendered him very over-weight, but I can tell he is definitely not himself. Usually, when he is laying down and I touch him, he purrs loudly immediately. He is not purring, his eyes look distant and he is a bit warm to the touch. He is very lethargic. It has been about 12 hours after the shot. I live in a state that requires a rabies vaccine in order to license my pet. I think I will have to get some kind of document stating that my cat is reactive and should be exempt. I am not going to put him through this again. Last year, he was fine after his shot. Apparently, there is no way to tell how your cat will react from year to year. When I rescued him from the Humane Society, it was before the economic downturn and I was in a much better financial position. I do not have the funds to take him to the vet if his health deteriorates from the effects of the shot. I'm very, very upset. I feel like I paid money to have him poisoned.
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Peter (Nashville Tn) on 09/02/2016
Our cat had his one year rabies shot this afternoon.. tonight about 6 hours later..he won't use the litter box, blows out his nose at it. We tried to put him in it and he acted like it was water. Then he pooped and went pee on the bath mat.
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Rockrose (Rockland, Maine) on 08/20/2015
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.
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Joy T (Bohemia, Ny Usa) on 10/11/2012
This past summer I rescued kittens from my yard from a momma kitty having her third set. I trapped her and got her spayed. I ended up keeping the 5 kittens because the local shelters were all full. I adopted out 3 of them and still have two because there is such a glut of kittens out there this year, they say because we had a mild winter.
They are almost 6 months old now. They had not received the Rabies vaccine yet so I brought them to a low cost, in a pet store, weekend "clinic" of sorts to save money. Three days after the rabies and FVRCP were given, one kitten started walking funny. It seemed he did not have full control over his rear legs. He could lift them, but not control them on the way down and they would make a flop sound when hitting the floor. He could get up and go the the food, water and litter box. He did not vocalize anything. He purrs and plays, but he chooses not to move around so much. He can get up and down the stairs. Two days later, he seemed to be walking normally, but then two days after that he was walking funny again, but there was no flop sound anymore, as if he was compensating somehow or it was just a little better. We brought him to the vet who said it was neuromuscular. The sugar was normal, so it is not diabetes. They did not do an x-ray but based on palpation determined that it was not a skeletal malformation of some kind. They did, however, tell my husband to have him retested for Feline leukemia which he already tested negative for to the tune of 48 dollars which infuriated me.
The cost of an MRI for a cat is approximately 2000 from what I looked up online ...
The sibling female kitten started to have similar although less severe symptoms a week and a half after the vaccinations. She shows some weakness in just the left rear leg, but does a little hop when she moves that she did not do before.
These kittens were perfectly fine for the entire time I have had them, since they are 8 weeks old. Is there any way to know that this problem is from the vaccines? I really cannot spend 2000 on an MRI.
From the paper work, it looks like they had RabVac1 and the FVRCP Ch.
I am wondering if I should try to treat with prednisone and/or antibiotics? It is too much money to get a diagnosis and even then you may not get an answer ....
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Kleand (London, Uk) on 05/29/2012
Our cat was given Pfizer's Vanguard Rabies vaccination and went into anaphalactic shock. She threw up about 25 times and had copious diarrhea, but because the vet called Pfizer and Pfizer said that they'd never heard of an adverse reaction to the vaccine, our vet assumed she was simply traumatized by her vet appointment. It wasn't until her face swelled up that we decided Pfizer had misrepresented the truth, and it took two very expensive appointments (including an emergency appointment at two in the morning) to stabilize her. I'm certain that Pfizer has heard of other adverse reactions to this vaccine (after all, _I_ have, and I'm no clinician), so to me they're responsible for our cat's delayed treatment and suffering.
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Joy (Sacramento, Ca) on 03/14/2012
My half Maine Coone cat was administered the Rabies Vaccine and when he came home he was lethargic. For the next 48 hours he had such bad diarrhea that at one point I heard an explosion type sound in the litter box area and found an explosion of bloody diarrhea. He had previously had solid stools and has since. I knew that he had a reaction to the vaccine. He is a very healthy cat.
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Carla (Jacksonville, Florida) on 01/01/2012
My cat got very sick with high fever and almost 2 months later, she is still not the same cat as before the rabies vaccine on November 4.
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Deirdre (North Attleboro, Ma) on 01/01/2012
I have an indoor 3 yr. Old Burmese cat. He had his yearly vaccines including Rabies on 12/8/11. He seemed ok for a couple of days and then his appetite when downhill and his spark was gone... He stopped stalking the other cats and acting like the head honcho (His normal behavior). I observed him for a while, hoping things would change and fed him whatever I could get him to eat; chicken, tuna (I usually give him Innova Reduced Fat can in the a.m. And same thing at night, but the dry formula)... He never has trouble with meal time. He was drinking his water, but he still was not his usual spunky self. My vet was on vacation so I brought him to a new vet.(12/21/11)..he checked him out and said he appears fine, but he did have a 1 lb weight loss (in just 2 weeks! ... Maybe a scale difference?) He did observe what appeared to probably be a scratch above his eye(from one of my other kitties), he syringed a sample of the fluid and found nothing. I have the same concerns and bring him back on 12/21/11 the Dr. Does a full senior blood profile (including thyroid, just to cover ALL the bases. ) He also does a urine test.... He finds nothing at all. It is now 12/30/11 and I notice another spot of hair loss over his other eye.... Definitely not a scratch, completely bald, but with little prick marks on the skin??? My cat is not scratching constantly and is not being attacked by the other kitties. His appetite is still the same... I may get one meal of chicken or tuna into him a day and he will only eat off the floor and not out of his dish. He is NOT himself, but I am managing to keep him roughly fed & hydrated. It is now 1/1/12 the Vet is closed and I will be calling him first thing in the a.m. Do any of these combined symptoms sound familiar to anyone? I hope my cat is not getting Alopecia from having been to the Vet 3 times in the last month and getting blood & urine tests :-( I am suffering as long as my lil guy is suffering... Any advice would be welcomed, thanks!
