Rabies Vaccine

kittyluvvie

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Misha is a indoor kitten who is not in contact with any other animals. Is the Rabies vaccine really necessary? I've heard bad things about this vaccine and REALLY don't want to get it. Thank you!
 

casi_cassie

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Well, I personally recommend that you vaccinate your kitten.
Even if your cat will never ever in its entire life have contact with the outside world rabies can be carried in on your shoes. If you step on poop or saliva of a dog or cat that is infected with rabies your kitten could contract it if it comes in contact with your shoes.
I am only saying this because I volunteered for a while at a cat shelter, and I always had to clean my shoes with bleach before and after I got done.
I think that maybe the bad things that you have heard could be because of that fact that people do not get informed about the correct age to vaccinate their pets, and even a vet can put in too much of the vaccine which can cause problems.
Please consult your vet as they should be able to tell you at what age your state allows the vaccine!
Good luck!
 

ut0pia

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I'm doing one rabies shot as a kitten then one at 1 year old and never worrying about it again. My kitten is in the same situation u described.
 

mews2much

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My cats have never had it except Cleo.
The vet said indoor cats do not need it since they are indoors.
My friends cat got cancer from that shot and she never orgave her self.
 

breellablue

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Cancer from the rabies shot? I've never hear of that before. I will look it up.

Every cat that comes into my home as a foster gets their rabies shot at three months old (usually when they get altered) I also try and keep up on my personal cats too as my boyfriend's mother has cats who do go outside and we live in the same house.
 

lyrajean

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The rabies vaccine can cause a fibrosarcoma at the injection site. Please talk to your Vet if you're concerned about vaccine side effects and what to look for.

That said please vacinate your cat against rabies. Rabies is 100 percent fatal to animals and humans. The risk of vaccine caused cancer in cats is somewhere between 1/1000 to 1/10000 according to websites I've read.

Rabies vaccination is also required in 41 out of 50 States. If your cat ever comes down with a illness that could be rabies and you cannot prove vaccination, your pet can be quarrantined, PTS, have its head chopped off and shipped to a State pathology lab for testing. This happened once to someone's cat when I was working at an Animal hospital in the US. The owners did not have any choice in the matter, was my understanding.

Ultimately its your choice, but weigh this against the very small risk of cancer.
 

farleyv

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It does not matter if your animal goes out or not. My vet told me the story of a man who had indoor cats and did not get them vaccinated. Two bats got into his chimney and ended up in the basement where the cats came into contact with them. The bats were rabid, and the two cats had to be put down. Its not worth it! Rabies is always fatal and nothing to fool around with. It's the law in New York State and many others. Don't be over protective and worry about cancer and such. What if your cat gets outside by mistake? Do you want to have to worry about rabid animals coming into contact with it? Don't be foolish. Get the animal vaccinated. We are not talking FIV or FLV here.
 

ut0pia

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Originally Posted by Lyrajean

The rabies vaccine can cause a fibrosarcoma at the injection site. Please talk to your Vet if you're concerned about vaccine side effects and what to look for.

That said please vacinate your cat against rabies. Rabies is 100 percent fatal to animals and humans. The risk of vaccine caused cancer in cats is somewhere between 1/1000 to 1/10000 according to websites I've read.

Rabies vaccination is also required in 41 out of 50 States. If your cat ever comes down with a illness that could be rabies and you cannot prove vaccination, your pet can be quarrantined, PTS, have its head chopped off and shipped to a State pathology lab for testing. This happened once to someone's cat when I was working at an Animal hospital in the US. The owners did not have any choice in the matter, was my understanding.

Ultimately its your choice, but weigh this against the very small risk of cancer.
Originally Posted by farleyv

It does not matter if your animal goes out or not. My vet told me the story of a man who had indoor cats and did not get them vaccinated. Two bats got into his chimney and ended up in the basement where the cats came into contact with them. The bats were rabid, and the two cats had to be put down. Its not worth it! Rabies is always fatal and nothing to fool around with. It's the law in New York State and many others. Don't be over protective and worry about cancer and such. What if your cat gets outside by mistake? Do you want to have to worry about rabid animals coming into contact with it? Don't be foolish. Get the animal vaccinated. We are not talking FIV or FLV here.
I agree with both you that rabies is a scary disease and accidents happen even for indoor animals they can go outside...
To minimize the risk of fibrosarcoma though, It's best not to do the shot every year like most vets recommend. (There is a 3 year rabies shot that is more dangerous than the 1 year, I'm not talking about that one here) I've done some research and according to most holistic vets one rabies shot at 1 year old fully protects an animal for life. You can do the shot every 3 years but I would not recommend anything more than that. You can see that American Veterinary medical association recommends that you do not have shots done every year but to do them every 3 years to minimize risks of fibrosarcoma and just not to poison your animal with unnecessary shots. Unfortunately the law doesn't agree with this which is sad, in a lot of states it's the law to have a rabies shot every year and like Lyrajean said, if you are asked to prove that your cat has had rabies shot and you cannot, then your cat is in big trouble...I take that risk because I feel that the odds of that happening are bigger than cancer. My local news just did a report about how cats should not be vaccinated every year. I do think it's important to do some vaccination for rabies though. And when it comes to fibrosarcoma, the irritation from the needle is what causes it, not the actual vaccination. Meaning, it doesn't matter what vaccine you're giving them, as long as they are getting it injected many times they are at risk. So it doesn't matter if it's rabies or distemper.
 

