Posted on 04/17/2006 7:33:37 PM PDT by conserv371
I recently went to the vet to get my 6 year old cat vaccinated. The vet gave both my cats a 16 year old and the 6 year old 4 vaccines one being the FIP vaccine. At the end of March, I had my 6 year old put to sleep. She was diagnosed with FIP. She made a short recovery but then got worse and we finally had her put to sleep. I am thinking that somehow the vaccine infected her but I do not have proof. I am wondering if this has happened with anyone else. The older cat has not had any ill effects. Does anyone know if the FIP vaccine can kill?
I do not have an answer for your question but do know that my vet will never give FIP immunizations. He does not feel that they are safe. Perhaps you will be interested in a somewhat related experience. Our old kitty was diagnosed with kidney disease at about the age of 14. We managed the disease with diet, and omega 3 fatty acid supplements, and he remained stable for a remarkably long, long time. After a year or so, my vet and I [after lengthy consultation and after we had both read opinions pro and con] decided to stop all immunizations for my cat. My kitty never went outside ... in fact, he never even left my bedroom to go to other parts of the house. My vet believed that any sort of immunization might just upset the delicate balance we had achieved ... My old kitty died of kidney disease at the age of 20.
Again, I am very sorry for the loss of your feline friend.
Dr. Scott states that based on the limited efficacy and the potential to stimulate immune enhancement under certain conditions, the routine use of Primucell-FIP in low-risk populations of cats (i.e. household pets) cannot be recommended. He indicates that in high-risk populations, such as breeding catteries and multicat facilities, the veterinarian must assess the risk of FIP without vaccination compared to the risks and benefits of vaccination,
I am so sorry about your cat. You will never be able to PROVE it, but there is no doubt that the vaccination given your cat gave your cat the disease and eventually killed it.
I'd find another vet.
I don't think it prudent to give an animal (or human) more than one vaccination at a time and it's best to make sure your animals are in tip top shape (no colds or anything lowering their immunity) when given the immunization. It's probably best not to immunize your cat at all if it's just a house cat and if it isn't, then give it the absolute minimum vaccinations.
You've got a great vet.
It can. Both my purebred cats came with contracts where if I give them FIP vaccine all health guarantees are null and void.
We live on a farm and have a small pet cemetery on the far side of the pond. I walked over there yesterday. Dogwoods are in bloom now and the daffodils I planted are blooming all around the tombstones of many dearly departed [mostly feline] friends.
Ping to vetvetdoug
My vet insists on all kinds of tests and immunizations before he will even remove some bad teeth. He says he can't allow a cat to contaminate other animals in his care. The cost of tooth extraction was $15 each for several teeth. The cost of tests, lab reports, etc. was over $300. I don't know whether to believe him or not.
I meant to add that our two cats are house cats only, and never come in contact with other cats.
Sorry to hear this.. I had to have my cat put to sleep last Friday. The diagnosis was FIP. My vet said the vaccine wasn't that good and she didn't recommend it.
Sorry for your loss.. My LuLu, a burmese, was 10...
For anything invasive, we only use a vet who specializes in cats for our desert lynx. He's expensive and I don't like him as much as a human being but it's on advice of our regular family vet because Bob the cat, has some weird bloodlines and genetics.
My vet insists on tests too. I took my precious kitty for some extractions last week and the bloodword turned up a bad kidney infection or the first signs of chronic renal failure. I'm glad for the bloodwork, we would have not caught this until much later otherwise.
I was hoping to find a website like ratemyvet.com or something like that, but so far no luck. Any suggestions?
First, **I'm not a vet.** And our method of finding a good vet has been a lot of word of mouth and trial and error with many kitties. However, something you might try, is Purina DM (diabetes management). Our Persian had horrific, ongoing diarrhea and it cleared it up quickly. It is a special diet, though, so you might consult with your vet B4 doing it.
Thank you - is that something I can buy in the pet store, or only through a vet's office? I'll be sure to check first, but thanks for the advice!
Ouch. ;)
My first cat an Abby had this. We controlled it with a sulfa drug used for human colitis cut into eighths. That was hard to do without a razor blade. With this treatment he was down to 2 stools a day for the rest of his 15 years. He was a real love.
Now they give the vaccination in the same leg where they used to give it in the back of the neck. He said that sarcomas have developed from the vaccines and it is fatal unless the limb is removed. So the Rabies shot will always be in one leg, etc.
He would not even suggest vaccinating my elderly cat at all. I like this vet.
Thank you very much for your reply, I am taking all of this advice to the new vet I'll be seeing to get some kind of treatment going.
Chronic diarrhea can have many causes including allergies. We have always believed that our precious cat that lived to be 20 was dumped out [when he was a half grown kitten, in downtown traffic where we picked him up to keep him from being killed] because he had chronic diarrhea. Our vet at the time treated him symptomatically and by trial and error found a diet that worked for him. He ate mostly Feline Maintenance and no canned food. He finally outgrew his diarrhea but was on one special diet or another for the rest of his life [for various reasons].
