Ok... my cat had a rabies vaccine in the intrascapular area?

Question

he wa s diagonosed a year and a half later with rabies introduced vaccine sarcoma// ok i had the sarcoma removed and the probability of it coming back is very great( the sarcoma was removed from another vet),,, what do you do ,, do you sue the former vet i mean what do i do sit and wait for another sarcoma to develop? cause i searched this stuff and they say the probability is likely

yes but my vet said rabies injections NOw hosuld be in a hind leg not a back and if it is in ahind leg and the cat gets a sarcoma they can amputate but if it is in a Back they well.. they can do nothing and my new vet said all rabies shoud be given in a hind leg

Answer 1

unfortunetly, this is a common problem. Usually, it is recommended to vaccinate as low on the limbs as possible, so if you have to amputate, its better. Personally, if I ever see a vet vaccinate in the intrascapular area, I oblect...its just not a good idea...I have seen many a sarcoma attach itself to the spine, where it cannot be removed!

When sarcomas were first being noticed, vets started a vaccine routine...FVRCP-right front limb....Felv-left hind limb....Rabies-right hind limb, this was so they could tell which vaccine caused the sarcoma...its a shame that some vets ignore this.

At our cat hospital, we use only adjuvent free vaccines (an adjuvent has to be added to a killed vaccine in order to make it effective). It is widely thought among feline practitioners that adjuvented vaccines are more likely to cause vaccine induced sarcomas. The downside is that we have to use modified live or live vaccines, which can cause the pet to more sluggish the next day.

I really don't think that it is likely for you to sue the vet and win. Although not everyone knows the risks of getting vaccine induced sarcoma, enough people do that you likely wouldn't win. It would likely take a lot of money to fight the battle!

REMEMBER....Low cost "vaccine clinics" are often more likely to have vaccine induced sarcomas....not necessarily because they are all bad places and the vets suck....but sometimes the vaccines are given by a tech(who may or may not have been properly trained) or vets who have too many patients to see and not enough time...they are too rushed to take the the proper amount of time to give the vaccine in the right spot...and massage it thoroughly.

I hope this has helped some....
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=526

Answer 2

When the vaccine induced sacomas started developing in so many cats about ten years ago the major organisation for feline veterinarians decided on the protocol: Right hind leg for Rabies, Left hind leg for leukemia, and the intrascapular vaccine for distemper. It was a recommendation as they wanted to find out which vaccine was causing the cancer. The rabies vaccine was determined to be the culprit and it was changed.

At lot of vets don't bother to belong to organisations that keep them up on current research or problems within a individual species. Most veterinary practice is 80% dogs and only 20% cats. So of course the first vet was "wrong" and not liable in court for what he did.

I am very sorry that this has happened to your cat and unfortunately surgery for tumor removal does not get rid of this horrible cancer and is seldom if ever eliminated.

Answer 3

Cats can develop sarcomas from anything that causes inflammation, with vaccines being one of the causes. The potential is thought to be about 1 in 10,000. Since rabies vaccine is required by law, I doubt your vet would be held liable. My vet uses a rabies vaccine that is supposed to have less chance of causing inflammation, but it's not 100%. Nothing is. I'm really sorry for you and your cat--it is not common but it is not good when it happens.

Answer 4

Its unfortunate that the doctor administered the vaccine intrascapullarly. It is typically given in the lower right hind leg due to the potential of a vaccine induced sarcoma. I wish your cat the best and hope he does well!

Answer 5

The Vet will usually will tell people what can happen after they give the Rabie Shot. Did your Vet have you sign a paper stating about what the shot can do to your cat? If not you can talk to someone about it. Do you have any of the paper work that they gave you about the shot. The Vets are suppose to give you a paper to sign stating what could happen to the cat and they are suppose to explain what could happen. When I have brought my cat to the Vet they explained to me what could happen to my cat. that was before they gave the shot to my cat. The explaining should have come first and they should have given you a choice to have the shot to your cat.
I had a choice ,but I took the chance and I had my cat get the shot because I lived in a area where they were having problems with bats going down into the fire places and flying out inside of houses and I had no choice because I lived in a area where cats had to get the shot even if they were living inside the house. Talk to someone about this and see what you can do. Have all the information that you need and see if you got spoken to about the shot and before they gave it to your cat. Good Luck. I hope your cat will be ok and I will pray for you and your cat.

Answer 6

You cannot sue the vet because your cat was susceptable to this. Many animals have severe allergic reactions to vaccines, the vet cannot stop giving vaccines because an animals MIGHT be allergic. All they can do is give the vaccine and if the animal has a reaction...they note it on the chart and never give that vaccine again.