vaccinations - yearly?

I do not give yearly vax.
My dog and two youngest cats are on a 3 year rabies protocol.
My oldest cat has rabies vax reactions and has a vet document stating this (perfectly legal).

For everything else I have titers done to test for antibodies and vaccinate only when needed.

I started doing this when the oldest cat was 10, she's had antibodies present at every titer.

The only thing I do vax for yearly is parvo for the dog as the disease is running rampant around here.

If you have an indoor only cat, a question you might ask is why you need vaccinations in the first place.

They can have adverse effects, and if the animal has no exposure to risk factors and humans aren't carriers and you don't work in a shelter or anything to where you could bring something home... whats the point?

Every year people have bad reactions to vaccinations, but its important to achieve "herd immunity" since we are a highly social species. Our cats locked up at home aren't, so why subject them to the risk? I certainly wouldn't need most vaccinations if I lived on a remote island by myself.

This is something I have been asking myself for a long time!

Having indoor only cats, I took them in for rabies (3 year) and distemper (every year) only. I asked the vet the last time as I had recently researched the topic. He said that for indoor cats, he usually only recommends these two vaccines. I think at my next interval, I will ONLY do rabies though. Here's why:

Shortly after getting his shots, we had a scare with Giraffe. He developed a big lump on the injection site (scruff- which I have also read should not be performed b/c of the cancer possibility). It occurred about 1-1/2 - 2 weeks after the shots were given. I googled it and found out that this can be a very aggressive cancer caused by the vaccines. I called the vet and he said it's also common for those lumps to develop and go away shortly after- in those cases they aren't cancerous. We watched Giraffe closely and the lump got smaller and smaller and then disappeared. Not cancerous-- but still a scary call.

The only reason I would even consider rabies is because of an incident last summer. We unknowingly had a hole in the chimney flashing and bats were getting into our house through the attic. The first time, I was home when it came flying into the living room... The cats attacked it and I was very glad they had rabies vaccines. A few days later, I woke up to a dead and dismembered bat on the hallway floor-- the cats had gotten to it as well. We finally had the flashing fixed so no more bats-- but you never know when one might make its way into the house. Then you've got problems. For me, it's easier to get the 3 year vaccine and not worry about it than freak out and have to quarantine the poor kitty for 6 months (which is what happens if your cat is unvaccinated). At least here in WI, the dept of health will take the cat, require a quarantine and make you pay for it. So just better to get the vaccine IMHO-- plus it's the law in most areas from what I understand.

All other vaccines-- psh. Unless it's an outdoor cat... then I guess it depends on exposure to other animals and such.

I would research it and also talk with your vet. I have read that the 3 year vaccines have higher metal content so they might make for higher cases of cancer, but who knows... Good luck in making your decision!

The 3 year and 1 year vacs should be the exact same ones! Here's a link to what's currently recommended for cats, personally my cat is 15+ and hasn't had a vaccine other than rabies in 7 years and she's gotten one rabies in that time and I won't do anymore, she got vaccinated yearly the whole time I lived with my mom including several completely unnecessary ones for an indoor, only cat.
http://www.catvets.com/professionals...ations/?Id=176

I used to give mine shots yearly (the 3 in 1 and the rabies). But recent years have proven that the normal shots last longer then yearly. So now my non show cats are on a 3 yr cycle for shots and the ones that are actively being shown (and exposed to more cats, etc) are given every other year shots for their cycle.

BTW I never have and never will give the FELV shots (two of my Oci breeders will not use the vaccine and one is a vet) They also will void any health guarantee if you give the shots. Their breeding cats are tested for FELV.


Added - looking at that chart I think I'll revise it to just give shots every 3 yrs to all of them from now on.

Nuts is good until Dec 2011(and so is the dog) so I will be discussing what vaccines Nuts(and the dog) need for next year. I know they'll both get rabies and the dog will get parvo(and kennel cough) since he loves the dog park just to keep him safe(and there always seems to be outbreaks of one or the other in the area.) Nuts is indoor only and had all his shots as a kitten. Nuts has FeLV so he's more a special case being immunocompromised and we have 3 ferals outside, his mom and grandma, plus Blue, who just showed up one day and decided to stick around.

I would never ever get the FeLV vac unless I had a positive cat with a negative one, or there was a known risk factor. I have lost 3 positive cats to FeLV complications and I still wouldn't get the vaccine unless there was a known risk factor. Maude got it once because she was being boarded(they required it) and then again when Attitude and Nuts moved in.

Taryn

Mine all get a 3 year but I take them in yearly anyway for a checkup type of thing. They get their choppers looked at and I take a stool sample. A general health thing. But the shots are 3 years.

Denver requires all dogs and cats to be vaccinated against rabies.

You'll have to check with your vet on whther or not the law requires the yearly protocol.

One of the vets I have used would give a three-year rabies shot; the other vet said he only gives a one year shot because of safety issues. A vet tech (I know her through a rescue organization we both volunteer at) agreed with the second vet. I know the second vet is very cost conscious so I don't think he is trying to make money.
The first vet gave her a FELK booster, which I've since learned was a mistake.
I take Ritz in once a year for shots and a general checkup, including a check on her weight (I am way too biased to judge whether she is fat/thin/inbetween) and teeth. I am also a worry-wort; Ritz is my first cat ever and was freaked out when she threw up the first time. If it weren't so hard to get her into a cat carrier, she'd go more often for my own peace of mind; and surely would give me a piece of her mind for the unnecessary vet visits!
She has to go in the end of this month for a dental cleaning--gingivitus, and she is barely two years old. That's what she gets/got for having to live on the streets for the first six months of her life.

The deal with rabies, besides the law, is that if anything ever did happen like your cat happen to bite someone, or your cat bitten by a rabid animal - and rabies is in every state in the Union, other than Hawaii, I believe) - well, it'd be hard to live with, I think.

Mine are now just beginning to go in for twice year senior panels (we go at the end of May) and I talk with the vets re vaccination protocols. That said, my cats are indoor cats, yet obviously can be exposed to whatever I happen to bring in with me. Heck, they're treated with Revolution too!

Yes, I agree about rabies shots: required by law where I live, although Ritz is strictly an indoor cat.
If Ritz were to bite someone, she'd have to be placed into quarantine for at least two weeks. I hate to be away from Ritz for a day, much less two weeks.
I take care of a feral cat colony. In December 2010 one of the cats (Buckley) developed a cut around his ear which healed on its own. Fast forward six weeks later and I took him in to be neutered. I casually mentioned the cut to the receptionist and she said "I didn't hear you say that"; found out later, it was because Buckley would have had to be quarantined for six months because he had not had a rabies shot.
(Fast forward to now: Buckley has since been moved into a friend's Cattery and will be available for adoption in about a month