So I have a cat Poppet who's been home here more than a year now, almost a year and half actually, who has had no problems that sent us back to the vet after our initial visit when first adopted. So she is overdue for a checkup, I should think. Her sister Widget was at the vet once or twice in the meantime for one condition, about 6 months ago, so I'm not feeling like she has to go back quite as soon. (It isn't like I really got a special deal for bringing them in together that I could tell, hehe.) They are 5 years old, closer to 6 years, if I remember correctly from their records.
What I'm wondering is if you have some thoughts and/or sources of info that you like on current thinking with vaccines. Before I just did what the vet suggested, and for that matter my only experience with my current vet and vaccinating was with Amber, who only saw him when she was into her senior years. From what I remember he didn't give her anything but the rabies vaccine, and in her last year he might not even have done that, although I think we have a law here for annual rabies shot (Pennsylvania).
In other words, at close to 6 years of age, how often if ever should a cat still have a FVRCP vaccine? The other thing is I'm not up on the different rabies vaccine choices and I should probably know about that as well. If nothing else she would likely need the rabies shot. I have all the paperwork which should show when they last had shots, as they spent 6 months in the shelter before they came home with us. They had no shots in their initial vet visit because they had come from the shelter where all that was up to date, so no shots have been done in over a year now, probably about a year and a half and could be going on 2 years.
I'm not at all anti-vaccine. Indeed as far as humans go that stuff seems to get us into trouble and we may well not have good immunity towards some of the things well into our adulthood (measles, pertussis, etc.) But there is certainly also a point at which we'd be overdoing it for the cats. I read some pieces on this site about what to definitely vaccinate for and what is optional, but not what later in life schedules should be.
The cats stay inside 100% of the time and are the only two pets in the house.
Thanks for any input. If it helps to know more precisely when their last shots were I will post them here. I gather I'll be looking them up anyway to tell the vet.
EDIT: Because of the long shelter stay it is actually approaching 2 years, because of course the shelter does this right away on admission. It's 5/11/13 for rabies, and 6/10/13 for the FVRCP because they gave a set of 2, a month apart. The cats appear to have been born in early July 2009. (I know this because they even came into the same shelter as tiny week or two old kittens, and then were returned there twice by people who were apparently less cat-worthy.)
What I'm wondering is if you have some thoughts and/or sources of info that you like on current thinking with vaccines. Before I just did what the vet suggested, and for that matter my only experience with my current vet and vaccinating was with Amber, who only saw him when she was into her senior years. From what I remember he didn't give her anything but the rabies vaccine, and in her last year he might not even have done that, although I think we have a law here for annual rabies shot (Pennsylvania).
In other words, at close to 6 years of age, how often if ever should a cat still have a FVRCP vaccine? The other thing is I'm not up on the different rabies vaccine choices and I should probably know about that as well. If nothing else she would likely need the rabies shot. I have all the paperwork which should show when they last had shots, as they spent 6 months in the shelter before they came home with us. They had no shots in their initial vet visit because they had come from the shelter where all that was up to date, so no shots have been done in over a year now, probably about a year and a half and could be going on 2 years.
I'm not at all anti-vaccine. Indeed as far as humans go that stuff seems to get us into trouble and we may well not have good immunity towards some of the things well into our adulthood (measles, pertussis, etc.) But there is certainly also a point at which we'd be overdoing it for the cats. I read some pieces on this site about what to definitely vaccinate for and what is optional, but not what later in life schedules should be.
The cats stay inside 100% of the time and are the only two pets in the house.
Thanks for any input. If it helps to know more precisely when their last shots were I will post them here. I gather I'll be looking them up anyway to tell the vet.
EDIT: Because of the long shelter stay it is actually approaching 2 years, because of course the shelter does this right away on admission. It's 5/11/13 for rabies, and 6/10/13 for the FVRCP because they gave a set of 2, a month apart. The cats appear to have been born in early July 2009. (I know this because they even came into the same shelter as tiny week or two old kittens, and then were returned there twice by people who were apparently less cat-worthy.)
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