already vaccinated ...
 

already vaccinated cat, vaccinated again 3 months later  

Rachel Max
Originally Answered: already vaccinated cat, vaccinated again 3 months later
Hello all - my kitten (now 6.5 months old) had her first Rabies shot in October. I considered this carefully and sought out a vet that used Purevax with no adjuvant. She got that shot and her FVRCP. Everything went fine.
Yesterday she was neutered at a clinic. I dropped her off with the required paperwork stating that she was to be spayed, have her ears cleaned, and nails trimmed. I did not check the box for ANY vaccines and I attached a copy of her rabies certificate to the paperwork.
Today I noticed going through the paperwork that they VACCINATED HER again for Rabies and FVRCP and the rabies shot was with Nobivac which has an adjuvant which has been linked with developing site specific sarcoma.
I am worried and angry. What should I do (if anything)?
Thanks,
Rachel

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mreg376
Originally Answered: already vaccinated cat, vaccinated again 3 months later

No. 1 -- Don't pay for the vaccines.  If you paid, hopefully it was by credit card.

No. 2 -- Don't use them again.  They're either incompetent or don't give a crap.

No. 3 -- The extra doses of vaccine won't hurt her.  And cases of the sarcomas are still rare.  Just keep an eye on her, but chances are she will be just fine.


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Dr. Aisling O'Keeffe MVB CertSAM ISFMAdvCertFB MRCVS
Originally Answered: already vaccinated cat, vaccinated again 3 months later

Hi Rachel,

Thanks for your question and I'm sorry that this has happened to your kitten. 

In regards to injection site sarcomas, thankfully these are quite rare. I've only seen one case in the last 8 years and that was in an older cat who had repeatedly had injections with adjuvants in their neck over a long period of time. The chances of them are between 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000. Considering your kitten has only had one vaccine with an adjuvant I wouldn't be overly worried. Especially as you're choosing vets that have vaccines without adjuvants, it's likely that your kitten won't have one again. There's some more information about this here; Feline Injection Site Sarcomas: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment​ - Cats.com

In terms of your kitten receiving an additional vaccine that they didn't need, I wouldn't be concerned about this. Kittens and cats often get extra vaccines if they've missed their booster shot or if they've been found/rehomed and their vaccination history was unknown. You can chat to your vet about tailoring a vaccine protocol based on your kitten's lifestyle, this avoids over-vaccination. 

I can understand why you're frustrated about the veterinary visit. I think it's worth contacting the vets and explain that you hadn't asked for her to be vaccinated (especially with an adjuvanted vaccine). Having a discussion with them might shed some light on the situation and hopefully resolve things. 

I hope that helps,

Aisling


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