Simba's story
In May 1999 Simba, Gismo, and Sky come to live with us from Fluffy Dreams Cattery in Ontario. Their breeder, Verna Gillard, informed me that Simba and Sky were completely vaccinated with two sets of the FVRCP 3-way vaccine, and Gismo was a little younger, so she still needed one more shot. Shortly after their arrival, I took them to my vet along with their vaccination records to have them vet checked and tested to ensure that they were free from disease. My vet informed me that they needed two more sets of vaccinations as they were not vaccinated against FeLV and Chlamydia (vaccinations not recommended by most vets), and they needed their Rabies vaccine. I agreed thinking my vet knew best and they were vaccinated.
All 3 slept for the better part of that day, which I was told to expect, and soon I noticed Simba scratching around his neck area. I called my vet and was told it was normal. Simba continued to scratch and in a few days I noticed what appeared to be chin acne. I took Simba back to the vet who instructed me to wash his chin with green dish liquid. I did, but the scratching or the chin acne never improved only got much worse and what appeared to be chin acne became oozing crusty scabs, very inflamed and bleeding. The vet visits were numerous, and I was given everything to try to clear up the problem and Simba tested negative to every test the vet performed trying to find the cause of the problem. By now he had also developed severe diarrhea and his situation got so bad that I had no choice but to make a cage to keep him in, as there was blood and diarrhea all over the place. Soon Simba was put on special foods for diarrhea and allergies which did nothing, and then he was put on steriods. The steriods seemed to work for awhile, and he cleared up, his fur all grew back, and the diarrhea eventually stopped, but no sooner were the steriods stopped then the problems came back, and back to the vet we went. Steriods were prescribed again, but this time they didn't clear him up and he just got worse and worse. Back to the vet we go again and Simba was put on steriod shots, but they didn't work either. Back to the vet again only to be told that there was nothing more they could do for my beautiful boy and it was suggested that he be put to sleep. With tears that will never stop even to this day, I asked the vet if it would be safe to let my beautiful Simba breed, cause by now he was a young man very eager for the girls. The vet told me yes it would be ok, his problem was not heriditary, and nor was Simba sick or in pain, he just had a lot of discomfort. I waited a month for the steriods to go out of Simba's system, and then I bred him to Sasha, my foundation girl and 5 beautiful kittens including my Simbalee were born. I didn't want to put my boy to sleep ever, and I discussed his case with many vets across the island, but none had any answers. I wanted to at least wait until Sasha's litter was born in September, but one morning in August, I awoke to find Simba's eyes very swollen from scratching as he managed to get his collar off. I took him back to the vet hoping that there would be a magic cure, but again was told the best thing for Simba was to put him to sleep. With a heart filled with pain and eyes burning with tears, I managed to squeak out "OK" to the vet. He tried to comfort me with the words "Agnes, it's not my fault and it's not your fault". His words kept going through my head and in time I realized it was the fault of the vaccinations, so I invested in a computer and I studied everything I could find on vaccinations, and soon I was convinced that vaccinations did in fact cause Simba's problems and took him away from me. Then I realized that the vaccinations also took Angel from me. I stopped vaccinating and soon noticed that my kittens didn't have the problems they had when I was vaccinating. When I was vaccinating I would have eye problems, URI problems and diarrhea that would start shortly after vaccinations were given. Of course, the vet would give me meds to fix these problems, but I got to thinking, "why fix what didn't need to be broken", and vaccinations became a thing of the past for me. There is nothing in this world that would convince me that there is anything good coming out of any vaccination. In fact, so much so, that I wouldn't even give a vaccination if a deadly epedemic reared its ugly head in my own home town. Today I feel that I have educated myself enough to know how to protect my animals from diseases by taking precautionary measures using Homeoprophylaxis (HP), real food, supplements, and being mindful of stress and exposure.
Angel's story
Angel was the biggest kitten in a litter of 3, a kitten I intended to keep. Shortly after this litter was vaccinated at 10 weeks old, Kismet 2 and Candy were adopted at 12 weeks old. Angel stayed with me, and soon she started having bouts of diarrhea and vomiting. I noticed that she was now loosing weight instead of gaining. Needless to say, I took her to my vet who said she was very healthy, and will probably be a dwarf kitty, explaining that dwarfism happens in animals as well as people. He gave me meds for her vomiting and diarrhea and sent me on my way. The meds didn't help any, Angel continued to have bouts of vomiting and diarrhea and continued to loose weight. A month later, her 2nd vaccination was due, I took her to my vet and again I voiced my concerns. I explained that most days she was ok, but then she would have a day of vomiting and diarrhea. He said that she was probably eating something that she shouldn't be eating, but I explained that was impossible as she only had access to her own food and water. However, that's all he made of it and proceeded to give her the second vaccination, telling me that she was a healthy kitten. For me, something wasn't right, but he was the vet and I felt he knew best and also thought that maybe the 2nd vaccination would make her better. Little did I know back then, and in my opinion, little did my vet care. After this 2nd vaccination, my little Angel got much worse. The vomiting and diarrhea became more frequent, she started drinking lots more and peeing & pooing around the room. Her weight just fell off her and she started to dehydrate. I rushed her back to the vet which was just a few days after that 2nd needle, and he now tells me that she is a very sick little girl, and the best thing I could do for her was to put her to sleep. I was not surprised as I knew she was sick every since she had her 1st vaccination, but pointless to argue with the vet. My little girl was dying and putting her to sleep was the kindest thing I could do for her. Back then I didn't realize that veterinarians don't know everything and I thought that vaccinations were a good thing. Oh how wrong I was, but like they say, "bought sense is the best sense, only we pay too dearly". Unlike Simba, I didn't get to know my little darling Angel for very long before her precious life was taken from me.
This is why I no longer vaccinate, and none of the kittens I am keeping will ever be vaccinated again for any reason, and I will never recommend vaccinations to any of my clients. I do recognize that I will be forced to get vaccinations when kittens will be flying out of Canada, but I will also ensure their new owners are well informed of my beliefs, and I will provide them with the Homeoprophylaxis (HP) and recommend real food and supplements to protect my little darlings and allow them to live a long healthy happy life.
Kismet 2's story
Kismet 2 was adopted by a lovely couple in Bay Roberts, NF. Her owner called to tell me that she had developed some diarrhea, vomiting and scratching. She took Kismet to her vet specifically because she was due her 2nd vaccination. However, her vet refused to vaccinate and instead treated her symptoms. Kismet's diarrhea and vomiting cleared up and her scratching subsided. Her vet decided that it was best that she never be vaccinated again, and Kismet lives to this day. She had it tough for awhile and she has to continue getting allergy shots ever so often. I am sad that Kismet has to live with allergies, but I am happy that her vet realized that vaccinations no doubt were the cause. I am more than happy that she has a wonderful loving home. On many occasions I offered Kismet's guardian a refund, or another kitten, she refused saying that she loves Kismet dearly and doesn't wish to have a second cat in fear that Kismet might get a little jealous. She didn't want a refund either, since she feels Kismet was worth every penny she paid. She also refused to allow me to pay her vet costs, saying it wasn't my fault that this happened to her.
The vaccinations didn't affect Candy, who was the smallest kitten in that litter.
I am convinced that vaccinations cause more problems than they will ever prevent. Having the immune system supposedly react quickly to viruses that are rarely life threatening is not a good exchange for major chronic problems, some of which are life threatening. |
