Getting Vaccinated and DKA

[Asiina & Alex(GA)]

I need to get some dental work done on both my cats and the vet is insisting they be vaccinated. In the past vets said the vaccines aren't a big deal if I was absolutely sure they'd never come into contact with other animals, which since I live in a high rise apartment and they're not the type to bolt out the door, I knew they never would.

I'm fine with getting the vaccines in general, but I saw that sometimes cats can get a little sick after having them, and I worry about Alex and how unregulated he still is on whether he can go into DKA if he gets sick while his BG is still so high. I do think the dental problems are what's making him so difficult to regulate, so it's kind of an annoying cycle where each problem is causing the other so hard to know which to treat first.

Has anyone else had to vaccinate their sugarcat before they were fully regulated? Were there any issues?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I have had several of my adopted diabetic cats get vaccinated before they were even started treatment. From a liability standpoint, rabies is the important one.

 

[membeth]

I do rabies only for Pants per the vet's advice because she's an indoor cat who has no contact with other animals. But the vet was also fine with fully vaccinating her if I wanted. She said vaccines are very low risk, even if the cat is diabetic or otherwise in poor health. (Pants is not well regulated and also has IBD and EPI.)

I'd be very uncomfortable not vaccinating for rabies -- while an apartment kitty getting rabies may seem like a remote risk, if you don't vaccinate and Alex bites someone, he may be euthanized to test for it. Even cats that don't usually bite might bite at the vet if they're in a lot of pain or sick/stressed enough.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Re rabies vaccine: I live in a 5th floor condo apartment. My cats over the years have always been indoor only. Many years ago, in two consecutive summers, a bat was able to get into my condo somehow - big mystery. Each time I was wakened to find a bat circling above my head in my bedroom with all kitties keenly interested. Needless to say, mine always get rabies.

 

[membeth]

That's a good point, Kris. And even if you don't end up with bats, it's possible an indoor cat could come into contact with mice or rats.