What about cats?

[vaughnmama]

I don't vaccinate my kids. (At least not anymore, my first born got 2 years worth, and my second born got 2 months worth, before I started researching vax and decided to stop.) So I believe that vax for people are full of toxins & other scary stuff and also ineffective. But what about for animals?

It may seem like a stupid question, but we are considering getting one or two cats. In the past, when we did have pets, we always got them vaccinated because of course that's what you're "supposed" to do. But now I guess I'm just not sure...

Can anyone give me some ideas pro or con; or point me in the right direction to do some research?

Thanks

[larzanna]

I no longer do vaccines for my pets.
When you get a rescue (dog or cat) then they will come with a set of vaccines.
If you board your animals or take them to a groomer then you sorta have too, since there are not exemption forms for pets like there are for people.
We just use a pet sitter now when we go out of town so its not an issue.

I do get the dog a rabies vaccine because she does go outside and rabies is really bad, but thats it.

I just did some google searches on vaccine reactions in animals and that was enough for me. I figure what i KNOW goes into human ones plus the lack of testing leads me to believe that the pet ones probably are even LESS tested/"safe"

You can find quite a few vets now that are starting to question the safety because of the reactions they have seen (read deaths).
Sorry i don't have links or anything, just wanted to let you know that you are not the only one re-thinking the "required" pet vaccines.

-L

[Marnica]

I don't vaccinate my pets either. Except for rabies for my dog since it is a state law and you have to show proof to get the license...

I have 3 cats, none of them get vaccinated any longer.

If you feel that vaccines are potentially harmful to your child, what would make you think they wouldn't be equally as potentially harmful to your pets??

Dr. Richard Pitcairin is a vet who speaks out against animal vaccines, I have his book.

http://www.thinktwice.com/animal.htm

http://www.*********/m/pitcairn6.html

http://www.animalhomeopathy.net/id34.html

this vet is actually near me and I am considering switch to her

http://www.holisticvet.us/further%20reading.html

I think that the overvaccination of our pets is what is causing the skyrocketing cases of cancer and other diseases in our pets

[kriket]

Originally Posted by Marnica

I don't vaccinate my pets either. Except for rabies for my dog since it is a state law and you have to show proof to get the license...(

: I also vax puppies for parvo because it is a very real thing in my area, many many puppies die of parvo.

Plus I don't want to have to put my dog down if something were to happen and it was discovered I didn't rabies vax (the only one people care about)

I also do heartworm and flea treatments. I have a shepherd so no ivermectin.

My girl friend's dog has a spot of dead skin and fur that they told her was ringworm and it turned out to be a vac site reaction

[Jadzia]

I lost a beloved cat to cancer that developed at his vaccine injection site. I am not vaxing anymore. My cats are indoor kitties anyways.

[rmzbm]

We don't vax our pets.

[katiegrace]

Originally Posted by Jadzia

I lost a beloved cat to cancer that developed at his vaccine injection site. I am not vaxing anymore. My cats are indoor kitties anyways.

Cats can get injection site sarcomas called fibrosarcomas. (I'm a RVT for a vet hospital). Fortunately it's pretty rare, but we do see it. We only recommend vaccinating a cat for something that they are at risk for. I have cats at home, and they have all been vaccinated for rabies only. I do recommend this one for sure because it is a nasty disease and is a public health concern! Rabies is very common in NC... Laws vary from state to state, but in NC you can get the vaccine every 3 years. What I recommend is to get the vaccine, and then get their titers checked thereafter. It will be more expensive than getting another vaccine, but at least you will know how long their immunity lasts, and you won't have to worry about getting more vaccines and raising the risk of fibrosarcs. HTH!

[3kidsclmr]

I would think if your cats were to be kept inside at all times (which is the safest place for them to be anyway) that they wouldn't need any vaccines. I just lost a 13 year old cat to lymphoma, and last year lost an 8 year old cat to thyroid complications. I faithfully vaccinated my animals every year, but really don't know what the point was... they never left the house! I would definitely de-worm any animals you bring into the house, though. I check fecals on my pets once a year.

BTW, my sister is a vet and doesn't vaccinate any of her animals except for initial rabies shot and one booster for her dogs because her yard is near the woods in a semi-rural area.

