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Im thinking about getting a cat and the lady who is giving the cat away said that her vet told her that cats dont need shots if they are inside cats ? is that true ? she has dogs three to be exact and she said the vet told her that if her dogs have their shots that cats dont really need them it they are indoor cats , could that possibly be true something just did not seem right with that and when I asked her if I could have her vets name and number she did said she decided not to re home him . Do you think she was lying and that she is not certain of the cats health ? I dont know much about cats as i do dogs . thanks for any anwsers .
i suggest kittens/new cats get the kitten vacinations and a booster in 1 year, after that i ONLY give the rabies vaccine every 3 years...
(i follow the same routein with dogs too...)
indoors or out...
its been provn that most vaccinations provide lifetime immunity...
and strictly indoor cats wouldnt be exposed to the major cat illnesses, so why bother if your cats not going to be exposed to the illnesses?!
Only shot my cat has had in several years is rabies. AFAIK it is a state law and I haven't asked the vet to break the law. Others may vary on this point. But yeah, the other shots, I haven't kept doing those, and 2 different vets have kept up with this practice. It was at their suggestion, not mine.
I don't think it's necessary to keep up with vaccines for an indoor cat unless your cat is going to be exposed to other cats. Personally, I've kept up with my cat's shots because I live in an apartment complex with *dozens* of feral kitties around, and I'm sure if my cat somehow got out (hasn't happened in the several years I've lived here) he'd try to socialize with the other cats and who knows what he'd come down with.
However, my parents don't bother with their cats vaccines, because they live in the middle of nowhere and the only other cats one of theirs would meet up with if it got outside is a mountain lion, at which point there's a bigger problem than vaccination....
My cat and my parents' cats go to the same vet, and she supports our respective vaccination decisions.
It's a personal decision. Vets used to suggest yearly boosters, but we now know that the immunity from vaccination lasts longer...perhaps as long as the lifetime of the cat. We also know that there are risks to vaccination in cats that are not present in humans or dogs. In rare cases cats can experience an inflammatory response after vaccination that results in a kind of cancer. There are also possible side effects to vaccines as well, such as an allergic reaction. So in general it is always better to vaccinate as little as possible while still protecting the animal.
Since we know the immunity lasts longer than one year, responsible vet hospitals now suggest giving booster every three years but even that may be overdoing depending on the circumstances. That's the important part...vaccination really isn't a one size fits all issue. If you find your new kitty is an escape artist, you may wish to vaccinate every three years. Or perhaps you live in an area prone to flooding or fires, in which you might have to consider what will happen if you need to evacuate and board your pet. You may find your new kitty is great with you but aggressive with others, in which case you definitely want to keep up on rabies vaccines. There are many variables.
But let's say you have an indoor cat that doesn't try to escape and has a docile personality. In that case you may not want to vaccinate after the first series of booster shots during kittenhood You should probably still do the rabies vaccine regardless as it's a public safety issue, or you could do titers (this is a test that helps show if the cat is still showing immunity, so you know if they actually do need a booster rather than giving one just because.)
We've made the choice not to vaccinate our indoor cats. JJ actually can't be vaccinated due to severe vaccine reactions. If I had my choice I would actually vaccinate him for rabies, as he's aggressive at the vet's. I always insist on a muzzle because if he does bite someone it means a 10 day quarantine...in some states it could be a death sentence. Robin is very docile and terrified of the outside world, so she's not vaccinated because of her personality and circumstances.
I vaccinate with annual PureVax rabies vaccine because it is the law in my state. The only other vaccine I allow for my cats is the initial "kitten series" of the distemper vaccine (also called FVRCP or some variation of that) and then one booster a year later.
FVRCP covers feline herpes (FVR), CalciVirus (C) and Panleukopenia (P, which is distemper, and usually fatal) All cats should have the kitten series and one booster of this important vaccine. But after that....I don't think they need any more, if they are indoor cats.
I lost two cats to vaccine cancer and I am loathe to have my current cats vaccinated. But I do the minimum because I cannot board them anywhere if I don't. My vet always talks to me about how important it is but she will still see the boys knowing we get minimum. Some vets won't even accept cat patients who aren't fully vaccinated.
That's the law where I am, it's only necessary for cats to be vaccinated if they are outdoors. Mine are indoor cats but I got them vaccinated anyway just in case one of them ever gets out and something happens. Also, it's handy to have them up date, like stated above, if you have to board them for any reason.
ive seen way too many pets (cats and dogs) get seriously ill and even die from vacine reactions to EVER EVER EVER vaccinate "just in case" or becuase its "handy"
I titer instead and while its not "medically accepted" as 100% accurate, thus far my dogs and cats come up clear on titers not needing to be revaincated, so we ONLY do 3 yr rabies after the intial puppy/kitten and 1 yrbooster stage.
I cant see myslf ever being in a situation where id be boarding any of my pets so...
if an emergency arose and i had to leave them alone, id be hiring a pet sitter to come to my home to care for them, so no worries there.
What is completely unrelated is that IF the Dog has his shots, then the CATS don't need them. One has nothing to do with the other. Either you decide to vaccinate your cat or your don't but it is completely Independent of any dog or other species of animal in the home.
You are going to get 5 different opinions on this board and on the internet about cat vaccines. Take them all in and for goodness sake take them with a grain of salt. Talk to your trusted vet - and take that opinion for what it's worth as well. Do your own research and make and informed opinion as to vaccination your pet.
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But yeah, the other shots, I haven't kept doing those, and 2 different vets have kept up with this practice. It was at their suggestion, not mine.
