Question:
I brought my 1-1/2-year-old female cat to the vet for her first series of shots.The first of two shots she received was her distemper, rhinotracheitis, calici and Chlamydia booster and feline leukemia booster all in one injection. This shot was injected near her left shoulder blade. The second shot was her rabies vaccination in her right hip.I noticed about a week later that she had a rash about the size of a half-dollar over the area where the first shot was given. She licked and scratched the area raw. I put a cone around her neck and called the vet. As a temporary solution, they advised putting Neosporin on the wound. Then, when I took her back to the vet, they prescribed amoxicillin.Can you advise which shots are necessary for cats to get on a yearly basis? I've heard that some shots are unnecessary. I don't want to put my cat through this again.
C.N., Roseville, MI Mar 13, 2005
Answer:
First, if your cat is an indoor cat, her "booster" shots were not needed. She must have the rabies vaccination if your municipality has a law stipulating this. Otherwise, again, if she's an indoor cat and never goes outdoors, this vaccination was unnecessary.Ideally, the rabies shot should not have been given at the same time as the others, but rather a month or so later so as not to overwhelm her immune system.Also, none of these vaccines should have been injected at the sites you describe, but rather as far down the cat's limbs as possible. This is because if your cat were to develop an injection-site fibrosarcoma (cancer), surgical removal would be more difficult and potentially less complete at the injection sites chosen by your veterinarian.
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