Yearly booster for cat

20goto10

I was just wondering what peoples opinions are on getting the vaccine booster on an annual basis. What do other peoples vets recommend? I've done some research and it seems to be a subject of contention between vets, with the more modern outlook being that they are unnecessary in cats and in fact are actually quite harmful. Do the vaccines really wear off after a year? I find it very hard to believe.

It's nothing to do with the cost of it, I'm just concerned for the cats welfare. One of the vaccines has been linked to renal failure in older age and others are known to cause cancer.

Lizard Queen

well renal failure later on in live is better than leukeamia now, every year is absoulty nessary

Ado86

Yes, vaccination yearly is an absolute must. You need to boost your cats immunity. The diseases that the vaccines protect against are much worse than the potentially very small chances that your cat will develop disease due to having been vaccinated.
In the US there has been some cases of vaccine induced cancers, but there is a much more rigorous vaccination schedule in the US. The rabies and FeLV vaccine are the main culprits, here we do not have to vaccinate against rabies. It is suggested that you vaccinated for FeLV on opposite sides every year, to reduce the risk of a vaccine-induced sarcoma. Your vet should take a note of which side it was vaccinated each year, and alternate. This is a very rare complication though.

The Sweeper

This is subject to a big debate in Australia.

It is generally accepted that kittenhood vaccinations are vital, however there are a number of schools of thought after that. There are people who vaccinate every year, people who vaccinate once every three years, and people who never vaccinate again after the first round of vaccinations.

We are fairly sure that two of my cats are bengal crosses and I can openly state I will never be having them vaccinated again. Whatever their ancestry, they take severe allergic reactions to both the F4 (parvovirus, herpes, calcivirus and chlamydia) and F5 (all of the previous plus FeLV) vaccinations - raging temperatures, extreme lethargy, pain when touched or lifted, dehydration etc., so when I vaccinate them I have to bring them back to the vet 24 hours later for antihistamine and anti-inflammatory injections. They've had their full range of kitten shots, but won't be getting annual boosters. I've tried a number of different methods of vaccinating and spoken to the vet about it and am not willing to subject them to medication that, while it's supposed to be preventative, has such a negative effect on their health (even with the painkillers and anti-inflammatories, it takes them a few days to come around).

My through-and-through moggies haven't shown such reactions to jabs, and they will get boosters every three years. My cats are indoor-only but I'm hoping to have my 600m2 garden area totally cat-proofed by Christmas so they'll have outdoor access, but still won't be able to roam. The reading I've done on it, and the living situations of my cats, mean I'm happy with my decision to never vaccinate the spotty ones again, and boost the others every three years.

I accept a number of things: the risk of infection (though again, keeping them indoors-only or with restricted outdoor access goes a long way to mitigating that risk) to my cats, and the fact that a cattery will NOT take my cats without up to date annual shots.

manutd

Ado86 wrote: »

Yes, vaccination yearly is an absolute must. You need to boost your cats immunity. The diseases that the vaccines protect against are much worse than the potentially very small chances that your cat will develop disease due to having been vaccinated.
In the US there has been some cases of vaccine induced cancers, but there is a much more rigorous vaccination schedule in the US. The rabies and FeLV vaccine are the main culprits, here we do not have to vaccinate against rabies. It is suggested that you vaccinated for FeLV on opposite sides every year, to reduce the risk of a vaccine-induced sarcoma. Your vet should take a note of which side it was vaccinated each year, and alternate. This is a very rare complication though.

+1 on that, had 4 cats this time last year, one put down, one killed by garda car on call and one disappered and so i am left with one i have since 2001

The Sweeper

manutd, those aren't really arguments for vaccinating your cats every year. You can't vaccinate against a car, or disappearance - and unless your cat had to be put to sleep because of one of the diseases you vaccinate against, you can't vaccinate against extensive injury resulting in the cat being put to sleep.

