Do you give your own vaccines?

I was just wondering if those of you that have multiple cats.......do you give your own vaccines? I see some on her with 7-8 cats, i can imagine the vet bills! And those of you that rescue? Just curious. Thanks

I go to the low cost clinic and they get shots/fixed either at 4-5 months old or if I get them later as soon as they are healthy enough to take in. Besides that my crew(21) gets no boosters. I take them to a regular vet if needed(couple have urinary issues and bad teeth but otherwise they are pretty healthy for thier ages(5 1/2 mos-12 yo) RJ

I have given vaccines in the past, but my SO is reluctant to help, (hold them while I do the vaccines), and I felt a little nervous about it myself so I only did it that one time.

I donated what was left of the vaccines and a box of syringes to the rescuer that helped me get set up on the TNR program. She was happy to have them as she goes out in the field doing rescues and has a lot more to care for. I now have the vet do them all.

FYI, Rabies MUST be given by the vet by law and you cannot buy that vaccine, but you can get all the others that I know about. I understand though that you shouldn't do the FeLuk without the cats first being tested because if they are positive it could cause severe problems.

If you want to do your own, it wou8ld be a good idea to get with a vet that understands and gives you his/her blessings so if you ever have a problem or need some help with your first ones then the vet can help you.

Good Luck with whatever you choose to do.

oh no, i'm not. i was just wondering for those that have so many cats what you do. that would get extremely expensive.

Yep, it does cost and trying to space them out helps a bit. Many have a credit card designated for pet care so what needs to be done can be and then it can be paid of with payments.

I don't pay vet bills.
MIL runs a cat sanctuary and works at a vet clinic, all of our vet costs are defrayed.
In fact, they only actually go to the vet for emergencies.
She comes with her cooler full of vaccines, bag of sterile syringes and vacc. records on each cat, and vaccs them once a year.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

I don't pay vet bills.
MIL runs a cat sanctuary and works at a vet clinic, all of our vet costs are defrayed.
In fact, they only actually go to the vet for emergencies.
She comes with her cooler full of vaccines, bag of sterile syringes and vacc. records on each cat, and vaccs them once a year.

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Oh to have a MIL like that!

Originally Posted by Sammie's mom

oh no, i'm not. i was just wondering for those that have so many cats what you do. that would get extremely expensive.

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No, I don't give my own vaccines.

I only own as many cats as I can afford to, otherwise I would have less. We have a savings account just for pet expenses, routine and emergency.

i couldnt stand to give my babies shots (kinda like taking my kids to the dr i usually cry more than they do lol) my guys got their kitten shots and the other tests done when i got them but other than that i usually just go to the vets to do rabies shots i get them a check up when i do that.

I only have 2 cats so I guess this doesn't really apply to me, but I don't think you can self vaccinate over here. I would rather take them to a vet anyway for their annual health check. Apart from the fact that they need to be examined prior to having the vacciation, my insurance would be invalidated if they weren't checked over by a vet at least once a year. Vaccinations don't cost much more than a consultation for me. The cost is just something that you have to factor in when you keep lots of cats. I wouldn't want to cut corners just to save money - my cats' health is paramount. I'd also rather be in the vets surgery, or close by on the way home, if they developed an acute reaction to the vaccine.

I dont know if we can either. I personally wouldn't want to do it - it woudl be tricky as I live on my own, and I honestly prefer them to be checked over first, just to make sure there isn't anything I hadn't noticed. I do only have 2 cats though, because of vet bills. Mind you, as mine are 11 and 13, I am not sure how long I am giong to vaccinate for, my vet vaccinates till death, but I am not sure it is necessary at their age,

if you ever decide to self vaccinate please please PLEASE take a rectal temperature first!!!!! Always make sure the cat is healthy before you vaccinate. A good vet wont vaccinate if an animal has a fever or anything that could compromise the animal's immune system
It is always better to leave medical diagnosis and treatment as well as vaccinations to a trained professional. A Vet doesnt go through that many years of school for nothing.

Originally Posted by treeelf

if you ever decide to self vaccinate please please PLEASE take a rectal temperature first!!!!! Always make sure the cat is healthy before you vaccinate. A good vet wont vaccinate if an animal has a fever or anything that could compromise the animal's immune system
It is always better to leave medical diagnosis and treatment as well as vaccinations to a trained professional. A Vet doesnt go through that many years of school for nothing.

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Additionally, many vets will not recognize self-vaccination if and when it comes time for a cat to stay overnight in the clinic and will require that THEY re-vaccinate the cat before he/she can stay overnight. This leads to a very serious problem with over-vaccination. For those of you who do self-vaccinate, please - be very, very careful and do your homework on what to watch out for afterwards. Many cats can and do have serious reactions to vaccines - some are life-threatening.

My vet back home always said that he didn't trust most people to self-vaccinate. He told me that the vaccines are pretty temperature sensitive, and a lot of times people who don't know any better will leave it sitting around at room temperature for awhile before administering it, which pretty much ruined the vaccine and made it pointless. I'm not saying that everyone does that or that people who do self-vaccinate shouldn't, but yeah, agreeing with Gaye, a lot of vets won't recognize it and will require a re-vaccination.

Just adding a little tidbit here.

When I vaccinated my own brood, It was only after they had been vet checked, spayed/neutered and given their rabies vaccine under the TNR or reduced rate programs, so there was no doubt as to the health of the cats. The fact that I had more than 22 cats, (I kept losing count about that point), to do was a great motivator at the time.

One of the reasons I don't do it myself now, (besides my mate not wanting to help because he thinks all vaccines are a poison not needed).

Reading about injection site sarcomas here. I had no problems with any I had vaccinated, but I can only imagine the guilt I would feel if I had.

The other big reason: I don't want my fur-babies to see me as the bad guy.