Four Warnings from Vaccine Manufacturers: Who is ...

I just received an article (via RSS feed) in from 

http://www.littlebigcat.com/catswalk-newsletter/catswalk-newsletter-november-2014/

where one section, in particular, caught my eye, and so I thought I'd take the time to share it here.

This is the link to the vaccination information that littlebigcat.com was passing on:

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/four-warnings-from-vaccine-manufacturers-who-is-ignoring-them/:

I know there are laws that prohibit animal caregivers the choices concerning some vaccinations, but it never hurts to know this stuff when you take your cat./ dog to the vet who just gives vaccines without telling you all the information about them - especially those that may just be setting up your pet for a bigger health issue either after the vaccination or sometime later.

Here's one of the points that Dr. Jodie Gruenstern, DVM made:

 1. Vaccinate only healthy animals.  This warning, which is right on the label of every vaccine, means vets should not be vaccinating animals who are sick (e.g., cats with asthma, kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, cancer, or allergies, or cats who are on any medications–especially steroids) or animals who are undergoing surgery on the same day–yet vets vaccinate these animals all the time.

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I'd post all the warning points, but I believe that this website prohibits this practice. 

Such a good article.  I now have 3 animals who have a "Do Not Vaccinate" alert in their files.  DeeJay, Munchie and my dog Zoey.  They all have major issues and should not be vaccinated. 

 

I find this pretty upsetting given the fact that my vet demands I get my cats vaccinated against rabies. He said it's state law and I've been able to hold him off the last few times I took my cats in telling him I'll bring them in at another time. However, they made me prepay for the vaccine (as they said to protect themselves) and it was about 35 bucks so you can imagine prepaying for 4 vaccines was pricey. Two of my cats have issues such as asthma and allergies and I'm very much against them being vaccinated. I brought up my concerns but the vet just said "they'll be fine." I really don't want to change vets as they have been excellent so far in being in constant communication with me when I have concerns and such. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but I know if I need to take them in again, I might be forced to go through with it.

WorriedSoMuch said:

 
I find this pretty upsetting given the fact that my vet demands I get my cats vaccinated against rabies. He said it's state law and I've been able to hold him off the last few times I took my cats in telling him I'll bring them in at another time. However, they made me prepay for the vaccine (as they said to protect themselves) and it was about 35 bucks so you can imagine prepaying for 4 vaccines was pricey. Two of my cats have issues such as asthma and allergies and I'm very much against them being vaccinated. I brought up my concerns but the vet just said "they'll be fine." I really don't want to change vets as they have been excellent so far in being in constant communication with me when I have concerns and such. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but I know if I need to take them in again, I might be forced to go through with it.

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I hear what you are saying .. I have local by-laws that enforce mandatory rabies shots as well, but I get a 3 year rabies vaccine rather than yearly. Is this available through your vet or is it what is being offered now?

The thing with 3 year vaccines, it is my understanding they need to be the adjuvanted type rather than the non-adjuvanted which are the yearly ones you can get. Although you may be able to get the non-adjuvanted type for 3 year vaccines but then I would question how effective this would be over a three year period. The point of the vaccine is to protect the animal, not just satisfy state and municipal laws  

My holistic vet doesn't push vaccines, but will tell me about those that might be important to get. The decision should always be yours, when it comes to the decision to vaccinate or not.

Thank you for sharing this article! Fortunately, I found a new vet who is very conservative when it comes to vaccinating pets. Every pet parent should print this out and show it to their vet, especially if they have pets with health issues.

oneandahalfcats said:

 
I hear what you are saying .. I have local by-laws that enforce mandatory rabies shots as well, but I get a 3 year rabies vaccine rather than yearly. Is this available through your vet or is it what is being offered now?

The thing with 3 year vaccines, it is my understanding they need to be the adjuvanted type (live) rather than the non-adjuvanted which are the yearly ones you can get. Although you may be able to get the non-adjuvanted type for 3 year vaccines but then I would question how effective this would be over a three year period. The point of the vaccine is to protect the animal, not just satisfy state and municipal laws

 

My holistic vet doesn't push vaccines, but will tell me about those that might be important to get. The decision should always be yours, when it comes to the decision to vaccinate or not.

