Death after Rabies Vaccine in cats

345 reports to the FDA describe death in cats given Rabies Vaccine. That is 13% of all reports for this medicine, compared with 8.9% across reports for all cat medicines.

345Reports

99%Marked serious

0.0%Recovered

100%Died or euthanised

1 daysTypical onset

How soon it started

Same day

128 41%

1–2 days

79 25%

3–7 days

40 13%

1–4 weeks

46 15%

Over a month

23 7.3%

How the animals did

Died

198 57%

Euthanised

147 43%

Problems reported at the same time

130 38%

127 37%

92 27%

67 19%

58 17%

48 14%

40 12%

38 11%

Age of the animals

Under 1 year

1–3 years

4–7 years

8–11 years

12+ years

About this medicine

Type: vaccine.

Mild, short-lived lethargy, soreness or a small lump at the injection site are the most commonly reported vaccine reactions.

Questions owners ask

Can Rabies Vaccine cause death in cats?: 345 reports link the two, but a report alone does not prove the medicine was the cause: other illnesses, other medicines or coincidence can be involved. Your vet can judge it for your animal.
How soon after a dose was it reported?: In half of the reports with dates, it started within 1 day of the first dose.
What should I do?: Don't give another dose until you've spoken to your vet, and keep the packaging so you can tell them the product and dose. Your vet can also report it to the FDA (or you can, through the manufacturer or FDA form 1932a).

Death with similar medicines

Death after Feline Core Vaccine 227 reports · 15% of its reports
Death after Feline Leukemia Vaccine 98 reports · 12% of its reports
Death after Distemper-parvo Vaccine 26 reports · 9.4% of its reports

All reported side effects of Rabies Vaccine in cats · Medicines most reported with death