Injection location for annual vaccines

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Donna & Buddha

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Question: Where does your vet inject your cat's annual vaccinations?

Backstory: Buddha had his annual exam yesterday. Saw a new vet. I'm used to seeing the vaccinations go into the scruff area. Or perhaps the rump. Trying my best to remember from past years. Yesterday though the vet shot them into a front leg and each hind thigh. 3 shots. Buddha hissed and hissed for two of them, the ones in the front leg and one thigh. The third was a clicker device, maybe it went into his rump and not his thigh. Anyway, this morning he is very lame. Very very sore. Not eating, doesn't want to move, very wobbly when he stands or tries to walk.

ALSO, a couple of months ago, I trapped one of my feral porch kitties and took her to a different vet for vaccinations and spay. They kept her overnight and I released her the next morning. That evening when I saw her again, she also was lame in one hind leg. She did not walk on that leg for a good two weeks. At the time I thought maybe she was injured when she was extracted from the carrier or it was from the operation, now I'm wondering if she too had her shots administered in her thigh.

Anyone else with similar experiences?
 
Here are the recommended feline vaccination locations:

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Vaccines designed to be given by injection should be administered by the SC route. Intramuscular administration does not mitigate the risk
of vaccine-associated sarcoma formation and may delay detection, should a mass develop.
To facilitate management of vaccine-associated sarcomas, to avoid multiple injectable vaccinations at single sites (a putative risk factor for
sarcoma formation201), and to aid in documenting vaccine placement, the following injection sites are recommended:
• Injectable vaccines containing antigens limited to FPV, FHV-1, and FCV (with or without Chlamydophila felis) should be administered SC on
the lateral side of the right forelimb below the elbow joint.
• Injectable vaccines containing Giardia lambliaantigen should be administered SC on the lateral side of the left forelimb below the elbow
joint.
• Injectable vaccines containing rabies virus antigen (plus any other antigen) should be administered SC on the lateral side of the right hind
limb below the stifle joint (vaccine-associated sarcomas arising in the proximal femoral area are difficult to completely excise; thus, place-
ment of vaccines in this area is strongly discouraged).
• Injectable vaccines containing FeLV or FIV antigen (plus any other antigen except rabies) should be administered SC on the lateral side of
the left hind limb below the stifle joint (vaccine-associated sarcomas arising in the proximal femoral area are difficult to completely excise;
placement of vaccines in this area is strongly discouraged).
• Injection sites of other medications should be recorded.

Above from Appendix @ (page 1440) of:
http://www.catvets.com/uploads/PDF/2006 ... A_Plus.pdf
 
Thank you! Does your vet follow these guidelines? I don't recall ever seeing them administered that way before. Also, have your kitties had any adverse reactions?

I called my feral cat vet office and was told vaccines were administered in the legs. I mentioned Anya's lameness and she said that if the shot goes into the muscle that might happen.

I so am not prepared for Buddha to be lame for a couple of weeks. I really don't think he's up to that.
 
So glad Larry posted that info. All vets are supposed to be following that vaccination protocol. Mine have never had any weakness in the limbs after the injection so I do hope Buddha will be okay. Also, if it can be helped, you should try not to get all of the vaccines at once. My Phoebe had a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine(her face swelled up) and since she had multiple ones at the same time I will never know which one caused it. She now has to have benadryl before any vaccines- which I avaoid because of VAS(vaccine associated sarcoma). But that is a different conversation for another time.
Good luck!
 
Some vets do inject into the muscle and that can lead to temporary lameness especially if the animal moves during the injection. My vet follows those guidelines where possible. She cold not for the rabies shot for my civi Stuart since he does not have a right real leg.
 
Hi there

THat is not a normal reaction -- I would call the vet again, ask which shot (type and manufacturer) was given there, and ask that they report it to the manufacturer. If your cat is still lame today, I would take him back to the vet for a followup (confirm on the phone this will be free, since your cat is having a vaccine reaction). It's possible, though unlikely, that your cat sustained an unrelated injury related to being pulled out of the carrier, or jumping (if he jumped off the table, etc.); cats can tear a ligament in their knee which can be quite painful in the short-term. I'm just concerned with the degree of the cat's lameness. The vet should make sure there's no other injury, and perhaps prescribe pain meds for a few days.

I also think it's very important that the vaccine manufacturer be informed of this. They track this stuff pretty closely and it's important to them (or should be). It's best reported by the vet, but if they waffle on it, report it yourself. You need the type of vaccine and the lot number.

Keep us posted.
 
Buddha improved by midday yesterday. I coaxed him to eat in his hiding spot. I hand fed him bits of chicken. I picked him up after a couple of hours for his bg test. He was reluctant to move, but purred and purred while I petted him. While he was still really enjoying the attention, I moved away a step. He decided then that he could get up if he'd get petted some more. He then ate some cat food and I set up some blankets in front of a sunny window where he groomed himself.

He's not a terribly active cat and his bg was high all day yesterday which makes him less active too. He ate 2/3 of his normal intake. I think he's fine today. Hard to tell with a cat who doesn't do much anyway.

I think maybe it was a combination of being sore at the injection sites and then sleeping on a hard surface for a long time. His last rabies shot was a 3 year one, so its been a while since he had one. Maybe he just felt cruddy after getting it too.

(His carrier is an under the airplane seat model which opens on top, so no chance of injury when he was extracted. He isn't a good jumper. His spring often will not take him to counter height and he falls occasionally. But he remains optimistic that he can get up there.)
 
My vet said it's easy to remember : Right Rear Rabies (RRR), and Leukemia Left Leg (LLL). :lol: She also said that because of the risk (no matter how small) of vaccine site sarcoma, they never inject the scruff anymore. After all, if a cat/dog develops cancer in the leg, you can amputate. Amputating a neck --- not so much!
 
Oh! I suppose I should add that I had two cats at the vet yesterday. Lemur had absolutely no problem with the shots.

Also, that the vet's office called me this afternoon to check on Buddha. I just love that vet, the other vet, the staff and the clinic.
 
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