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My vet actually said the 3 year vaccine was less safe but I don't know what to believe. I brought up reactions and possible cancer and he said he uses PureVaxx which he said is the safest brand on the market. It's yearly though. I do feel the decision should be mine as well. Sometimes he brings up ridiculous logic about why I'll regret it if I don't vaccinate such as a bat coming down my chimney when I live in an apartment where that will never, ever happen or that my cats will bite someone and need to be quarantined which again is unlikely. They don't push for any of the other vaccines so I don't get any of the others though.

WorriedSoMuch said:

 
My vet actually said the 3 year vaccine was less safe but I don't know what to believe. I brought up reactions and possible cancer and he said he uses PureVaxx which he said is the safest brand on the market. It's yearly though. I do feel the decision should be mine as well. Sometimes he brings up ridiculous logic about why I'll regret it if I don't vaccinate such as a bat coming down my chimney when I live in an apartment where that will never, ever happen or that my cats will bite someone and need to be quarantined which again is unlikely. They don't push for any of the other vaccines so I don't get any of the others though.

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Talk about confusing, my vet said the exact opposite, he prefers the 3 year vaccine. He said that any time you poke a cat with a needle, it has the potential to cause inflammation, which can trigger an immune response, resulting in conditions like cancer and autoimmune disease. He said that vaccinating every year is not ideal because it increases inflammation in cats. The vet that I used to see agreed with your vet....she liked the PureVaxx for the same reasons your vet mentions. They BOTH use the darn bat example with me too! But my  new vet admits that the likelihood of that every happening is extremely remote,but since he's a vet and the state requires it, he has to give me his "shpeel". The rabies shot is the ONLY vaccine I will allow and I am even reluctant to allow them to administer that.

That sounds like a bit of nonsense to me. My vet clinic uses PureVaxx which is one of the safer brands although I think its more expensive than some others. It could be that your clinic might have to special order the 3 year which is why he may be suggesting the one year?

Dr. Pierson of catinfo.org, has a good article on vaccinations and explains the differences between adjuvanted (killed) vaccines, and non-adjuvanted (live or modified) vaccines, which may help you in the decision-making process. I just checked and according to Dr. Pierson, the Purevaxx non-adjuvanted, recombinant vaccine is good for 3 years. I would consider this to be reliable information.

Here is the link : http://www.catinfo.org/?link=vaccines#Vaccines

PS: Just to correct my earlier post, adjuvanted = killed virus vaccine. non-adjuvanted = live or modified virus vaccine.

^ Mine get Purevaxx too. My vet goes under the assumption that the rabies shot will be given, but she always asks if we want it since they are indoor only. And she will only give one shot at a time and not in conjunction with neuters, surgery, other treatments, etc.  

lt is "compulsory" here too, but doesn't get pushed. ln fact in Ontario it falls to the local health units to mandate this. Most do, but not all, so in some areas of Ontario you don't need to get the rabies vaccine.

l've had cats not vaccinated before and there was no issue with it, but it is something l elect to do if and when the cat is healthy. The main reasons l have mine done are a/ l have a dog who goes out meeting other dogs and the occasional cat, and b/ l'd be terrified someone got bitten or clawed and decided to make a deal out of it. l used to have a home nail salon and had clients coming every day that l obviously didn't know personally, so l kept everybody's shots up to date just in case.

I just discussed vaccination with my vet today. He advised me to not vaccinate past the kitten series. He doesn't believe in it....not even the 1 year booster. Cool.

Research:  PureVax vaccines

Here's the link to PureVax to check out for yourselves:  http://cats.merial.us/CatProducts/purevax/Pages/default.aspx

From what I've read, the one-year may be preferred as the 3-year is newer, and we know that "newer" isn't necessary the best until it gets some time being used.

Also, from what I know now, I would only get this brand of vaccine - but, .... what's good one day may just change tomorrow - we do the best with whatever knowledge we know at the time ... 

