After Kazon's trip to the vet yesterday, he spent most of the day resting. That's not out of the ordinary when any of The Kids go to the vet. It takes them out of their element and increases their stress. Spending the rest of the day resting and being quiet is normal under those circumstances.
It was therefore with some level of surprise and worry that I found Kazon curled in a ball and presenting fever (unusually warm ears) around 9 PM last night. He was lying on the bed where I had seen him earlier in the evening.
At first I tried to move him, but he whimpered uncomfortably — in a way I'd never heard Kazon sound. In response, I laid on the bed next to him and curled around him carefully.
I began stroking him slowly and speaking to him calmly and quietly in the hopes of soothing him. We stayed there for several hours, I in tears and Kazon in apparent distress.
Having just gone to the emergency vet with Kako only a week before, I was already prepared to whisk Kazon there if needed.
Kazon isn't prone to being ill. In fact, outside of the problems he had when I originally adopted him, he's never been sick. That made this situation all the more worrisome. I cried while I rested with him and monitored his condition. He's the baby of the house and requires extra attention as he's emotionally sensitive. This has formed a very strong bond between us, and it caused me great concern to see him in this state.
He slept for quite a while with me wrapped around him, so I didn't dare move for fear of waking or upsetting him. I continually monitored his temperature and breathing.
Having received both his rabies and respiratory/distemper vaccinations yesterday, I was confident he was having a reaction to one or both of them. The only issue with that assumption was that he'd never reacted to them before.
I get all of The Kids vaccinated for rabies every year, but I only get respiratory/distemper vaccinations once every three years. For that reason alone it was possible Kazon had developed a sensitivity to the vaccination in the three years since he'd received his last one. I can only assume that's what happened in this case.
It was several hours after this episode began that Kazon started to feel better (apparent by the way he was acting and his reduced temperature). Luckily, this time, there was no need to run to the emergency vet.
Still, I will have to keep this in mind in three years when he's due for this same set of vaccinations. I will not put him — or me, for that matter — through this again. It was unpleasant and didn't help my emotional state at all. Besides, I can't stand to see my kids suffering like that. Hopefully there will be other options.