Indoor Cats & Vacinations.

I have two cats. One was adopted from the Humane Society and has had all his vacinations. He is about one year old and his name is Tater.

The second cat is named Shuday( Shoe-day ). We rescued this cat from a library that could no longer keep it. Now, I have found out that the person who gave the cat to the library in the first place was not honest about his medical care. So I have no real idea if this cat has ever had his vacinations or not. He seems healthy, if a little over weight.

My question is this: If these cats are " in-door only " cats, do they still need shots? I have a dog who is up to date on his vacinations and they get along great. He loves cats and they tolerate him, even tho he will not play with them. He is thirteen and past the silly cat stage.

This is my first time here and my first experience with cats. All help would be appreciated. Best regards, Tru

Hi there

We only get their first vaccination and their booster shot here in NZ. We don't bother about "yearly" vaccinations. My Nana went to a seminar recently where we were proved they are useless. Here in NZ, anyway.

Welcome to TCS! Here's a little bit of information on "core" and "optional" vaccinations. You might also want to contact your county courthouse/public shelter to see what inoculations are required in your county.
http://cats.about.com/cs/vaccination/a/vaccination.htm
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/vaccine_mezzanine.html
http://www.scaredy-cats.com/articles/Vaccination.html
If you enter "indoor cats AND vaccinations" in the "Search Forum" box on the upper right, that will lead you to various threads on the subject.

I just took Sophie in to the vet today. She was scheduled (by another vet in the clinic) to receive her Leukemia and Rabies vaccinations. My regular vet declined to administer the medications, because Sophie will be a strictly indoor cat. He says that they have documented an increase in cancer due to vaccinations on cats, and now they only vaccinate for what the animal may be at risk of contracting. It is still left up to the pet owner, but his recommendation was that she not receive unnecessary injections. We left the vet with no charge, and no vaccinations. (Sophie's a happy girl)