Did You Vaccinate Your Cat?

[nicole lisa]

DP, DS and I adopted a cat today from the Humane Society. Before a cat can be adopted it has to have all its shots up to date, except the rabies vaccine, which can't be given at the shelter (don't know why). So we were told that the cat needs his rabies vaccine within the first week of being home.

Do you keep your cat's shots up to date? Why or why not?

[lumi]

I adopted my cat at 10 weeks, he'd had his shots (and been neutered) .. he's over a year now so I guess he's due for a rabies shot? But he stays indoors and the only other animal he has contact with is my dog (um, I think her shots are overdue too : ) We also don't use kennels when we travel, since we have friends around to keep an eye on the animals. So I guess it kind of falls off the radar screen.

[boongirl]

We fully vaccinate our animals because they travel with us at times, go indoors and out, are around lots of other animals, and are around little children. We have rats, mice, bats, raccoons, coyotes, possums, and other wild animals in our neighborhood and our dog goes off leash at a large dog park several times a week. I believe that any risk they may have from a vaccine is much, much lower than the risk of them getting a disease or passing to us, which can happen. Also, we take our animals to very good vets who are up to date on the latest research. We talk about each vaccine and they have recently made changes to their protocols based on research. That makes me feel like I am taking good care of my pets. They are very healthy.

If your kitty is going to be an indoor only kitty, then you might not need to get all the shots.

[littleaugustbaby]

We did a round for our kitty, but only because we had to drive her through Canada when we were moving, and we were told that we needed to have a current health/vax record for her to get her across the border. Otherwise, we wouldn't have bothered, she's an indoor cat.

[shishkeberry]

I don't know if she had any vaxes before she was given to me, but I haven't given my cat Lina any vaxes myself. She's a strictly indoor cat and she's our only pet, though.

[Bluegrass]

I vax my pets when they are young, but not as adults, except our lab, and only because my dd shows him and he has to be up-to-date for shows and 4-h events. Same reasons as for not vaxing my kids.

[nicole lisa]

Thanks everyone for answering. Our cat is 5 years old and will be an indoor cat except for hanging outside on our deck only if I or DP are out there. Apparently the cat likes to be out on a leash/harness., the shelter staff say. So I'm wondering if I should go ahead with the rabies vaccine - there are a few stray cats in our neighbourhood that cut through our yard. We don't have any other pets.

[HelloKitty]

Both my cats are vaccinated - one I got as a kitten and I did get her vaccinated, the other I get from the MSPCA as an adult and he already had all his shots.

If I got a kitten now I'm not sure I would though. My cats are indoor only cats though - if they went outside I would want them to have at least a rabies vaccine as there seems to be a lot of rabies cases around here.

[mamangazelle]

I vaccinate my cats at first, because the vet won't spay/neuter them if they did not receive 2 vaccines in a row, but after that, I don't anymore.

[beckyh]

I haven't vaccinated my cat since we first got him. He is an indoor cat, so I really don't see the point.

[NightOwl]

I have 2 cats. The first one just got the shots they required her to have to spay her. (forget which ones) The 2nd had her first set of shots because...well...it's a long story. But I won't vaccinate more unless I have to. (like when I get the 2nd cat spayed) My cats don't go outside, so I see no need to vax them. If they were outside cats I would though. I've seen too many obviously ill strays in my town. There are definitly diseases running rampant in stray cats, racoons, and possums around here. My aunt used to take in strays all the time, but stopped because she took in one then later found out that it had feline leukemia. It's a miracle that her other cats didn't get it.