Annual or 3-yearly vaccinations?

salsagal

Just wondering how often pet owners vaccinate their animals.

Came across an article that debated the need for annual vaccinations, and some research suggested that once every 3 years might be sufficient.

http://www.petplace.com/cats/are-veterinarians-over-vaccinating/page1.aspx?utm_source=catcrazynews001et&utm_medium=email&utm_content=petplace_article&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter

What do people think?

morganafay

I vaccinate every year, but then I just learnt in college that SOME of the 7 in 1 only have to be done every three years, but some have to be done every year . . . so I don't really know what is best to do. I think I'll just keep vaccinating them every year just in case. I guess they could have the 7 in 1 every three years and then get single ones every year, but the vets might only have the 7 in one?

I definitely will get my cats vaccinated for cat flu every year though, because they're always meeting strays, and a few of mine have died from really bad cat flu / pneumonia, or something like that, over the years.

Although a vet told me (large animal vet though) that the drug companies just say every year so they can get more money (same for worming and flea treatment, every month or three months) and he said that every second year was fine. And that once a dog has had so many vaccinations then they can stop getting them, when they're old, because they've built up an immunity.

Wisco

It is true that some vaccines do have a duration of 3 years but there are others (like the vaccine for Leptospirosis) which only last 1 year. So given that lepto is around, I would vaccinate yearly, although you can ask your vet about not getting a 7 in 1 and only vaccinating for 1 or 2 things (like Lepto) instead. I wouldn't do this if your dog is less than 3 or 4 years of age (or has had fewer than 3 or 4 full vaccine courses).

MsFifers

I have decided to only vaccinate my cats every 3 years or so & not annually after reading about cancers developing on the vaccination site.

My cats don't mix much with other cats though as they are usually in my house or in my garden. Occasionally another cat comes into the garden but my cats are most likely to run than anything, so I think chance of infection is limited.

salsagal

Yeah, I'm beginning to think the same thing about taking longer between shots. I may have a word with my vet when that time of year rolls around, as it's both pointless and costly to vaccinate more often than absolutely necessary.

I think it's more than just an urban myth that the pharma companies shorten the vaccination times in order to flog more product.

I wonder if the same could apply to the monthly flea treatments and 3monthly worming treatments...it takes so much mental energy gettin myself psyched to chase Shadow round the kitchen for 10 mins to treat her for fleas:rolleyes:

morganafay

salsagal wrote: »

I wonder if the same could apply to the monthly flea treatments and 3monthly worming treatments...it takes so much mental energy gettin myself psyched to chase Shadow round the kitchen for 10 mins to treat her for fleas:rolleyes:

I know fleas are more common in indoor pets, but I kinda think every month is excessive. Maybe I'm wrong, because my dogs are outdoors, but I've had indoor dogs (and have cats that sleep indoors, and had one that was always indoors) and they never got fleas. The outdoor dogs, and indoor/outdoor cats will get fleas maybe once every few years, and only then I treat them, when I see flea dirt/fleas/scratching. I also wash the dogs every six weeks, but don't wash the cats. And my cats are around stray cats all the time.

Though I do worm them regularly enough or else they do tend to get worms. I think that's probably from the cats hunting though.

salsagal

Thanks morganafay for the reply.
Yeah, while it states on the flea treatment packet to do it every 4 weeks, think I'll change to every 6 weeks this summer and see how it works out.

I'd love to stick trackers on the pair of them and see exactly where they wander. I know Salem has a girlfriend, and Shadow'd fight with anything that crossed her, so can assume some 'other cat' contact, but I worry about what's in the treatments and as u said, 4 weekly (in spite of pharma company's instructions) is probably more than required.

I tell ya, 4 weeks comes around pretty darn quickly.

planetX

I agree that it's prob to boost vaccine sales that they say every year.
But if you ever need to board your pets you need that vaccination cert, and if you leave it more than a year you have to start from scratch again.

The flea treatments - I don't think they even last the 4 weeks, definitely not for ticks in my experience. I try to stretch them out though cos I hate putting them on.

andreac

I have never treated for flea or ticks and my dog has never had either, he is wormed regularly but wouldnt be every 3 months, more every 4-5 months and again, ive never had a problem with worms either.

