How important are shots?

Okay, So for the last year i've been taking care of about 20 "feral" cats. Since october I've had 4 feral cats move into my house. (They are the only cats living in my house, I have 2 dogs and a bird and ferrets and a bunch of other animals though haha.) Since December I've been getting the feral cats in my neighborhood spayed/neutered with the help of a low cost spay and neutering program. THE CATS IN MY HOUSE ARE FIXED, ALSO.. But my question is tomorrow I have an appointment to get the 4 cats that are living in my house their shots. I'm wondering how necessary it is? I hate to sound cheap but I seriously don't have any money. I have 210 bucks to my name and all of that would go towards my cats shots. Do they really need their shots? They don't go outside anymore and they don't really have any contact with other cats. Sometimes I bring the cats from outside in, but only for one night, when they have an appointment to be fixed the following day...but even then they're not really around my indoor cats. So how necessary is it to get my cats their shots? My indoor cats have already been around the outside cats their whole life...so even if I did ebring them in..it's not like they are going to contract some kind of disease from cats they've been around their whole life, right? I don't know. I just really need to save money because it already cost me around 100 bucks a month to feed 20 cats, and then on top of toys and neutering and yada yada i'm trying to cut corners. UNLESS IT'S NECESSARY BECAUSE I REALLY LOVE MY CATS AND WANT THE BEST FOR THEM.

Thanks for reading this.

P.S. what can my cats have? Feline aids/leukemia? Do a lot of ferals have that? Tomorrow if I want to get my cats the leukemia/aids shots will the vet do a test to see if they already have it and how much does that typically cost?

I am not big on loads of shots myself for indoor cats but the fear is what happens if they escape? It is a necessary expense. Work something out with your vet for a payment plan. Usually they will work with you. You would feel awful if they contracted a preventable disease.

I think it's something that you have to decide what is right for you and your cats. Do some research looking for articles from reputable vet universities.

Mine got their series of kitten shots and I plan to only get what is required by law in my state. One of my kittens reacted badly from vaccinations and the other did not. I did make sure to wait a week between the last set of kitten vaccines and the rabies vaccine to give their immune system a chance to recover.

How old are they?

Now mine are older they only get what is required by law and 3 year shots because taking them out stresses them (they are all over 6). Autumn on the other hand was feral and never had kitten shots so she will have updated shots over the next few years to build up her antibodies.

Originally Posted by Skimble

I think it's something that you have to decide what is right for you and your cats. Do some research looking for articles from reputable vet universities.

Mine got their series of kitten shots and I plan to only get what is required by law in my state. One of my kittens reacted badly from vaccinations and the other did not. I did make sure to wait a week between the last set of kitten vaccines and the rabies vaccine to give their immune system a chance to recover.

How old are they?

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I do the same. The kittens get their rounds and the adults no longer get any except what is required since they don't go outside. The rabies vaccine can be hard on cats.

all my cats get: distemper at least once, rabies and worming. That's it. I maintain the rabies every 3 years, after the intial first year (1) year shot. I don't give shots for the other stuff. IMHO they really don't need them.

My old cat gets nothing, he is 18 and doesn't go much outdoors. He will soon cross the rainbow bridge boo hoo.

I use a low cost spay neuter vet service, and they charge 15 for the rabies shot, 8 for distemper. Basically at cost.

For my stay at homes, I get the visiting vet, she charges 50 for exam, plus 50 for the other stuff. About 100 per cat.

Cheaper than going to my regular vet.

I always made a point of getting all the kitten shots, but after that I only get the required shots (rabies). I have 6 cats and only 1 goes out all the time and 1 gets out occasionally in the summer. The babies (under 2) were all feral rescues and never go out. The feline luk. is important because of the ones that do go outside and come back in can bring it with them. We don't have low cost clinics in my rural town, but on occasion the vet here will run a special, litter specials, or two for one. They will also do payments. Is it possible to do one cat at a time to spread out the cost? Here we also have a farmer's co-op that we can buy the vaccines ourself (except rabies) and do it ourselves. My hubby is very good at this lol. Also, try your local shelter they might have discounts or know of local programs. Good luck