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I had no idea that this could happen. According to the cornell article the sarcomas are most commonly associated with the feline leukemia vaccine. My kitties don't go outside and therefore don't get the feline leukemia vaccine so I'm not too worried.
I'm not sure that they 100% know what vaccinations cause the problem. I know that vets are instructed to use a different leg for each shot so that the veterinary community can track the results. I know that the right rear leg is used for rabies.
We got shots until our boy ended up with granular lumps beneath his skin. An 8" incision down his neck and back was required to remove the lumps. Fortunately it was only necrotizing fat and not anything malignant.
Now - the only shots we get are kitten shots. Since they don't go outside and we only board them at our vets if they are sick - it just doesn't make sense to expose them to potential cancers.
I refuse to get my cats vaccinated other than initial kitten shots which they had from the breeder when we got them. They are indoors only, I don't board them and have had other cats get cancers from shots. Vet told me I really needed to get them shots since it is county law but as long as they don't go outside what harm does it do to not vaccinate them? the guilt associated with your pet getting sick because you did something is horrible...to say nothing of the pet's illness.
I was forced to get my two elderly cats vaccinated last year. An oral cancer appeared in one just a month or two afterwards, the other had a major allergic reaction and almost died immediately. She also got cancer (spleen) and they were both dead within eight months.
Maybe it was coincidental. They were both pretty old (15, 16 years). Or maybe the vaccine stimulated existing cancers or even caused them. It's hard to say, but I will never allow a cat so old to be vaccinated again, you can't imagine how much guilt I feel over those shots. In this county I could have applied for waivers for the requirement due to their ages, but I wasn't told I had that option until after the shots were already given.
Those are some interesting links, J-CityRelo. My husband and I have always disagreed about vaccinations for our cats. They're indoor cats and I think vaccines are a waste of money for them, but he's worried that if the cats got some bad bug they could pass it on to our kids. Every year I feel like $140 has gone down the drain, but to think that a vaccination could cause cancer - that's horrible.
Jaida,
Are your cats indoor only? If so, there is a verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slim chance that they are going to catch anything.
The words from our vet... The chance of our indoor only cats catching anything are more slim than the possible medical issues sometimes caused by vaccines.
I'm not sure that they 100% know what vaccinations cause the problem. I know that vets are instructed to use a different leg for each shot so that the veterinary community can track the results. I know that the right rear leg is used for rabies.
We got shots until our boy ended up with granular lumps beneath his skin. An 8" incision down his neck and back was required to remove the lumps. Fortunately it was only necrotizing fat and not anything malignant.
Now - the only shots we get are kitten shots. Since they don't go outside and we only board them at our vets if they are sick - it just doesn't make sense to expose them to potential cancers.
Here are the recommended locations:
Rabies: In the right rear leg
FeLV: Left rear leg
Panleukopenia, feline herpesvirus I, feline calicivirus (or 3-way): Right fore region (shoulder)
Injections used to be done in the neck - that is why our boy got the lumps along his back. Now they do it on the leg, in the event a cancer forms, the leg can be amputated and the life saved.
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