Are there any risks or side effects associated with kitten vaccines?

There are always risks with vaccinations, let's be honest. I mean, you're putting a foreign substance into the body, whether it's human, dog, cat, any of those things. There can be allergic reactions to those ingredients. So yes, there always is that possibility. The way I look at things like this is, does the potential benefit outweigh the potential risk? And I'm a big vaccine guy, so I don't even have to think about it. I think that the benefit of those vaccines far, far, far outweighs the risk of a potential reaction or a side effect from those vaccines.

We tend to see sometimes that they can be a little sore at the injection site. It's not uncommon—if you go to get your annual flu shot or any other vaccine and your arms are a little sore for a day, so we can notice that. Sometimes they can be a little sleepy too. Vaccines drain you of your energy for 24 hours, and those are some things that we can notice, but for the most part, I don't feel like I ever have owners feel like they have a concern.

Yes. Great question. I'll just start by saying that when we give a vaccine to a kitten, we ask the kitten’s immune system to respond to that vaccine and mount a response so that if they're ever exposed to that disease, they can fight it off. That being said, some are over-reactors, and the immune system may overreact. That would be one of those side effects that are not common but can be seen. And then the lesser side effects would be just injection site soreness or tenderness. They might be a little lethargic. You can think about how you feel if you run a fever. You just don't feel well. You feel a little crummy. Sometimes that can happen for a day or two after their vaccines.

There's always the potential. With kittens and cats, we seldom see vaccine reactions. In my experience, most of the vaccine reactions I see are associated with the feline leukemia vaccine, which we talked about, which is ideally meant for outdoor cats. However, usually, the biggest side effect we see with the leukemia vaccine is that those cats are kind of sluggish for about half a day, maybe a full day. Then, after that, they're back to being themselves again. The other consideration we always have to think about when we see a cat for vaccines is if they go home and they're just not themselves; you can imagine how incredibly traumatic coming into a veterinary clinic must be for them. We get the carrier, and it might be a complete rodeo trying to get them into the carrier in the first place.

Then you put them in a car, and they're freaked out by the car. Then you bring them into the veterinary practice or one of our events. Then we get the vaccine, they go back in the car, and they have a whole freak out from that. It's an adrenaline overload; it's off the chart. So a lot of those cats just need some time to decompress after a stressful situation like that, but that's not all cats. There are ways of trying to help with that. Quite simply, and I'll mention two things very quickly. One is a product called Feliway, which comes in a spray that you can spray into their carrier, and catnip toys. Just put a catnip toy into their carrier. Those are two things that will help, but an answer to the question, can they get an adverse reaction to vaccines? Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No, not at all.

They're usually very low risks. The biggest side effect we can see is a little bit of pain when we're giving the vaccine. Nobody likes needles, and there is a little pinch. They can be sore in that area for a few days after. Sometimes you can even get some swelling. It's very rare to see a true vaccine reaction, but if it is seen, the first sign you're generally going to see is vomiting within about an hour or two after giving the vaccine. If that is seen, they need to return to the veterinary clinic. Other vaccine reactions we can see are facial swelling or hives. Once again, they're very rare, but in that event, you need to bring them back to your veterinarian. If your veterinarian's office is not open, please go to the nearest emergency veterinary clinic for care.

There are always risks with any medical procedure, including vaccinations. However, the risks are low or rare, and the benefits outweigh the risks. It's crucial to have a conversation with your veterinarian to address any concerns and better understand the risks your cat may face.

Common side effects include tenderness at the injection site and mild lethargy or reduced appetite for about 24 hours. Uncommon side effects, which could indicate a vaccine reaction, include vomiting, diarrhea, facial swelling, or other unusual symptoms. These reactions are rare but can occur.

Usually, the vaccines are safe, but with anything in life, nothing is 100%. Sometimes we do see decreased appetite or lethargy for about 24 hours. On very rare occasions, we see more severe vaccine reactions that need treatments. However, 99% of the time, it's just a little bit of lethargy. Sometimes the injection site hurts a little bit for 24 hours, but that's really it.