Vets come in all degrees of competency and compassion. We quit taking our cats to a nearby vet who is a brilliantly intuitive diagnostician. He is also indifferent to his practice. When my diabetic cat was in a severe crisis, he did not have anyone covering his practice ... they told me just drop the cat off and if anyone could get by to check him they would. Providence led me to a vet [the one we still use], previously unknown to me, 40 miles from here. He stabilized my cat and helped me to keep him stable for several more years ... and he was the most difficult case of feline diabetes he had ever seen. While not as brilliant as the first vet, he is dedicated and sincere and is always available in a real crisis. He is also always willing to arrange a consultation with a specialist when he thinks it is necessary or when he thinks it will be a comfort to us.
My husband said that "trial and error" is the only way to find a good vet. There is some truth to that.
For your particular kitty, my first suggestion would be trial and error changes in diet and systematic elimination of things that might be causing the diarrhea. Also, there seem to be specialist clinics popping up all over the place. There are two available to us ... 1 to 2 hours drive away from us in a city to the south and another to the west of us. They usually have a team of different specialists who have taken advanced studies/degrees in their specialty. In your case, I would seek an Internal Medicine specialist. The ones near us only take patients by referral. If any vet we used ever refused to refer one of our cats to a specialist ... I would find another vet who would!
My second alternative suggestion is to arrange a consultation at a vet school. Being "teaching hospitals" they are usually right up to the minute on what is going on. We have done this, as well.
Please let me know how your kitty gets along. I care.
Where I live (S. TX) it's only available at the vet. $28 per case of 24, for the voracious 7# Persian 1 can per day does it.
This new vet I'll be bringing Sasha to is her third in as many years. The first vet did nothing more than tell me to add rice to her diet, and when that didn't work she told me to add more rice.
Then I switched vets, and the second vet was convinced she had some type of organism in her system that she got from eating bugs. She was an indoor only cat up to that point, but he still said she got it from eating a bug. The name of this organism was so long and complex I can't remember it, and he never wrote it down for me (despite my asking him to). Every fecal test he ran on her showed that she did NOT have this organism, but he was convinced she did and kept treating her with variations of the same medicine.
I asked him to run an allergy test, which he didn't think was necessary. I insisted, so he drew blood for that and never got back to me. I called the office twice to get the results and never heard back from them, at which point I finally gave up and realized he was never going to cure Sasha of anything. The strange thing is my Mom used to take her cat to this vet and he was really wonderful with her and gave her cat the best of care. So now I'm back to square one.
What makes me angry about this is my cat deserves so much better. The poor thing was not well treated before I adopted her, her previous owners declawed her (which I think is an evil practice) and fed her so much she was morbidly obese and could barely jump on the couch, much less reach her backside to clean herself.
She was 26 pounds when I adopted her. In the years that I've owned her I've gotten her down to 17 pounds, but now she's got some back pain from all the extra weight she was carrying for so long. Not to mention the diarrhea is literally nonstop. She hasn't had normal stool since the first year I had her, and no one can figure out why. No food changes, water changes, it just started one day and it has never stopped.
Sorry to ramble on, I'm just frustrated with these lame vets but encouraged by the responses I've gotten. I really am willing to try anything to get her better, she's just such a sweet thing and I want to see her healthy. She doesn't act sick at all, but let's face it - having diarrhea for a few years can't feel good.
I've got some photos of the little pooper in question on my FR page, but here's another:
Please give me an update after you and Sasha see the new vet. Good luck.
Cheers!
caryatid
My mind keeps turning back to this. Something about it just does not sound right.There are several possible explanations: [1] The test was never run; but, you were billed for it. This could simply be a cockup by a vet tech [it does happen occasionally in even the best run clinic]. In such a case, you should have been asked, at no additional charge, to bring your kitty in for another blood sample to be drawn. [2] The test was run; but by some foul up the results were not recorded and are not available. [3] They are simply indifferent to your request and to the health issues of your kitty.
You need to have your new vet request a complete copy of your kitty's records from the vet in question. There may be a minimal charge [so much per page for copying]. If, for some reason, the vet refuses to release your cat's records to you or to a new vet, you should seek the advice of whatever administrative body oversees licensing veterinarians in your state. If necessary, file a complaint.
Let me know what happens. Good luck.
After further research, I believe my cat Tilly died of CRF (Chronic Renal Failure). I am still trying to find out more about it. She received a IV and got better for a little more than a week and then went down again. I am not sure if cats are born with this or how they get this. She was weak in her back legs and starting losing globs of fur. She would just lay near her water bowl and refused to eat. In the future, I don't know what to do with a cat with CRF.
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