My cat got 2 shots in her neck and she is scratching it bald....?
My cat is awesome and has never had any problems but I took her to the vet for the regular check up last Friday and she got two shots ( Rabies and Respitory) and both were given to her in the neck between her shoulder blades. She has scratched the area bald now and I recently moved and the new vet told me it was weird for them to give the shots BOTH in the neck and prescribed her a steroid which I think is some sort of pennecillin. I never see her scratch when Im looking but I feel like its getting more bald and dont know what to do...the vet is costing me a fortune. I also put neosporain on it but I dont know if thats helping. She also wont wear a shirt and a cone wont cover it.
digital constellation2008-06-12T21:35:29Z
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How old is your cat? Has your cat been vaccinated for these things before? And if she has, has she been vaccinated for them by this vet? Different veterinarians use different vaccines that can contain different preservatives. Your cat may be having an allergic reaction to one of the preservatives in the vaccine. I wouldn't worry about the things Ken said. True, there can be side effects to any treatment, vaccine, or food given but it does not sound like Ken has had any medical experience at all, never mind in the animal field. Listen, give the medication as directed by your new veterinarian. Steroids decrease inflammation and will help your cat feel more comfortable, in turn relieve her scratching. Hopefully that will completely solve the problem. As for what he said about diabetes. Diabetes is typically a male cat disease and more commonly in overweight male cats. Not saying it can't happen to animals that don't fall into this category, but if your vet had any concern about your cat being diabetic they would have done a BG (blood glucose) test to make sure her level was normal before deciding the benefits of the steroids outweighed the risks. Secondly, OF COURSE YOUR PETS NEED TO GET BOOSTER VACCINES! Not only are some required by law (rabies), but antibody levels decrease over time as proven by titres which means your pets immunity is decreased against said diseases! And then he's talking about sarcomas... Sarcomas are rare, but yes a horrible possibility with some vaccines, mainly associated with the feline leukemia vaccine. That is why this vaccine is never given in haste, and only when the patient is an outdoor cat who has contact with other cats. the vaccine is (or should be) given as low as possible on the left hind limb in case a sarcoma does occur, removal of the tumor, or at worst, amputation is possible. The benefits are always measured against the risks of treatments. Let's not even get into his suggestion for randomly giving human medication to animals. Not a good idea. Especially cats. They can't metabolize things that people can. If you ever even get the slightest urge to give your cat human medication, CALL YOUR VETERINARIAN and ask them if it's safe. If it is, they can give you a proper dose based on your cats weight. Lastly, the scratching your cat is doing could be from a food allergy. But let's look at the facts. Have you changed your cat's food lately? Is your cat scratching around it's face/eyes? Or did she just get vaccinated in the exact location where she scratched herself raw? Right. So let's go with that and not worry about switching her food and throwing another irritant in the mix. If she has been doing fine on the food she has been eating, and it is a good quality food, then don't worry about switching it. Yes, cats are true carnivore if they lived out in nature, but they have adapted to life with humans and can be omnivores as well. All quality pet food is going to be nutritionally balanced for cats and have every little thing they need in it. So, I hope your cat feels better and Ken didn't freak you out.
A steroid is not pennicillian and although it can help for the itching, you need to stop giving it as it can cause a host of other problems. For 1 thing there is something called steroid induced diabetes and steroids are one of the top reasons cats can get diabetes. Your vet is right that both shots shouldn't have been given in the same place and as a matter of fact, vaccinations should be given in the leg i case they cause sarcoma/ After the first set of vaccinations you should never get boosters as they do not extend the life of the vaccine an can also cause alot of problems an illnesses Now the neosporin is ffine an cannot hurt. There are also some antihistimines you can give I realize that the itching is cause by the shot but what you are feeding may be causing the pronlem to continue. You woulod do well not to feed dry foods an to get canned foods that have no grains as cats are carnivores an may grains are allergens to cats. Wellness and merrick are a couple of many Best of luck
If you can bathe your cat use an oatmeal shampoo to soothe the skin. If not, check your local petstore for and itch relief spray (DO NOT USE ONE INTENDED FOR DOGS!). Make sure she does not have fleas, if she does you will need to treat her with frontline or bathe her in a special flea shampoo.
Out of all 9 of my cats the vet has never given those shots in the neck(or any shot for that matter) Rabies is supposed to be given on a cats back near one of its hind legs. Two of my cats developed a bump at the injection site but this is common and it went away in one cat. I highly suggest you stick with your current vet since they seem to know what they are doing.