Are annual shots over kill !!!

I thought this was interesting, and wanted to get some feed back on this from you guys.

http://www.vas-awareness.org/WSJAreA...tsOverkill.pdf

My old vet moved to the three yr protocal two yrs ago ... but he did give my then 16 yr old cat a full set of shots...

My new vet said no more than every three yrs and she stops when the animals are 10 and thinks that soon protocal will be every five yrs

Sharky, the problem with this is our state says you have to have your rabies shots every year. But if this ad is to be believed, then it could be causing harm to my cats. What do I do about this problem?

The 3-year rabies shot is more dangerous than the 1-year rabies. It has a higher incidance of site tumors and such. None of our local vets do 3-years because of this.

We do an annual rabies and 3-way booster. No leukemia or anything else.

Originally Posted by SolarityBengals

The 3-year rabies shot is more dangerous than the 1-year rabies. It has a higher incidance of site tumors and such. None of our local vets do 3-years because of this.

We do an annual rabies and 3-way booster. No leukemia or anything else.

Click to expand...

The artical says that your ragular rabies shot has been found to last past 3 years. I wouldn't be giving the 3 year one.

Can you do blood tetters??? that would show immunity without a yearly shot...

that is what i would suggest in your case ... I am quite lucky in the fact that cats here arent required to have any shots though most people have them done regularly

Our vet is on a three year protocol, but we do not vaccinate, we do titers and vaccinate when needed.

I vaccinate while in the kitten stage (2 or 3 sets I believe it is) and up to a year and then I do not vaccinate again. Unless your cat is outdoors or in close proximity to diseased cats or in a shelter environment, I see no reason. Multiple vets and shelter managers have told me that vaccines basically last a life time. It is however important to have your cat seen by a vet once a year. Of course a vet is not going to tell you that you don't really need to vaccinate every year. They are either saying that for the money OR just to get you in every year to have your cat looked at.

interesting article.

I have had there kitten shots done, so do they have to have their year old shot, and then just keep giving them the titers test every year to see where they are at? I mean I don't agree with the yearly boosters either, but I want to make certain they have had the shots they need to keep them healthy. They are inside cats, and don't come in contact with other cats. As for that titers test, I am going to get it done on my two chi's they both have had their shots, so I want to make certain they don't need any more for the time being.

I just figure I can trust my vet..and lots of pets have been getting annual shots for years, and not had problems from it.

I want to do everything imaginable to keep my cat healthy, so whatever the vet says, I will do. If it turns out she does get some problem..I will be heartbroken, but I don't know who I could trust more when it comes to the health of my cat than my vet who deals with cats everyday.

When we moved, our new vet changed Puppy to the 3-year. He said he's more comfortable with it. The article says Pfizer actually uses the same formula for the 1 year and 3 year, so I think the 3 year is safer.

Our vet also said that if Puppy is indoors, by himself, and only has supervised outdoor visits, there's no need to vaccinate. He said that if his situation changes (we get another cat/dog or change him to indoor/outdoor), then we should vaccinate. (He won't ever been outdoors anyway due to his declaw...huh...I just realized that if we ever get any other cats, then we'll probably make them all indoor only because of him...guess we'd look into kitty fencing for them...)

I do 3 year protocol....I feel more comfortable with that than both doing shots every year and never doing them.