Cincinnati, OHIO – A woman is suing a pharmaceutical company for $2 million after her cat allegedly turned autistic after being given a shot for Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV).
Although the vaccine is known for its temporary side effects such as swelling and fever, and has been known to cause seizures, the 38-year-old ‘Jane Feathers’ owner of the cat believes her cat has suffered long-lasting damaging effects resulting from the vaccine.
“It took me several weeks to identify the symptoms” acknowledges Jane Feathers. “There is hardly any literature on autism in animals so I had to figure this out by myself. It is while watching Jenny McCarthy talk about her son’s symptoms on Youtube that I understood why Pickles was so different since he received his shot” she told local reporters, visibly saddened by the whole affair.
Miss Feathers rapidly realized her cat had impaired social skills such as a loss of verbal skills and chronic repetitive behavior previously unknown to the cat.
“From that day on he has been like a ghost. He has that dead-empty glare to his eyes. He can spend hours looking at the wall without flinching. The only thing he practically does is line up his dry food pebbles in a straight line, I’ve never seen him or any other cat do such a strange thing” she admits, visibly disheartened.
Miss Feathers attorney, Mariana Mercedes, believes the plaintiff’s case could set a precedent.
“No medical intervention is completely risk-free. Vaccines, though they are designed to protect from disease, may include life-threatening allergic reactions, cause seizures, and even death,” she explained. “Compensation for individuals harmed by vaccines already exist, it has just never been done in the light of domestic animals. It is common to sue a manufacturer for harm caused by an improperly made vaccine, or to sue a physician for administering a vaccine when it was contraindicated. Why would my defendant’s case be different because we are talking about a family pet?” she asked a local reporter when reached by phone.
The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program had awarded $2.35 billion in 2,810 separate claims, including compensation for 390 deaths.
