modified live vaccines????

[Mrs.CC]

Sunny, what is MLV? Sorry don't know all the abbreviations....

Modified live virus. My breeder is the same as Scorpius, and I requested the dead virus, which my vet is obtaining for me.

 

[Diane]

I heard the killed vaccine is better too.

 

[Mrs.CC]

I heard the killed vaccine is better too.

There's no way I'm going to chance losing my baby! My heart goes out to anyone who has lost a beloved pet because a vet refused to follow their wishes. I belong to another board, and know it has happened.

 

[admin]

There are millions of pets being vaccinated with MLV without incident. My cats get MLV and I have not had an issue. The MLV rabies vaccine (Purevax) is actually a recombinant and not live rabies, using the canary pox...

There is much anecdotal and hypotheticals floating around the Internet as well as between breeders...just like you get a bad batch of cat/dog food that can kill your pet, so can there be a bad batch of vaccines...it doesn't happen often that I ma aware of, but it has happened once in the past that I remember...

As someone with a science/medical background, you have to show me scientifically and with solid proof that that there is an issue with the MLV vaccine.

Same goes for the ketamine controversy..2 or 3 cats have supposedly died from ketamine used during a procedure...I have asked and not been answered...instead of just taking someone's word for it, my questions were...how do we know there wasn't an overdose given? How do we know the wrong anesthesia was given? I have never had any answers to my questions...

My 10 yo DSH boy, Cisco, had dental surgery yesterday...NO ketamine...propofol and gas...guess what? he almost died...they had to start a dopamine drip, had to increase it because Cisco's BP still wasn't coming up, reduce the anesthesia, which then lead to him feeling pain, so they had to then increase the dopamine even more and go back to a level of anesthesia which removed all pain sensation...it was a balanicng act, for sure, but they finally were able to stabilize him.

So do I blame the propofol, gas, vet? No...each animal is an individual and reacts differently to different drugs, just like we do. At least in this case, this was my cat, I saw all the charting and monitoring records and feel comfortable that there was some kind of adverse reaction, we just don't know what to...

 

[Jude]

I think a lot of times vets are preparing for owners who aren't willing to spend the money to vaccinate their pet, or argue why vaccinations are necessary. There are a lot of people who do this, not to say it excuses them for being rude.

I think it is understood that vaccinations can have side effects -I was informed of this initially by my vet. Including death. We all want to make informed decisions. I think if you politely insist - u could just ask for the insert I think, it won't be a problem. Don't expect an issue about it, and if it is an issue, find another vet. Just don't make a big deal about it. They may not understand what u are asking for, so be patient. I lost a very healthy cat (non SV) that we (my vet, husband and myself) suspect was from a booster vaccine. It was stunning how quickly it occurred. Devastating. As a health care professional myself (MD) I WANT people involved in their health decisions..... And you are right to be your cat's advocate.

 

[admin]

I think it is understood that vaccinations can have side effects -I was informed of this initially by my vet. Including death. We all want to make informed decisions. I think if you politely insist - u could just ask for the insert I think, it won't be a problem. Don't expect an issue about it, and if it is an issue, find another vet. Just don't make a big deal about it. They may not understand what u are asking for, so be patient. I lost a very healthy cat (non SV) that we (my vet, husband and myself) suspect was from a booster vaccine. It was stunning how quickly it occurred. Devastating. As a health care professional myself (MD) I WANT people involved in their health decisions..... And you are right to be your cat's advocate.

Agree...meds have side effects as well and each cat is an individual and may or may not react to vaccines and/or medication...did you mean to say your healthy cat died from a booster vaccine? If so, that is terrible - I'm so sorry!

 

[Wyldthingz]

There is a lot of myth in the cat breeder world unfortunately. All that info is there for you. My vet and I met with the vaccine rep first hand. He explained that the killed is best for mature, young animals, not small babies or older, or ill animals because of the adjuvent. The multidose bottles are even worse and not recommended. The modified live is safer for babies. They will not die or contract the disease. We can not believe everything posted on line even from "our favorite breeder". You can always contact the vaccine companies and they have studies that support this stuff not anecdotal data. I know many continued using kill but as for me, I have vaccines with mod live for 8 years of breeding. I have not had any issues. Sometimes they don't feel well for a day but that is pretty normal. That means that their immune system is responding to the vaccine and is a good thing. An allergic reaction is vomiting, diarrhea, lumps, or rashes. I have not had that in a Savannah yet but I have seen it in other cats on rare occasions.

 

[John Popp]

There are certainly a lot of lemmings out there amongst breeders. You can see the same thing on multiple sites, sometimes even verbatim. If XYZ breeder has it on their site, I better have it on mine. That's exactly how these things get wheels on them. Rumors become myth, myth becomes legend, legend becomes fact without regard to anything real that substantiates it.

 

[Wyldthingz]

Right John. The internet is both a blessing and a curse that way!

 

[Mrs.CC]

I'm glad that things worked out for the majority of you, but IMO, if I'm going to err, I'd rather it be on the side of caution. At least if something goes wrong (which it shouldn't with a dead virus, correct?) it won't be because I didn't follow my breeder's advise. I can't imagine the pain it causes a breeder to entrust their kitten to someone who goes against their instruction, and God forbid, loses the kitten for whatever reason. We all have a huge emotional investment in our SVs and face it, monetary too, when you think about vet bills, entertainment, comfort, etc. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if a decision of mine caused me to lose my beautiful boy. I'm not saying that other breeders aren't giving sound advice to new owners; I'm just saying that this is what my breeder told me, and I will follow her instruction to the letter, as any breeder would want their purchaser to do.