Vaccination questions

Are rabies shots mandatory for indoor-only cats? I live in Maryland, and another round of vaccinations is coming up for Pan....I just hate pumping him full of vaccinations if they are not necessary or required, due to him being pretty low-risk(indoor-only, single cat). He is in the middle of his FCRVP series right now, and when he goes back mid-Feb it will be time for him to get his rabies vac. Just seeing if anyone knows what the requirements are in MD....thank you!

It depends on your country or town/city laws. Ask your vet. It may not be yearly or you may be given the choice to use a "different" vaccination. I think some allow you to just check to titers too?

Whether they are mandatory probably depends on where you are located. I've been a little less reluctant about the rabies shots since around here, rabies is usually due to bats, and my vet said that she has seen more indoor cats bitten by bats than outdoor cats (not that she's seen many of either, but it still gave me pause).

when Bea was younger she got her rabies vacc yearly, now the vet says we can get them every couple instead...

Here's the excerpt from Maryland Animal Law Chapter

1. Required for cats. Except as provided in subsection 4, an owner or keeper of a cat over 3 months of age must have that cat vaccinated against rabies. Rabies vaccine must be administered by a licensed veterinarian or under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. Upon receiving an initial vaccination, a cat is considered protected for one year and an owner or keeper of that cat must get a booster vaccination for that cat one year after the initial vaccination and subsequent booster vaccinations at intervals that do not exceed the intervals recommended by a national association of state public health veterinarians for the type of vaccine administered.

Thank you all for the input...looks like he'll be getting his rabies vaccination after all.....BLAH!

Yes, rabies vaccines are mandatory in almost every state. Even for indoor only cats. If a bat or something gets in the house and bites the cat (its happened) and they are not protected; you are looking at your cat being put to sleep.

But now its been said that cats don't need yearly vaccinations - every 2-3 yrs is recommended.

We've just recently had a rabies scare here in the Toronto area. Someone bought a puppy at a flea market, puppy got sick, they couldn't afford the vet, took the puppy to the humane society, humane society worker got bitten, and puppy tested positive for rabies. Everyone who touched or had contact with that puppy at the flea market were asked to get rabies shots, the other puppies were put in quarantine (I believe 2 more had died as of 2 days ago). The Department of Health have set up a booth at that flea market to inform folks of the dangers of rabies. The last I heard was that at least 60 people had to have rabies vaccines and it could be more now since I haven't listened to the news for the past 2 days.

So, can you imagine if you had visited that flea market, stopped to touch and admire those cute puppies and then gone home with the rabies virus on your clothes and body? Even your indoor kitties would have been exposed. So, long story short - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.