There are many other informative websites - like catinfo.org - that cat caregivers might find informative

Also, my vet told me that the U.S. does not permit "live" virus vaccines because of the potential disease causing properties of the live vaccine -

 --I became confused in my research and thought that non- adjuvanted virus was a live virus, but I guess here in the States the name is actually synonymous with "modified".   ?

imagine my confusion after my first bout of research ... here I'd been calling around asking vets about having a live virus vaccine and non of them did so I quit looking.  Another thing, I even called my vet's office to see what the name of their vaccine was and the Reception gave me another name other than PureVax, yet my vet (the admin manager, also) told me they use only PureVax ... 

Mosimom said:

I just discussed vaccination with my vet today. He advised me to not vaccinate past the kitten series. He doesn't believe in it....not even the 1 year booster. Cool.

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Yes, I'd sure align with this vet.  However, I'd make sure they were tested for any of the diseases that was mentioned in the article I shared about the 4 Warnings before I began the kitten series.

When I was recently (well, I guess it's been a whole year now!!) getting some feral-born kittens spayed/neutered I didn't want any vaccinations - I'd asked about the PureVax at the clinic and they didn't seem to know about it - I'm guessing because it IS more expensive (?)  - so they didn't even get the rabies vaccine - they're all inside cats now, so unless a rabid bat finds its way inside my house, I think they're okay.

The outside feral-born that I've been able to trap and spay/neuter got a one-year rabies vaccine - don't know what kind, and at the time didn't know enough to even ask questions.  But, I'm counting on them being okay, too, as I doubt that I'd be able to get them trapped again to get another dose of the rabies vaccine.

I do have 2 regrets that I hope don't come back to bite me. I just didn't know any better. Mosi had a rabies vaccine at 13 weeks and felv at 6 months. Both killed virus. After learning about the dangers of these killed adjuvant vaccines I have been freaking out. She is about 14 months old right now and sarcoma can happen at anytime.
I had planned on rescuing a cat from a local shelter and wanted to make sure Mosi was covered. I feel terrible and have become a helicopter cat mom because of it.

Mosimom said:

I do have 2 regrets that I hope don't come back to bite me. I just didn't know any better. Mosi had a rabies vaccine at 13 weeks and felv at 6 months. Both killed virus. After learning about the dangers of these killed adjuvant vaccines I have been freaking out. She is about 14 months old right now and sarcoma can happen at anytime.
I had planned on rescuing a cat from a local shelter and wanted to make sure Mosi was covered. I feel terrible and have become a helicopter cat mom because of it.

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Whew!  I hear you!

I keep telling myself that I can only do what I know to do at the time I do it.  Does that make any sense?

We are in the continual state of learning - what makes things more difficult are all the differing "voices" on any given subject.

Don't beat yourself up - just keep learning, and doing the best you can with the resources that you have - that's all you can do.

This is the advice I have just renewed to myself because of the recent regrets I have just experienced recently.

Even though I say the words to myself, the reality is that I'm finding it difficult to believe. 

I sure hope that this hasn't slowed you down on rescuing another precious cat!  

My cat got all his vaccinations because the previous owner couldn't remember the last time they were done. He reacted really badly, knocked out for 48 hours, hot, sore to touch and didn't eat or move and took him a while to get back to normal.  I spoke to my vet a couple of months before Xmas and asked his views on not vaccinating the cat every year. He said the manufacturers will insist thats the safest way (of course they will, ker-ching). but he personally thought it would be ok and safe to leave for a year or perhaps even two.  Then I get a letter last week asking me why I had not bought my cat in for his vaccination booster! I guess vets will cover their backsides with advice. Insurance companies and catteries insist on vaccinations every year tho don't they?

Fleabags Mom said:

 
My cat got all his vaccinations because the previous owner couldn't remember the last time they were done. He reacted really badly, knocked out for 48 hours, hot, sore to touch and didn't eat or move and took him a while to get back to normal.  I spoke to my vet a couple of months before Xmas and asked his views on not vaccinating the cat every year. He said the manufacturers will insist thats the safest way (of course they will, ker-ching). but he personally thought it would be ok and safe to leave for a year or perhaps even two.  Then I get a letter last week asking me why I had not bought my cat in for his vaccination booster! I guess vets will cover their backsides with advice. Insurance companies and catteries insist on vaccinations every year tho don't they?

