Giving kitty shots at home

[pawpawdit]

Hello.

I am own by a dozen kities and i tought that it would be worthwhile for me to learn how to give theirs yearly shots
& rabies at home.

Does anyone know if there a site with very acurate information
about how to do it ,preferably with photos showing how to.

Thank you.

 

[angelzoo]

Hmmmm I don't know of any sites that have this (but then again I've never looked.)

But I bet you could email a local rescue organization and they might be able to give you the addy to where they know a place, or they would most likely print out information and diagrams on it for you and snail mail it too you.

 

[lotsocats]

Just ask your vet. A good vet won't be upset by your asking how to do this, especially given how many cats you have. It might even lead to a conversation where the vet agrees to give you a bulk discount due to the number of cats you care for!

Giving shots is easy once you are shown how.

 

[angelzoo]

Lots: I've seen it done lots of times. And I've done it once (to their neck/sholder) but I still feel worried when it comes time for me to do it again (if I personally do)

Everyone says it's really not that hard.

About what you said with the vets... I guess I've never met a good vet then. All vets I have met make me feel like I'm WRONG for wanting to vacinate my cats myself, or they are money hungry mongrils who don't want to loose a client's money. =p

 

[hissy]

Just a caution- try not and give shots between the shoulder blades. About ten years ago they changed vaccines for cats going from a live virus to a killed one thinking it was more effective. But this added toxin that kills the virus can be a danger to the cats immune system and in a *small* percentage of cases can lead to cancer. So if you vaccinate anywhere on the cat but between the shoulder blades, it will be easier to remove a tumor should one occur. I also would not even attempt to give your cats shot until you have a vet show you several times how to do it correctly.

 

[misha]

I now ask for injectible medication for my cats because I hate pilling them. There is nothing to giving shots. However, I've only ever given them either fluids, or antibiotics by injection.

I remember seeing on one website a man saying if you ever see any "fluid" come out of the needle & onto the cat and it's a live vaccine, pick up your cat & run like the clappers out of there. Basically, according to him, it's not a good thing for a live vaccine to be spilled. I don't know how much truth there is to that.

My main concerns with giving vaccines at home are:

1) What if the cat suffers a reaction to the vaccine? There will be no vet on hand to help.

2) I personally recommend EVERY cat be health checked, by a vet, every year. So, even if you are doing your own vaccinations, it's still important that the vet gets to see each & every cat on an annual basis.

The adjuvant in vaccines, which stimulates the immune response is known to cause cancers in some cats. But, somebody was saying there is now an adjuvant free vaccination made by Fort Dodge. Might be worth asking about that.

I don't mind administering medicine by injection, but I don't think I'd ever want to vaccinate them myself.

Julia.

 

[samantha630]

I had a diabetic cat that I had to give a shot to once a day for 6 years - there is really nothing to it at all. Now I don't know if giving a shot of insulin is given DIFFERENTLY than giving a shot for rabies or something! But I would just gather up his skin on his rump and give him the shot. Always make sure there is no AIR in the needle! He never even flinched - so it's not painful to them.

 

[sandie]

I think it's best to have a professional vet tech or veterinarian show you how to give vaccines. I also wanted to say that it's perfectly fine to do the feline 3 or 4 way at home, but if you give the rabies at home, it wont be legal if asked to prove the vaccination.

 

[zanniesmom]

In California I don't think you can give the rabies shots yourself. They have to be done at the vet. I am not sure why, maybe to be sure it is done right? Or maybe so the vet gets a fee. Becky

 

[pawpawdit]

I did until recently have a very good vet who gave my kitties their shots,but his son has taken over the practice and price have sky rocket plus he is not as understanding as his father was, and he does not give me discount based on how many kitties i have.(example)two year ago his father charge me $160.00 for teeth cleaning for both of my 11 years old cats, it was a discount of $40.00,i now have a 14 year old who need extraction beside cleaning and the vet son want to charge me $300.00 for one kittie and i do spend on a yearly basis about one thousand dollars on cat care,more if there are emergency, i am getting another vet to clean Button teeth but it is still over $200.00 and since Powder Puff my 17 years old and Miss Lily 9 year old ,do need tooth cleaning too later this spring it is a whole lot ,going to thinking that it was to cost me $300.00 to now $600.00.

