Hello everyone!
 
I apologize if this topic has been discussed lately.  I've been away and
have not read the FML for a couple of weeks.  I'm writing for advice on
shots.  It's time for two of my babies' (Rocket and Mykah) annual rabies
and distemper shots.  I adopted these fuzzies last September so we've only
gone through one period of shots.  Now we're due for the annuals, and I'm
worried about Rocket.  I believe what happened last year was after his
last distemper shot of the series.  I brought both fuzzies in together and
all was going well.  We were there for at least 30 minutes after the shots
were given, no problems whatsoever.  We were given the "ok" to leave.
After getting back home, things were fine initially and the ferrets were
roaming around as usual.  At that point I didn't notice anything wrong.
About an hour after we had left the vet, my boyfriend called me into the
living room because Rocket had started vomiting.  I can't remember
exactly, but I think he may have vomited liquid and possibly some food.
I immediately called the vet's emergency number (they had closed by this
time) and rushed back there to meet the doctor.  On the way I noticed Rock
go from heaving motions to being completely limp.  He was so lethargic it
was almost like he had passed out in his carrier!  When we got there,
Dr. Wolf gave Rocket a shot of Benadryl.  On the table he just looked
completely wiped out and ended up eliminating very bloody stools.  It was
SO scary!  He did get better after the Benadryl, but I don't want to ever
go through that again.  I know that this next time we should pretreat with
Benadryl, but I've heard stories on the FML about pretreating and still
having the same reaction.  What if that would happen to Rocket?  Then what
does the vet do?  Rocket has had a rough year after being diagnosed with
inflammatory bowel disease, getting better, and then relapsing, and then
getting better again.  He has also lost about half the hair on his tail,
starting at the tip, so he may have adrenal as well.  Experiences of many
of the FMLers have told me that it may just be rat-tail from the IBD, so
I'm not certain about the adrenal.  We're waiting to see if the hair loss
gets worse.  But, my point is that my baby is stressed, and I don't want
anything bad happening to him from shots.  What do you think I should do?
We used the Fervac vaccine last year.  Should I request that my vet try
Galaxy D?  If my vet does not carry Galaxy D in the clinic, can he get it
easily?  Are there any other approved vaccines that vets have started
using?  I assume we should pretreat regardless of what vaccine we end up
using, right?  Should Mykah also be pretreated, even if she hasn't had a
reaction before?  Please respond.  I will appreciate your advice very
much.
 
Thanks,
 
Shyla
 
And Rocket, Mykah, Lynk, and Jewell the cat
[Posted in FML issue 3562]