Do indoor cats really need annual vax? - Page 2

[Curlyfry7]

I'm going to jump in here as I am actually a vet...so I'm going to give my "professional opinion" ....

There is currently a big change going on in how the veterinary profession recommends administering vaccines...some of this comes from new/improved knowledge as more immunological data is studied, some of it is due to improved efficacy of the vaccines we have available to us.

What the current recommendations are depends upon your situation to some extent: indoor ONLY/closed population, indoor only/changing population, indoor/outdoor, or outdoor.

There are always going to be more recommendations for vaccines for cats that go outside. They are simply exposed to more diseases than indoor only cats. For Feline Leukemia (FeLV) the risk of contracting the disease is higher than the risk of any kind of reaction, including developing injection site sarcomas, so the vaccine is recommended for them, even if there IS some debate (and DEBATE it is!!) over susceptibility to FeLV once a cat is over a year of age. The FVRCP vaccine ("feline distemper") is a vaccine against multiple diseases. Some are airborne, some are stable on the gorund, etc for a while. And then of course the Rabies vaccine.

For cats that are indoors only, in a closed environment, FeLV vaccine is NOT recommended, as their risk of side effects is higher than their risk of contracting FeLV. FVRCP is still recommended for indoor only cats, due to the airborne nature of some of the viruses. And in many areas, rabies is required by law for all cats.

Currently, in terms of how often to vaccinate your indoor only cat for FVRCP, here are the recommendations:
as a kitten, every 3-4 weeks until the are at least 16 weeks of age (which is the age where maternal antibodies diminish FOR SURE- they MAY diminish before that, but by this age they will DEFINITELY go down- thus allowing the kitten to develop it's own immunity), the ONE YEAR LATER (which would make the cat 1 year, 4 months old) and then every 3 years after that.

For cats that go outdoors/contact a changing population/stay inside themselves but contact a cat that goes outside, there is still some variability in the recommendations. My personal opinion is that I'd probably do one more vaccine at 2 years, 4 months, then go every 3 years.

For FelV- indoor only/closed population- don't do it.
open population/goes outside- do it.

For rabies- if it is required by law where you live, do it whether or not your cat is inside only or not. I have a client whose 4 indoor only cats were exposed to a rabid bat when it fell down their chimney. Luckily the cats were all up-to-date on rabies vaccine. The law is VERY strict about this due to the human exposure risk, and the fact that there is no treatment or cure for rabies. (And I don't personally care about the one weird report about some girl who survived rabies...do you really want to take that chance?)

So for my 2 cats...both indoors only, no other cats, 16 y/o and 14 y/o.....I haven't given them FVRCP since 2002...figured they had enough immunity from the previous umpteen years of getting the vaccine. They DO get the rabies vaccine every year (ours is a 1 year vaccine) and they do NOT get FeLV.

So there is my long-winded post. I hope it may have helped some folks, and if I made anything more confusing, feel free to ask me about it...or not!

Can you tell we talk about this a lot at our practice??

Kelly

[Shenjall]

I meant deep thought like, "if a tree falls in a forest..." trying to make a joke, I think I failed.

What the current recommendations are depends upon your situation to some extent: indoor ONLY/closed population, indoor only/changing population, indoor/outdoor, or outdoor.

I'm not too bright today, : what do you mean by closed/changing population? Like, are we adding to our pet family? We do plan on getting a dog at some point, but we're done with cats. (at least I think so )

I know we have a rabies law for dogs, I'm pretty sure there isnt one for cats though. Ah the intact fee. I know we have that. It seems like they're trying to punish the responsible ones sometimes, the ones that let their cats/dogs run wild just dont come p/u their pets when they're caught and just go out and get another one. But thats another thread.

[touka]

Originally Posted by Curlyfry7

Currently, in terms of how often to vaccinate your indoor only cat for FVRCP, here are the recommendations:
as a kitten, every 3-4 weeks until the are at least 16 weeks of age (which is the age where maternal antibodies diminish FOR SURE- they MAY diminish before that, but by this age they will DEFINITELY go down- thus allowing the kitten to develop it's own immunity), the ONE YEAR LATER (which would make the cat 1 year, 4 months old) and then every 3 years after that.

This repeated injections idea makes no sense to me. If the kitten is nursing, he'll have the antibodies and the vaccine is likely ineffective. If he's away from his mother (assume he's been adopted) he's not going to be going outside for his own safety and the risk of contracting an illness is slim to none (he's probably still carrying antibodies too). If he's been adopted into a home with other animals he's likely at a low risk for the illnesses because, presumably, those animals have already been vaccinated and shouldn't be carrying the diseases and he's likely still carrying antibodies from Mom.

