I'm writing on behalf of a friend's kitty:

Has anyone had experienced with a cat having severe lethargy following distemper (and/or) rabies vaccinations? It's been 50 hours since her shots and she has almost zero energy and is just eating a tiny bit. She is 11, but up until this, she has been as energetic as a kitten! She has not vomited.

We called the (regular) vet and a back-up vet. Neither thought there was any crisis. But, of course... we worry!!! She is not herself at all !

Thanks for any input!

Kathy

our kitty was a bit off for about 24 hours after a rabies and 3 other boosters last week. he was sleepy and hiding from everyone (we thought he got out of the house but was snuggled up in the warm basement.) his appetite was not affected. i was pissed off because the vet didn't mention this degree of lethargy.

50 hours seems like a long time to me though. if it goes another day i would call the vet again.

Thanks for the reply!

And yes, if she's not a LOT better by early morning, she will be going to the vet.

Kathy

Hi, Kathy, like our wonderful Administrator I totally agree that 50 hours is way too long for a "normal" reaction to vaccinations. If your friend still gets a "not to worry" response from her regular veterinarian then it is time to go to the ER vet - - or get a second opinion from another veterinary practice. Please let us know how things go. Will be thinking of your friend and her precious companion.

Peace and blessings,
moon_beam

Thank you moon_beam for the concern and the feedback!

The kitty is fine now! It took several days. Scary!!

Thank you again.

Hi, Kathy, thank you so much for letting us know how your friend's kitty is doing. I'm so glad to share your news that she is fully recovered from her vaccinations. Just as a suggestion: Your friend may want to talk to her veterinarian about splitting the vaccinations into two visits two or three weeks apart from each other. I have done this with my own furkids when it was obvious their systems could not handle all of the vaccinations at one time. Splitting the vaccinations gave their immune system a chance to adjust to the vaccinations without overwhelming it. As I said this is just a suggestion for whatever it might be worth.

Thank you again for sharing the good news with us.

Peace and blessings,
moon_beam

Thanks for the great idea! My friend is scared now to ever have Little Kitty vaccinated again but I will pass this excellent example on, of how it was helpful in the case of your furkids. It is so helpful to be able to factor in other people's experiences, and second opinions from vets, when making an important decision such as this.