[layla983]

Originally Posted by katiegrace

Cats can get injection site sarcomas called fibrosarcomas. (I'm a RVT for a vet hospital). Fortunately it's pretty rare, but we do see it. We only recommend vaccinating a cat for something that they are at risk for. I have cats at home, and they have all been vaccinated for rabies only. I do recommend this one for sure because it is a nasty disease and is a public health concern! Rabies is very common in NC... Laws vary from state to state, but in NC you can get the vaccine every 3 years. What I recommend is to get the vaccine, and then get their titers checked thereafter. It will be more expensive than getting another vaccine, but at least you will know how long their immunity lasts, and you won't have to worry about getting more vaccines and raising the risk of fibrosarcs. HTH!

This may seem weird, but is there any reason this wouldn't be rare? Reason I ask is that almost every pet we've had ended up having this happed with shots. I had one dog that ended up having surgery to remove them, it was a rough surgery for her mainly because of her age (she was about 9 at the time), & after that my parents & myself decided to stop getting our pets shots. A couple years after that, my mom took another dog to be spayed & they gave the rabies shot without consent & that dog ended up with the same thing. Out of my 3 cats, I have a cat who had the same thing happen as well. And even more shocking to me was when I had 5 kittens fixed (they were the kittens of a stray), I went ahead & allowed the rabies shot since it was free with the surgery & I figured it would help me get them homes as well. A couple weeks later, we noticed 3 out of the 5 kittens had the same thing. I guess I could think since they are related maybe something about them is prone to having this happen, but that doesn't account for the other cat & my parents 2 dogs who had the same things happen, all unrelated & all from different vets.

So I'm just curious if much is known about this condition? The vets have all swore it's just chance & has had nothing to do with the shots, so this is the first time I've seen someone who actually work in a vet office admit it DOES happen. Sorry to question, but when you actually said it happens I was happy then I was shocked to see you said it was a rare since, well, I've had it happen alot personally. I'm not questioning if it's really rare or not, I just wanted to know if you knew why this had happened with so many animals we've had.

[applejuice]

As long as you care for your own cat, there are no laws that require you to vaccinate it.

[veganone]

I don't see any reason to vaccinate indoor cats, but would (of course) still do the annual physical.

Our vet does a 3-year rotation on vaccines and since we do go to dog parks, we are on that with our two dogs. We also use heart-worm preventative since they are not uncommon where we live and a lot of the rescues we hear about (I have been pretty involved in rescue at times in my life) do turn up positive pretty often.

Any chance the cancer the PP mentioned is more common in cats? I've had several cats react with at least a cyst, but have no had it develop into he cancer. Never had anything similar in a dog.

[veganone]

Originally Posted by applejuice

As long as you care for your own cat, there are no laws that require you to vaccinate it.

I don't think that's true - I think most areas have a rabies ordinance...

[angie7]

My 5 month kitten now is vax free and will remain that way. My dogs haven't been vaxed in over 8 years and won't be ever.

[twinsplusone]

Originally Posted by layla983

The vets have all swore it's just chance & has had nothing to do with the shots, so this is the first time I've seen someone who actually work in a vet office admit it DOES happen. Sorry to question, but when you actually said it happens I was happy then I was shocked to see you said it was a rare since, well, I've had it happen alot personally. I'm not questioning if it's really rare or not, I just wanted to know if you knew why this had happened with so many animals we've had.

My cat currently has this right now. It is now the size of a tennis ball . Fortunately he doesn't appear to be in pain, still eats & uses the box.

When I brought him in, it was the first thing my vet said after she viewed the slides under the scope.

I have read that its 'rare', but still a very big concern to vets (according to the research).

[Magali]

1 of my dogs had a round of puppy shots before we brought him home. He won't have any more vax and I would rather he never had the puppy shots at all. My other dog and my 4 cats are all 100% vax free.

[spero]

Originally Posted by applejuice

As long as you care for your own cat, there are no laws that require you to vaccinate it.

That is incorrect. Rabies vaccination for dogs and cats is required by law in my state.

We do vax our cat, b/c he is indoor/outdoor, we live in a rural area with lots of wild animals, and he is an avid hunter. If he were indoor only, I wouldn't vax him.