Sooooo () why not just wait until 16 wks to administer the first (and only) vaccine instead of dumping all of this crap into their systems over and over again??? I just don't get it. (I'm NOT being snarky at all, I'm just rambling and thinking out loud and I am really just trying to understand. promise. )


Also, I could have entirely misunderstood, but I was under the impression that the rabies vaccine was the same exact thing whether it was labeled as 1 or 3 years. Do you know how they're different?

[Shenjall]

So, I'm now looking at my kitties papers from their adoption. It says that cats require a rabies shot over 16 weeks of age. Interesting that I never noticed that before. My vet hasnt mentioned it either. (but like I said, he's not over vax happy like some vets I've called)

They've received vax for rhinotracheitis, panleukopenia(disptemper), chlamydia and calici virus before they came home at 3 months of age.
My "notice" says they need feline dist/leuk/rv. (Its been a year since they've come home)

Sigh, and I thought pets would be easier than kids.

[Shenjall]

(I'm replying waay too much to my own thread, )

And one of my cats, Owen, carries a virus. I think its the chlamydia virus, dh took him to the vet that week, and we have an l-lysine paste to give to him to boost his immune system b/c it comes out when he's stressed. (we found out when we brought home our 3rd kitty)
So, according to my records, he's been vaxed for this but still has it anyway, so what was the point? I think I'm missing something.....help!

[phatchristy]

Originally Posted by Shenjall

I meant deep thought like, "if a tree falls in a forest..." trying to make a joke, I think I failed.

Nope, you didn't fail. I COMPLETELY got it. I was trying to come up with something in fact that would be equally funny...

(which I couldn't in my current stressed inlaws coming over tomorrow state )

[Ambrose]

OK- so if cats don't necessarily need to be vaxxed each year--- how do you go about educating the general populous? For instance with Kids vaxxes we tend to pull up various recources, medical studies, etc.

So, is there like an American Academy of Cats or something that is like... the primary "official" final word people?

[phatchristy]

Originally Posted by Ambrose

OK- so if cats don't necessarily need to be vaxxed each year--- how do you go about educating the general populous? For instance with Kids vaxxes we tend to pull up various recources, medical studies, etc.

So, is there like an American Academy of Cats or something that is like... the primary "official" final word people?

I posted the AAFP guidelines on page 1 of this thread...:

http://www.cfa.org/articles/health/v...ecommendations

It basically summarizes what the DVM above said.

[momz3]

Originally Posted by bl987ue

My vet told me that they don't need vaccinations unless they have any chance of exposure to other animals. I do vaccinate against rabies, however.

same here.

[ChrisCountryGirl]

I have 3 indoor/outdoor cats. The only time the older 2 cats have gone to the vet was to get "fixed" The youngest one was adopted by me since my sister died. Before her illness and death, I remember her telling me that she has taken the cat to the vet for vaccinations. That cat is also "fixed" All 3 of them have always been quite healthy except for an occasional hairball.

[shpica]

You know it all depends on the risks you are willing to take, just like vaxing your own kids. If you vax your kids/cats you are taking the risk of the vax plus getting the illness and if you don't then you risk you kids/cats catching whatever they were supposed to be vaxed for.

I personally have 3 cats all indoor/outdoor cats. I hate kitty litter so when they are old enough they are encouraged to go outside to use the potty. My female cats are 10, 3, and 2. After they get fixed and a rabies shot I don't take them to the vet anymore, even to get a rabies booster. They all appear to be healthy and I know they are happy.

My MIL had a cat a couple of years ago that they religiously took to the vet, got all his shots plus extras, spoiled him rotten and only lived 2 years. He got some urinary tract problem, twice. The first time they paid over $1000 for surgery to remove the problem, but after the second time they decided it must be his time to go. He was a indoor/outdoor cat but only stayed in the yard when he was outside. I'm sure there are stories for both shots and no shots like this one.

Getting cats' shots doesn't necessarily mean that they'll live longer, healthier lives from my experience. The last 2 cats didn't even go to the vet while they were kittens. I went to the tractor supply store and gave them their first shots myself. I haven't done any research on vaxes for pets. This is only from my years of living with cats.

[Arduinna]

Vaccine Guide for Dogs and Cats what Every Pet Lover Should Know. They have it at Amazon, get it, read it. There is no difference between a 1 year and a 3 year rabies vax. It is the exact same vax and the timing is determined by local government.

[straighthaircurly]

We do vax every 3 years since ours occasionally slip out. Research has shown the vax actually protect for that long.

[glorified_rice]

My indoor cats, who have been with me since they were kittens, are not vaccinated. I also do not take them to the vet unless there is something wrong.

[Ambrose]

Originally Posted by phatchristy

I posted the AAFP guidelines on page 1 of this thread...:

http://www.cfa.org/articles/health/v...ecommendations

It basically summarizes what the DVM above said.

Sorry missed that. Thank you!