I would def vaccinate every year though for Lepto as that can be quite commonly caught and have heard of a few dogs dying from it that werent kept up to date with their vaccines.

lrushe

I vac my cat and dogs every year, haven't seen enough research supporting less vacinating to be confident enough to vacinate less and I don't feel comfortable letting my animals be a guinea pig to test the theory. However I don't treat for fleas as I've been lucky enough to never have had an animal with fleas, as for worming probably every 4-5 months.

ghost_ie

morganafay wrote: »

I know fleas are more common in indoor pets, but I kinda think every month is excessive. Maybe I'm wrong, because my dogs are outdoors, but I've had indoor dogs (and have cats that sleep indoors, and had one that was always indoors) and they never got fleas. The outdoor dogs, and indoor/outdoor cats will get fleas maybe once every few years, and only then I treat them, when I see flea dirt/fleas/scratching. I also wash the dogs every six weeks, but don't wash the cats. And my cats are around stray cats all the time.

Though I do worm them regularly enough or else they do tend to get worms. I think that's probably from the cats hunting though.

I must admit I don't treat the dogs for fleas every month - I tend to do it every 6-8 weeks.

A question maybe someone can help me with. The two JRT crosses are wormed regularly but the eldest dog (a lab/collie cross) hasn't been wormed in years as worm tablets make her vomit (one vet didn't believe me and had an awful mess to clean up on his surgery floor when he gave her a worm tablet). She did have an injection once for worms but the next year another vet in the practice refused to give it to her as it can have a bad effect on collies or collie crosses. Now with the stories about lung worms I'd really like to get her wormed, though. Does anyone know of a worm tablet I can give her that she won't vomit up inside 3 minutes?

The Sweeper

I never treat for fleas unless I can see fleas, I worm every three months with a broad-spectrum wormer, and booster vaccs every three years.

The biggest problem to be aware of if you make an informed decision not to vaccinate your pet annually, is kennels and catteries usually will not take an animal whose vaccinations are not up to date. Worth remembering in case you urgently need to board your pet.

morganafay

ghost_ie wrote: »

A question maybe someone can help me with. The two JRT crosses are wormed regularly but the eldest dog (a lab/collie cross) hasn't been wormed in years as worm tablets make her vomit (one vet didn't believe me and had an awful mess to clean up on his surgery floor when he gave her a worm tablet). She did have an injection once for worms but the next year another vet in the practice refused to give it to her as it can have a bad effect on collies or collie crosses. Now with the stories about lung worms I'd really like to get her wormed, though. Does anyone know of a worm tablet I can give her that she won't vomit up inside 3 minutes?

I'm pretty sure there are spot on wormers, that you put on the back of their necks. It might be better

morganafay

I'd like to just vaccinate my dogs every three years, but I'd be really worried about lepto. And my vet mightn't just have the lepto vaccine. There would definitely be mice or rats around somewhere.

Same with cats, but I'd be too worried about cat flu.

Does anyone know anywhere with good information about vaccinating every three years?

morganafay

I was just reading that article

"Vaccines have been associated with minor allergic reactions such as facial swelling and itching to severe reactions associated with the formation cancerous tumor in cats. Vaccines have also been linked to autoimmune diseases in dogs such as anemia, platelet problems,and joint disease."

I know it's not common to have a major allergic reaction, but it annoys me that they don't mention it, because my 2 year old Cavalier died from a bad reaction to a vaccination.

The Sweeper

Two of my cats take allergic reactions - including high fever and physical pain - to F4 vaccinations. 24 hours after the vaccination they need anti-inflammatory and antihistamine medication. Subsequently they're never being vaccinated again - cure worse than prevention in their case. The chlamydia aspect of feline vaccines knocks a lot of cats for six.

planetX

One of my cats nearly died from a vaccination, he had a severe reaction -completely collapsed, rapid panting and shaking, and I live a long way from the vet. There is a 3 in 1 vaccine called tricat which the vet ordered in specially the next time, and he was completely fine with that one. It was necessary for me as I have to board the cats, and the cattery is fine with the 3 in 1. I think the 4th component is feline leukemia?