It is four weeks now that our little Bengal kitten finally arrived.

At arrival he was extremely active and playful, often a bit too much...

Two weeks ago he received his second booster and the FelV vaccination that caused him diarrhea straight away that lasted for a week.
But even though he is eating and drinking well and doesn´t look ill, he lost all his energy, he isn´t running around like mad anymore with a brushy tail and I can´t get him off my lap...

Anyone had the same experience with a Bengal kitten?
He is 12 weeks old now, do they usually slow down around that time, can the vaccination still be the reason after 2 weeks?

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Cougar -16/02 2015

The second set of vaccinations should be administered between 12 and 16 weeks. Since you feel the vaccinations have caused this change in behavior, it's important that you get him back to the vet immediately to have him checked out to make sure there aren't any complications or side effects. You want your boy back to normal. I've never had a cat react to its vaccinations. Since it's been two weeks, it's way past the time to get him back to the vet. I'm guessing something else is happening with him, but only a vet can tell you for sure.

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The little monsters 3

Maxwell had a bad reaction to his 1 year jabs... He turned pink with fever, had hives, was miserable and lethargic for about 2 days before I took him in. He ended up being put on subcutaneous benadryl injections at home for 5 days before he got anywhere close to baseline... About 2 weeks after that, he finally seemed better. The vet noted it and thought he figured out which part of the injections it was, so they won't be administered again. It is scary, though.

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This is one of the reasons why primary vaccinations should be done whilst the kitten is still at the breeders....

The second vaccination doesn't usually cause diarrhoea and an illness this long should be checked out by a vet. Not a normal reaction to vaccinations.

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Lollo

We have seen the vet after the vaccination for the diarrhea and she told me that the diarrhea could be caused by the leucemia vaccination. Cougar didn't have fever and the diarrhea stopped soon after.
Again he is not ill or lethargic, he just is not that crazy anymore but very alert.
Maybe he just settled in and perhaps the heat in the South of Spain makes him slow down a bit as well as his play moments are now mostly at night.

Just wanted to make sure that it wasn't the jab that has this effect on Bengals.

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Cougar -16/02 2015

Dany had visible reaction to her booster one year - obvious lethargy, appeared unwell. View from vet was that she was allergic to an ingredient in that particular brand. We didn't use that one again and have have had no further problems but was a real scare .

Your bengal should be highly active throughout the day. Since you did take him back to the vet and now the symptoms have vanished, it could be the heat that is causing a slowdown during the day -- especially if you do not have air conditioning. Cats do tend to get lazy in the heat. As long as he's eating, going to the bathroom, and playing and seems alert and fine, things should be okay!

Yes, yes, yes! We almost lost our baby Bengal boy due to a major reaction lasting 21 days following his shots at ten weeks. We have three Bengals which are all the same age and all three went through their shots on the same day. Two had no problems after their shots, but Adonis gave us a real scare. Prior to his shots, he was normal, healthy, active and aggressive. Immediately after the shots he went to a corner aside my nightstand and sat facing the wall all day long for almost a week. He began to slowly recover after the first horrible and scary week but was unable to jump up or climb onto anything for a full 21 days. Yes, we consulted with the Vet (A National Chain) who had absolutely no advice but to wait it out. Since then we have decided not to give Adonis any further shots since he is enclosed in a safe area but I can't help but worry. At 16 weeks he fell from a seven-foot cat condo which he had mastered with skill and grace on his first day of ownership. He broke his leg in two places. At 20 weeks old his "third eye" covered his normal eye and he had to be raced to the Vets once again. We still don't know what caused that. I worry about all three of my beautiful kitties but I believe that this kittens response to the early Vaccinations has permanently altered his physical capabilities, including his balance, and may have physically stressed his body so much that it is continuing to create major issues for him.
Ginny

Ginny, anything is possible, however, to have a vet who says just to wait it out didn't help the situation. There should have been blood tests done to see if any levels were out of whack. Millions of animals have their vaccinations without incident. Do your other cats continue to get theirs? There is always the chance that Adonis may find his way outside and be at risk to contract any of the diseases he should have been vaccinated against. I had a 17-year old kitty who had developed diabetes and was in kidney failure and the vet decided not to do any more vaccinations on her as she was an only cat and had no desire to go outside.

Yes, I did continue to give my other kittens their shots, but not Adonis. I do understand the risk he now faces, but the vaccination almost killed him and I think it's been the root of the other two issues he has faced in his early months of life. He was so bright, agile and full of vigor before this happened and it is quite clear that everything in his personality which is observable has changed so I have to wonder what massive changes did he go through inside which we can't see. I've had cats all my long life and I've never had one that had so many unusual "freak" accidents or broke their bones in a safe indoor environment before their fourth month of life. In fact, the only animal I've ever had that broke a bone beside Adonis had been hit by a car. I did change Vets.

Until these diseases can be eradicated completely, vaccines are necessary, especially rabies. I back up to over 200 acres of woods with raccoons and skunks that visit my yard to eat the dropped bird seed. Raiden wants a piece of them and know he would go after them. These animals come out in broad daylight when they should be nocturnal. It just scares me! As long as your confident Adonis will not get out and be harmed, you're okay. But contracting any of these diseases is life-ending for the cat.

If I backed up to a forest, I too would be in a panic if I owned a cat without shots. However, I'm in a relative safe zone and my cat fence outside keeps animals out as well as in. (Well, most of them anyway) I bet it's a real thrill to see a Bengal in the habitat you live in. We live along the shores of an S.F. Bay fed salt water lagoon and occasionally I let the kitties out of their enclosed courtyard so they can explore the shoreline and watch the water birds without a screen or window between them and the beautiful world out back. This is where I've gotten some of the most beautiful pictures of my cats. There really is no way to describe how absolutely stunning a Bengal cat is when the sun is highlighting the glitter in their fur and every muscle in their body is taunt with excitement and intensity because of something in nature that has captured their attention. Thanks for expressing your concerns; we're on the same Motherly wavelength for our Bengals.