Our vet is pretty crunchy and mostly anti-vax for her own kids. She uses animal vaccines that have the least amount of adjuvants and preservatives, and she doesn't push anything more than what she feels is necessary on a case by case basis.

[cyberfish]

Originally Posted by Jadzia

I lost a beloved cat to cancer that developed at his vaccine injection site. I am not vaxing anymore. My cats are indoor kitties anyways.

Me too. We don't have cats now but we did lose a cat to vaccine injection site cancer.

[katiegrace]

Originally Posted by layla983

This may seem weird, but is there any reason this wouldn't be rare? Reason I ask is that almost every pet we've had ended up having this happed with shots. I had one dog that ended up having surgery to remove them, it was a rough surgery for her mainly because of her age (she was about 9 at the time), & after that my parents & myself decided to stop getting our pets shots. A couple years after that, my mom took another dog to be spayed & they gave the rabies shot without consent & that dog ended up with the same thing. Out of my 3 cats, I have a cat who had the same thing happen as well. And even more shocking to me was when I had 5 kittens fixed (they were the kittens of a stray), I went ahead & allowed the rabies shot since it was free with the surgery & I figured it would help me get them homes as well. A couple weeks later, we noticed 3 out of the 5 kittens had the same thing. I guess I could think since they are related maybe something about them is prone to having this happen, but that doesn't account for the other cat & my parents 2 dogs who had the same things happen, all unrelated & all from different vets.

So I'm just curious if much is known about this condition? The vets have all swore it's just chance & has had nothing to do with the shots, so this is the first time I've seen someone who actually work in a vet office admit it DOES happen. Sorry to question, but when you actually said it happens I was happy then I was shocked to see you said it was a rare since, well, I've had it happen alot personally. I'm not questioning if it's really rare or not, I just wanted to know if you knew why this had happened with so many animals we've had.

Well, dogs don't get fibrosarcomas from injections...cats do. I can't speak for all of the other vets, and I dont' know what the biopsy results were for all of the masses that you are referring to, so there's no way to know if they are or are not related to vaccines. Different vets have different opinions on vaccines just like doctors do. I"m not saying that vaccines can never cause any other problems, but I was specifically talking about fibrosarcomas in cats...we just don't see it very often. Pets can get many different type of cancerous tumors...mast cell tumors are a big one in dogs...They are not related to injection sites..they can pop up anywhere...legs, face...etc...places where vaccines are not given. dogs and cats can get melanoma, as well as tons of other masses. Fibrosarcs are pretty specific to injection sites in cats and it's believed to have something to do with the adjuvent in the vaccines...They actually have a Rabies vaccine for cats only that is supposedly safer, as well as a transdermal feline leukemia vaccine for cats that is supposed to be safer as well. Did all of the animals that you were talking about die from these tumors? They could also have been vaccine reactions, which is totally different, and not nearly as rare. Sometimes they can swell at the injection site just like people, and get inflammation tissue, but it isn't a deadly tumor...some animals do have these removed....So, as to answer your question, fibrosarcs in cats are generally rare, but masses in dogs and cats are not....and usually aren't related to the actual injections like fibrosarcs...Can vaccines cause cancer in animals? I'm sure they can...Which is why I don't give my animals every vaccine recommended or as often as recommended either. I do get my cats rabies vaccines and they are inside only...The reason I do, and recommend people get at least 1 rabies vaccine in their pet's lifetime is because I've seen many clients have their inside only cat slip out of the door before and go missing for several days, and rabies is very common in my state so it's nice to know that your cat has protection from something like that if they slip outside when it is fatal if contracted. Hope this helps!

[Mama2Rio]

i found my dog in an alley, actually he found me... so i don't know what vax he had before that. about a year later, i had him neutred and got him a rabies shot because we do a lot of camping with him. he is not very good with other dogs, so i'm not wprried about him getting sick from another dog. i probably will get him rabies again because we spend so much time outdoors and it's required by law, but no other vax.

[jakesmama]

We just had a puppy go through parvo, which is a really hideous illness. We caught it very early but the virus lives for a very long time in the environment and the recovery is long. I would definitely vaccinate against this disease every time. She was not playing with other pups or anything, parvo is just ubiquitous in the environment and very easy to pick up.