Those three issues are more arguments for preventing your cats from roaming. If you restrict their roaming tendancies with a cat-proof fence or outdoor enclosure, then you reduce the risk of being hit by a car or just disappearing to zero, notwithstanding accidental escapes. You also greatly reduce the risk of serious injury as the cat spends all of its time in a controlled environment. The added benefit is a reduction in the risk of disease transmission because your cat has less chance of a violent encounter with another cat.

Themadhouse

This is going to be a topic that differs from person to person.
We have 9 cats. All indoor with access to an enclosed garden.
none of ours are vaxed with the 5 in 1 as it is a very severe vac for a cat let alone a kitten and our guys are not really at risk of getting felv with the limited access outside.
We do not have a strict routine, however as kittens all will have been done, it depends on different cats after that, all get the 3 in 1.

dee o gee

My cat is vaccinated each year, but after reading a lot lately about vaccinations im kind of considering not getting her done this year.
Shes an indoor cat that never steps a toe outside the door and is never in direct contact with other cats. I do be in contact with a LOT of different cats and dogs, both vaccinated and not, because I volunteer at a shelter. Obviously my dog does be in contact with other dogs and then in contact with the cat. Shes only ever put into boarding maybe once or twice a year, but does be in isolation while there.
So does she really actually need to be vaccinated? The things shes vaccinated for, can they only be spread by direct cat-to-cat contact?

Aru

Severe side effect to vaccines are still very uncommon in cats.Remember that on the net you are far more likely to read the horror stories than the happy stories of how every thing went just fine....

One of the main reasons that research into 3 year versus 1 year vaccines is going on is mostly due to the fact that 1 in 20000 animals has a reaction to having the injection in the same site repeatedly...
normal side effects aren’t a good enough reason for drug companies to give up a profitable idea like yearly vaccines..though I suspect when some of the patents on the vaccine drugs run out the larger companies will come out with longer acting vaccines. At present there is not a hugh amount of published and therefore reliable research...

At present the common vaccines for Irish cats are
Feline Calicivirus-
Feline Rhinotracheitis
Feline Distemper or Feline Panleukopenia-

Most of these viruses are most severe in the very young and the very old or immunocompromised individuals.

A vaccine for Feline Leukaemia is also available but it is still not very common in Ireland

How these virus are transmitted..

Feline Rhinotracheitis and Calcivirus
Both feline rhinotracheitis virus and calicivirus are spread through contact with the discharge from the eyes and nose of an infected cat. This usually occurs through direct cat-to-cat contact. Food dishes, hands, bedding, etc., which have been contaminated with infected discharge, can transmit these viruses from one cat to another. It can also be spread from the mother to her developing kittens in the uterus

Feline panleukopenia virus
FPV is most commonly transmitted when a susceptible cat has contact with the faeces or urine of infected cats. Infected cats shed the virus in their faeces and urine up to 6 weeks after they recover. FPV can also be spread by contact with urine- or faeces-contaminated items such as food bowls, water dishes, clothing, shoes, hands, bedding, and litter boxes. The panleukopenia virus is also transmitted from the mother to the developing kittens within her uterus. It can also be spread by fleas.

To be honest if I had an indoor cat that had its first vaccinations done and I knew it wouldn’t have a chance to become infected with these virus then I might take the chance and give boosters every 3 years and just keep a close eye on its health as most of the diseases are more severe in the young and the old rather than adults..

However if their is a chance that the cat will come in contact them or if your getting a kitten at some stage then don’t take the risk..Vaccinate...
Plus when your in the vets yearly your cat should get a full physical exam
(if this isn’t happening already insist on it vet consultations are not cheap and most are charging an exam fee anyway)
This annual exam could give early warnings to other diseases or health risks...
Info from pet’s education.com.Merck veterinary journal and my lectures in vet collage.

20goto10

Here is an interesting article on vaccination.

Does anybody know what the scientific evidence is that backs up the need to have vaccines done on an annual basis? From what I can see it's simply on a "just in case" basis. I find it very hard to believe that a vaccine wears off after a year. This is serious stuff we are injecting into our cats and its the better safe than sorry attitude from vets that really annoys me. I would much prefer to do it every 3 years but as someone has already pointed out my cat will not be allowed into a kennel.