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Meowmeow (Franklin, Ma) on 12/14/2011
My 17 year old male cat had a bad reaction to the rabies shot. A little history about him: He is an indoor domestic short hair cat. He has generally been healthy his whole life, until he was 14. At 14 he was treated for hyperthyroidism with radio-iodine therapy. Last January he was diagnosed with 3rd degree AV block. He was started on Theophylline, but within a month began to have a really bad reaction to it. His medication was changed to Turbutaline (one-quarter of a pill every other day) and he has been doing okay on that for the past 10 months (he has had no pass-outs or dizziness).
He was given his rabies shot yesterday and within 15 minutes, he was unable to walk straight, falling over and began panting. The panting only lasted for about a minute and the dizziness has seemed to subside, but since yesterday, he will not come out of his cat cube house bed (he stays in there when he is not feeling well). After he had the reaction yesterday, I thought back and it was last December when he had his rabies shot too. I don't remember him having a reaction last year to it, but within 2 weeks of his shot, he began to show the signs of 3rd degree AV block. I don't believe that the rabies shot caused the AV block, but I don't think that it has helped either. He is still not feeling well and if he survives this episode, he will NEVER be getting another rabies or distemper shot.
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Diana (West Newbury, Ma) on 10/20/2011
I am so happy to have found this website to try and figure out what has happened to our 20 yr old cat after having a rabies shot one week ago... Flower had lost a pound since her last checkup 6 mo ago. We had her ears treated for allergies and had her nails clipped. The vet told us that she was overdue for her rabies vaccine so we had it done. That night I noticed that she was very weak and acting strangely, distant and quiet, sleeping all the time... Now a week and a half later she is staggering and walking with her front legs crossing and rear end tipping to one side.
For the last 24 hrs we have thought that she is ready to pass away maybe from a stroke or some illness not identified but having just read everything I can about vaccines, I think that the rabies shot has caused this terrible thing to happen to this sweet animal! She's dazed, confused, crying which she seldom does, vomiting but nothing in her belly. I'm not sure if she is seeing clearly... She is dropping her head into her water bowl and not eating a thing... I am calling the vet as soon as it opens today... But I am afraid it has permanently harmed her. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences with me... I pray there is something the vet can do to turn this around... Her age is against her... it's a shame and never had to happen.
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Catera (Midwest City, Ok/united States) on 10/13/2011
I am sorry, I now know what I thought was impossible. Two siblings, a boy and a girl got their shots. The girl vomited for a week then starting losing weight fast and stopped eating. Her gums and ears turned yellow (liver problem). Shortly after, her brother started having the same symptoms. He was put on anti-biotics. He hasn't gotten better, won't eat, won't defecate, won't move, won't pee, nothing. We are saddened that tomorrow we take him to be euthanized because his liver is failing. His sister, however, is finally eating small amounts and getting slowly better. This is atrocious!
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Mike (Bourbonnais, Il/usa) on 10/04/2011
My cat has a Rabies Vaccine Injury. She is now over 50% paralyzed and can barely walk. She stumbles around and is uncoordinated. She developed a neuro-muscular/ neurological disease from the Rabies Vaccine. She is very Lethargic, has an 'autistic blank looking stare' and has major behavior changes such as being very fearful & agression at times. They analyzed her and found she has partial blindness. So far my vet just started giving her Steroid Injections and liquid Benadryl for treatment. This is only a starting therapy and won't fix the problem, but is better than nothing. The vet won't officially admit that it is a 'Vaccine Related Injury' but I know it is.
What is a homeopathic/ herbal / vitamin / misc. Remedy that you can recommend for my cat. I need to know what herbs are SAFE to feed my cat and which are TOXIC to feed my cat, and what symptoms they may help with. I've heard about possible acupunture, to help with the neurological problems that the vaccine caused, but what other treatments are out there?? I have searched the net but couldn't find anything specific....[Mike]
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Denise (Griffin, Ga/ Usa) on 06/12/2011
My himalayn was vaccinated for rabies yesterday. She has been lethargic won't eat or drink I had not taken her to the vet for over 5 years because of this. She had a very bad reaction the first time. I don't know what to do. I'm afraid to take her back for fear of further damage.
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Sylvie (Santa Cruz, California) on 03/27/2011
Hello, My Nella cat just received a rabies vaccine in order to travel overseas. She is now experiencing several side effects: loss of appetite, vomiting, and she has mucus and blood in her scant and milky stool. Are there any folk remedies to help her with these symptoms? Is there something I should be giving her to prevent further complications?
Thank you kindly, Sylvie
Rabies Vaccine Side Effects
Posted by Anonymous (Malibu, California, USA) on 10/18/2009
After having a cat nearly die after his first rabies vaccination, fast forward many years to now -- I have a six-month old male kitten whom I have chosen to not vaccinate. The problem is I have failed in my attempt to find a veterinarian who will neuter him without being vaccinated. Can anybody out there refer me to a veterinarian in southern California who will neuter my unvaccinated kitty? I feel we are being held hostage because we've chosen an altenative, healthier path. Thank you!
