Expert: Ali - 11/25/2008

Question
We just recently bought a kitten from a pet shop.  He looked healthy,had a good appetite,good elimination and was very rambunctious.  He was updated on his vaccines (Felovax and Nemex) and tested negative for leukemia.  I made an appointment for him to see the vet,just as a well visit I guess and presented the vet with the paperwork and information given to me by the pet shop.  The vet looked him over said he looked great and gave him two vaccines.  I never questioned what he gave him as he was the professional and knew what he had already been given. Three days after the visit my kitten vomited and had blood tinged diarrea.  He was eating and alert and playful and seemed better the next morning.  He was fine the next day although his bowels were loose there was no blood and I likened this to a change in diet or perhaps something else he had gotten a hold of.  The next morning (day three)he was doing so much better but later in the afternoon he vomitted again and had severe diarrhea he also felt very warm and was lethargic.  I called the vet and got an appointment right away.  While in the waiting room he had the runs twice and was burning up.  The vet took him to do a blood glucose level and take his temp.   His blood glucose was fine but his temp. was 103.8 and the vet said he was very sick and needed to stay.  I hysterically left him there to be treated and paid the $300.00 deposit to do so.  When I got home I scoured my house to see if I did anything make this happen.  I threww ou his food and scrubbed the litter box.  I also referred to the paperwork from the prior vet visit and noticed he was administered the exact same vaccines by the vet only four days after getting them from the pet shop. Coincidence that he got so sick after seeing the vet?  I spoke to the vet toady and was told he is doing great with antibiotics and fluids and his temp is normal but the bloodwork showed and extremely high white blood cell count indicative of infection.  The vet said she is very concerned and will continue to treat him and repeat the CBC and if it is still extremely high she suggested I contact the pet shop to let them know about the very sick kitten they sold me.  I am really confused,concerned and just want my kitten back  HEALTHY. I don't want to point fingers at anyone especially people I've entrusted in my kittens welfare but he really was fine before the vet.  Can too much vaccine make a kitten this sick??? Could I have done it? Could he have been brewing something from the pet shop?

Answer
Lee,

It's possible that your kitten was trying to fight off some sort of infection (viral or bacterial) before you took him to the vet. I am somewhat concerned that this may not be the case though. The kitten that you describe prior to his vet visit sounds like a normal healthy kitten. I have seen far too many cases of vets trying to scare people into doing unnecessary vaccines just because they are after the almighty dollar. It makes me sad to think that some people in the veterinary profession are more concerned with their pocket books and bank balances than they are about the health and well-being of pets.

Obviously your vet didn't look at the paperwork that you provided when your kitten first came in to see him. This could be a "minor" vaccine reaction - you could try a couple of homeopathic remedies geared towards helping the kitten's body to cope with these insults. I would recommend trying Thuya Occidentalis 30C 3x daily and Silicea 30C 3x daily. It's important that you avoid touching the pellets, I usually dissolve them in a small amount of water individually and give them gently via oral syringe. Thuya and Silicea are specific remedies to vaccine reactions. The number 30C refers to the strength of the remedy. The reason they are given 3x daily is so that the kitten's system isn't overloaded. It's important not to touch the pellets because they are simply sugar pellets with the remedy on the outside, if you touch the pellet with your hands then you will remove the remedy from it.

Homeopathy is an old form of medicine based on the premise that like cures like. I have seen incredible results in my cats when homeopathic remedies were given appropriately. My veterinarian practices conventional medicine as well as homeopathy and I credit this great doctor with saving my oldest resident cat's life. Last year around Christmas time my oldest cat became a victim of the Menu Foods recall (I was feeding what I thought to be a high quality food at that time and was surprised when my cat became ill). My kitty's kidneys almost shut down completely. Two veterinarians told us that there wasn't much hope for my cat to survive such a devastating blow to her system. My vet used several homeopathic remedies in combination with conventional therapy for renal failure which is simply IV fluids and a low protein diet. My little girl exceeded everyone's expectations and now she is being weaned off of the subcutaneous fluids and since she hasn't ever had much use for the prescription diet I only feed a small amount mixed in with a high quality food made with human grade ingredients. The point is that this cat was at death's door, she survived and thrived after such a serious insult to her system and now she is a normal, healthy 9 1/2 year old cat.

I would also strongly encourage you to consider searching for a holistic vet in your area as these vets are trained in conventional medicine as well as one or more alternative therapies such as homeopathy, acupuncture or massage. This training allows the vet to look at the whole animal rather than just providing treatment for any symptoms that might show up. While it's true that a high white blood cell count and a fever can indicate an infection it's also true that this fever and high white blood cell count just might indicate that the immune system has been over-stimulated - say by an unnecessary second dose of a certain set of vaccines.

There is significant and accurate evidence put forward in recent studies that indicates we are over vaccinating our pets and they are paying the price with their health. Auto-immune conditions are on the rise in cats because we have vaccinated them to the point that their immune system has become so over-stimulated that it begins to attack the body that's supposed to be protected. I urge you to do some serious research regarding the cycling of vaccines because this current research tends to suggest that we are inadvertently killing our pets with preventative health care such as vaccines. My cats' vaccines are cycled, although they still see their vet on a regular basis to have a complete physical exam.