cats and vaccinations
Out cat is almost 3 years old, and I am due to take her to the vets this week to get her vaccination booster.
Does anyone know how long you have to keep having them done? Is there a certain age or will always need them? She does go out doors. Thanks!:)
Does anyone know how long you have to keep having them done? Is there a certain age or will always need them? She does go out doors. Thanks!:)
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"How frequently should my cat be vaccinated?
All cats should receive a primary core vaccination course of two injections three to four weeks apart, commencing from around nine weeks of age. The cat's need for non-core vaccines can be assessed at this time. In order to ensure a good level of continuing protection, the first booster vaccination should be given a year after the primary course. Thereafter, the recommended frequency of boosters may depend on individual lifestyle and risk.
The current vaccine manufacturers' recommendations are for annual vaccinations, as the product licenses have been based on immunity studies of one year's duration. Many veterinary surgeons follow these guidelines, as not complying with the licensing regulations could leave them open to assertions of negligence. However, more and more work is emerging that demonstrates that the core vaccines are effective for at least three years. Owners can elect to have their cats vaccinated in a triennial regime, provided that they accept that this does not follow the manufacturers' recommendations (ie, informed consent). It is recommended that an annual health check still be performed, even if the cat does not receive a vaccination each year.
Cats that stay at boarding catteries will require an annual vaccination in order that the cattery's insurance is valid and because it is one of the higher risk areas. This should be given at least two weeks before boarding."
http://www.fabcats.org/owners/vaccination/info.html
I have a cat that never goes out and is terrified of vets, so I take a chance and leave him be. My dog obviously goes out and also socialises with other dogs - so get him done every year.
Not always but sometimes.
I would feel very hesitant in using a cattery or kennels that didn't want to see vaccination certificates!
Thats what I thought. However, I did find someone who was highly recommended for her care of cats who said she did not find them necessary.
She could put cats at risk but she was talking about a build up of natural resistance to disease which was interesting.
I didnt want to risk it though. If I could get cats to the vets they got innoculated.
Hiya! Recommendation is always worthwhile - it is important to find a cattery where the owner really does like cats.
However! If she is running a registered cattery - then I believe that vaccination certificates are obligatory.
I honestly don't think the natural resistance theory holds water. One cat with an infection decease would put every cat being boarded at risk. HIV, kennel cough.
Well meaning as she may be - I would give her a miss.
I think we will always do it as she does go outside and better to be safe than sorry!
The Beast is big, fat and annoying. He spends most of his life outside, getting up to gawd knows what cat based mischief.
The Beast hasn't been 'jabbed' for three years now; before his last imprisonment (cattery stay) in fact that was the second to last time he went to the vet.
The last visit was after his jab and imprisonment, and I picked him up in a poor state. The jab did him no good then.
I'm not a tightwad, I would take the metaphorical bullet for the Beast, and if the vet said come every year for a jab, I would.
But in my experience it seems slightly ironic that the only time he has been unwell is after a stay in a place that demanded jabs.
However, I always get my cats vaccinated in one of the hind legs. This is because I had to have a cat put to sleep in 2010 because he had developed a vaccine-associated sarcoma. This happens to only 1 in 2,000 so the risk is very low but, if he'd been vaccinated in a leg, the sarcoma could probably have been treated (at worst by amputating part of the leg, at best by removing the sarcoma). The vaccination that led to his sarcoma was delivered between the shoulder blades, as is normal, but this meant that the tumour was in a place where removal was impossible.
The drawback of vaccinating in a leg is that it is more painful at the time. It's therefore an individual cat owner's decision whether to subject their cat to some pain in order to avoid the risk of a sarcoma that's untreatable.
I'm not a scientific person, but I think the sarcoma is caused by one of the agents in the FeLV vaccine. For indoor cats not getting the FeLV vaccine the usual site between the shoulders should be fine.
Good luck with whatever you decide.