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Egad!  Did you contact the vet when he was sick so they know and have on record that he was so sick?

I don't feel my vets think of $$ first - in fact they know I have multiple cats and have discounted several charges for me - the Vets I have are very professional and seem to be ahead of the curve when providing care and the fees are worth it for me as long as I am getting quality care.

Usually if you are boarding a cat they require certain vaccinations - that's why I get a cat sitter when I have to leave.

I get reminders - but they are just computer generated and I disregard them.  When I tell them that a cat will not be getting vaccines, they flag the file.

Sounds like you might need to change Vets. ?  And, yes - there are laws for Rabies vaccines - so, you need to find a vet that uses a vaccine that is less likely to harm the cat.  

I did get in touch with the vets and they couldn't have cared less - so I switched to the vet I have now and asked them advice. Seems much better, after some teething probs, lol. I wanted to know exactly what, why and whatever they proposed to do for my cat when he got sick! I think they were a bit put out to begin with, esp as I'd then do research, but they soon got used to me. I do the same for my own care so to me it makes sense to do it for the cat too.  Keep hold of your vets with their better attitude towards treatment and money! You've got a good un there :-) The new vet said we'd do them as single shots with a couple of weeks between and find out if there was one causing the reaction or the fact he had them all at once. No rabies here in the UK, so none needed luckily. We do want insurance but not the injections every year so not sure what to do there yet.

Yeah, I wouldn't leave our cat in a cattery, ever. Apparently he's been in one once (according to previous owner) and spent the whole time screaming. He's a bengal and very vocal when unhappy, I'd not want to do that to him anyway nor trust someone not to find ways to make him quiet if in there for a week or two. He lost his voice after just 48 hours in hospital doing the same thing and drove the nurses mad!

Andrya said:

^ Mine get Purevaxx too. My vet goes under the assumption that the rabies shot will be given, but she always asks if we want it since they are indoor only. And she will only give one shot at a time and not in conjunction with neuters, surgery, other treatments, etc.  



lt is "compulsory" here too, but doesn't get pushed. ln fact in Ontario it falls to the local health units to mandate this. Most do, but not all, so in some areas of Ontario you don't need to get the rabies vaccine.



l've had cats not vaccinated before and there was no issue with it, but it is something l elect to do if and when the cat is healthy. The main reasons l have mine done are a/ l have a dog who goes out meeting other dogs and the occasional cat, and b/ l'd be terrified someone got bitten or clawed and decided to make a deal out of it. l used to have a home nail salon and had clients coming every day that l obviously didn't know personally, so l kept everybody's shots up to date just in case.

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Sounds like you have a good vet

We have a fair amount of wildlife here so this is a large part of the equation around the need for rabies in my jurisdiction. Interestingly, I came across a blog post about vaccinations in Ontario and according to some research that the blog author conducted, there are some definite misconceptions among vets and in turn pet owners around what the provincial laws state with regards to vaccinations.

It would seem from this account that some vets, even though they are giving the 3 year vaccination, have been found to be giving this YEARLY on the assumption that this is the law? Also of interest is that if your pet has an existing condition that might be compromised through receiving the rabies vaccination, that the Ontario regulations allow for the rabies vaccine to be waived, provided a vet has issued a statement of exemption. Imagine how many pet owners and vets are not aware of this?

Here is the link to the blog post : http://siriusdog.com/rabies-vaccination-ontario-regulations-law.htm

Note : I tried the link to the regs in the blog post, but it doesn't work so I went and found it, here : http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_900567_e.htm. The bit about the exemption is in section 8

For @Worriedsomuch and others : There are similar exemptions in place in the states for animals with existing conditions that waive the requirement for rabies vaccinations. I came across the following page : http://www.dogs4dogs.com/rabies-laws, that lists the regulations of at least 15 states that hold medical exceptions for rabies vaccines. The highlighted passage in each regulation explains the exemption. Depending on where you are in the world, this might apply to you.