The idea of giving their shots at home would probably save some money i could put toward other needs for my kitties,
and it is not as if they enjoy the trip to the vet either,i can swore that Cuddle is saying (very loud and clear)IT HEURT ,IT HEURT or I'AM GOOD ,I'AM GOOD the whole time he is in the car,he just can't understand why i am putting him trought this every year,being that beside this once a year event ,he is in great health .

You are right about the rabies shot in California that i would still have to go to a vet for them but only every 3 years.

I wiil try contacting a local rescue organisation to see if they can show me how , i want to be sure hat i am not getting the needle too deep and the exact placement of that needle,like is it in a muscle or right under the skin ,learning how and the right way is the key,i could never forgive myself if i were to heurt any of my babies.

But again if anyone know of a good web site let me know.

Thank You
Marie
[email protected]

 

[misha]

Pawpadit,

After reading your post, I thought you might like this song. LOL.

Orions Song

Julia.

 

[sandie]

Most vaccines unless specified by the manufacturer are given subQ (under the skin). If you do a search on the internet about giving feline vaccines, I am sure it will pull something up. I don't think that I would have given any vaccines had I not been trained by someone. Some people still give the vaccines in the scruff of the neck, so make sure that if you find someone to show you, they show you how to give them as low as possible on any of the 4 legs. The reson that it's required by law that the rabies is given by a vet, is to make sure it is done when it should have been, and it was done properly. Rabies effects humans, so they take no chances.

 

[angelzoo]

Hissy, oh thanks so much. I've been out of the cat fostering loop since about Sept or so. So I haven't heard any updates on that.

A last foster group I worked with, who showed me how to give the shots as well, did one near the sholders and one in their back side/leg. Is there a difference in where specific shots should be placed?

I do think, that most the groups I have worked with, had the rabies shots done at a vet, and not by one of their fostering people.

 

[sandie]

The reason for giving them in different area's is to be able to tell which vaccine caused a reaction if any. The other reason for giving them in the leg as far down as possible is to be able to amputate if a cancerous sarcoma developes. If it developes between the shoulder blades it's more than likely to become fatal.

 

[angelzoo]

Gotcha.

Good stuff to know.
I don't normally give my cats their own yearly shots, but some people have been trying to persuade me to do it.

 

[pawpawdit]

Thank to all of you for the help ,with all this info i should be able to get it right,i did enter giving feline vaccine in my search engine and it did get me about 25 sites to go search,i am sure i am going to fine something there,along with contacting rescue groups here,i should be able to do it right.

:laughing2 Orions song is great,thank for sharing it Misha

Marie

 

[mom of 10 cats]

You might want to check out www.Drsforstersmith.com, they sell several types of cat vaccines, and also have instructions on how to give the shots, too. I believe in most states a vet must give the rabies shot, for legal reasons. I know that is the law here in PA.

The only problem I've encountered with home vaccination is the dirty looks I get for hours afterwards.

 

[misha]

I've been having ongoing problems with my cat's health...which is a long story that I won't go into here. Basically, I've been injecting her with antibiotics for the past 3 weeks. Last Friday, I noticed a large scab on her shoulder, about the size of my thumbnail. I (along with my vet) thought it was an old abscess we'd missed. Got her home & found another one next to the first....I just thought she must have been in a scrap. Then the other day I noticed two more large scabs on her other side. She had to go up to the vet for more tests today, and while she was there I asked the vet to have a look at these scabs. He's come to the conclusion that they're from the injections. He says it happens in rare occasions. Luckily, she's finishing her course of antibiotics in a couple of days. He wasn't concerned with these scabs. I wasn't aware anything like this could happen.

Giving an injection is a doddle, anybody can do it...but as I said in my original post, it's still important to make sure your cats are checked out every year by the vet anyway.

Julia.