fifi1puss

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Its a law in some states. Massachusetts requires it by law. I am kinda glad because you just never know. I would hate to have to put my cats down because of not having them vaccined. Can you imagine how sad that would be?
 

alleygirl

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Also, if someone is visiting your home and the cat bites them, animal control will want proof of vaccination. If you don't have it, they can and will take your cat and put it in quarantine for 10 days. This happened to a member on this site last year and it was his own cat. Doctors are required by law to report all animal bites to animal control.

ETA: My boys get the Purevax rabies vaccine, which is supposed to be safer. http://www.vas-awareness.org/vaxreccs.htm
 

ut0pia

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Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

Also, if someone is visiting your home and the cat bites them, animal control will want proof of vaccination. If you don't have it, they can and will take your cat and put it in quarantine for 10 days. This happened to a member on this site last year and it was his own cat. Doctors are required by law to report all animal bites to animal control.

ETA: My boys get the Purevax rabies vaccine, which is supposed to be safer. http://www.vas-awareness.org/vaxreccs.htm
Wow that's scary. Good thing I know now so that if it ever happens to me I can lie to the dr. and say it was a random stray cat that bit me and ran away. Yes I'm breaking the law but the law is stupid.
Actually that's a bad idea cuz then they will want to give ME a rabies shot lol...
This is so annoying! I feel like we need to do something about this vaccinating for rabies every year. It's bad for the cats and all research indicates it's not necessary
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by AlleyGirl

Also, if someone is visiting your home and the cat bites them, animal control will want proof of vaccination. If you don't have it, they can and will take your cat and put it in quarantine for 10 days. This happened to a member on this site last year and it was his own cat. Doctors are required by law to report all animal bites to animal control.

ETA: My boys get the Purevax rabies vaccine, which is supposed to be safer. http://www.vas-awareness.org/vaxreccs.htm
This for the most areas is true ... here they only have to report DOG bites as no other animals are required to have any shots
 

momofmany

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When I was a young child, our neighbor was taking care of our cat while we were away on vacation and the cat bit her. The cat was quarantined for 10 days to ensure that it didn't have rabies. Back then rabies vaccines were not required by law, so it was either the quarantine or remove her head and send it for testing. We actually had to push really hard for the quarantine, because they wanted to euthanize the cat.

Do you ever want to risk this?
 

wingss2fly

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We only did a 4 in 1 shot. No rabies, everyone is inside, and our vet said not to stress over it.

Take Care
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

And when it comes to fibrosarcoma, the irritation from the needle is what causes it, not the actual vaccination. Meaning, it doesn't matter what vaccine you're giving them, as long as they are getting it injected many times they are at risk. So it doesn't matter if it's rabies or distemper.
So, what about the kitties who take SubQ every day, or insulin shots? Does that mean every time the get a shot, they have the risk of cancer? I never heard of this risk with anything but vaccines??
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by carolinalima

So, what about the kitties who take SubQ every day, or insulin shots? Does that mean every time the get a shot, they have the risk of cancer? I never heard of this risk with anything but vaccines??
true thought ... a group of scientists gave a rat a shot of PURE water rat got cancer at site ... any foreign body or substance put in the body risk s a tumor
 

ut0pia

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Originally Posted by carolinalima

So, what about the kitties who take SubQ every day, or insulin shots? Does that mean every time the get a shot, they have the risk of cancer? I never heard of this risk with anything but vaccines??
I'm pretty sure those who take subq's and insulin shots are also at a higher risk of cancer but no one looks at those things because they are absolutely necessary to keep the cat alive...I mean, obviously we'd choose to give them to the cat and take whatever small risk of cancer there is. When it comes to a shot that isn't going to do much for a cat who doesn't have a lot of exposure anyway, that's when we start to consider is it worth taking the risk. The best thing to do to be 100% safe is probably to do the internasal version but I don't think they have that for all shots.
 

carolina

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Originally Posted by sharky

true thought ... a group of scientists gave a rat a shot of PURE water rat got cancer at site ... any foreign body or substance put in the body risk s a tumor
I don't get it.... So then how come the 1yr vaccine is safer than the 3yr? They are both injections... I think there is more to it than simply giving them an injection.
 

ut0pia

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Originally Posted by carolinalima

I don't get it.... So then how come the 1yr vaccine is safer than the 3yr? They are both injections... I think there is more to it than simply giving them an injection.
There's the reaction to the vaccine but that doesn't cause cancer it can just make the cat sick and possibly kill the cat very fast. I think they are separate issues, reaction and cancer when it comes to vaccines.
 
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